Beverly Cleary Books

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Beverly Cleary was an American author that wrote books for children and young adults. Born in 1916 in McMinnville, Oregon to a farmer and a school teacher, Cleary did not have siblings. The first part of her childhood was spent on a farm in the country.

When her father became a security officer at a bank in Portland, Cleary’s family was forced to abandon their rural community for the city, a transition that the author hated. She was six at the time. She struggled to adjust to life in Portland, so much so that her studies suffered.

It took the author much longer than she would have liked to learn to read. Even when she mastered the skill, Cleary found that she did not enjoy reading. At first, it looked like she had no interest in the activity. But then it became clear that she was primarily repelled by the stories she was forced to read.

Their simplicity did not appeal to the girl. She could not relate to any of the characters she encountered. Her opinion remained unchanged until she read ‘The Dutch Twins’. Written by Lucy Fitch Perkins, the book stood out because the characters at the center of the story felt so ordinary. She could understand them. More importantly, she was invested in their adventure.

The book ignited the author’s love for storytelling. She started frequenting the library. Her teachers noticed a remarkable improvement in her essays, with one of them going so far as to note that Cleary had the talent to become a children’s writer.

Following her stint at Grant High in Portland, Beverly Cleary joined Chaffey Junior College with the intention of becoming a librarian. She went to the institution because it was the only college that students like her could afford. The tuition was very low.

She eventually acquired her degree in English from the University of California, Berkley, and a degree in Library Science from the University of Washington (School of Librarianship). She married her husband (Clarence Cleary) soon after. They had to elope because Clarence was Roman Catholic and the author was raised Presbyterian. Cleary’s parents did not approve of their marriage.

She made good use of her degrees by working for a US Army Hospital (Camp John T. Knight, Oakland) as a post librarian. But writing was her passion. As a librarian, she empathized with young readers because they could not find books with characters they could relate to in the library.

After struggling to make suitable recommendations for these young readers, Cleary decided to fill the gap in the publishing arena by writing stories that children and young adults could enjoy. She did this because she wanted to encourage children to read and the best way to do so was to ensure that libraries had books with stories that could cater to their tastes.

Beverly Cleary Awards

She won the Newberry Medal (1984), Laura Ingalls Wilder Award (1975), National Book Award (1981), and the Every Child Award (Children’s Book Council, 1985), to mention but a few.

Beverly Cleary Books Into Movies

Cleary’s ‘Ramona’ series became a 10 part TV series called ‘Ramona’ in Canada. It aired in 1988. In 2010, the ‘Ramona’ books received another adaptation. They became a comedy film called ‘Ramona and Beezus’.

Best Beverly Cleary Books

The author died in 2021. She was 104 at the time. Cleary’s best books include:

Beezus and Ramona: Beezus Quimby is nine. By all accounts, she is still a child. And yet, as far as everyone else is concerned, she is old enough to take responsibility for her young sister. Ramona doesn’t make things easy. She makes trouble wherever she goes.

If she isn’t going out of her way to take a bite out of every apple in the vicinity, Ramona can be found flooding their home with other 4-year-olds that she’s invited for a house party. As the big sister, Beezus is helpless. She has to put up with Ramona’s antics, a struggle that other older siblings can relate to.

The Mouse and the Motorcycle: When Keith found Ralph on his toy motorcycle, Ralph expected the worst. After all, Ralph was a mouse. He had seen several families come and go. When Keith and his parents moved in, Ralph saw an opportunity to escape the hotel room.

The chance to explore the other floors excited him. He couldn’t wait to take Keith’s toy bike on the trip. And to his surprise, when Keith found Ralph, he was supportive. He went so far as to teach Ralph to ride the bike, training him for the journey that waited beyond the hotel room.

When Does The Next Beverly Cleary book come out?

Beverly Cleary doesn't seem to have an upcoming book. Their newest book is Ramona the Brave and was released on March, 17th 2020. It is the newest book in the Ramona Quimby Series.

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