National Author Day is November 1st and I’ve been reminiscing on the stories of one of my favorite authors who also happens to have been born in McMinnville, Oregon, however lived in the small town of Yamhill (Yamhill is a quaint little town in the middle of wine country with an estimated population of 1,159).  Her mother should be credited with her love of reading.  Yamhill didn’t have a library so Beverly’s mother “Arranged with the State Library to have books sent to Yamhill and acted as librarian in a lodge room upstairs over a bank.” https://www.beverlycleary.com/about The family eventually moved to Portland, and when she was in third grade Beverly’s love for books really came out.  It is said that she was surrounded by books during most of her youth both at home and at the library.

Life moved on and Beverly graduated from Grant High School in Portland.  She then attended a junior college in California as the tuition wasn’t as high as a four year university, and as she was attending college during the Great Depression this was important.  Her goal was to become a children’s librarian.  After two years at the junior college she accepted at UC Berkeley where she earned a Bachelor's Degree in English. From there she went to the University of Washington where she attended their School of Librarianship, and in 1939 she graduated with a second Bachelor’s Degree in Library Sciences.  By this time World War II was going on so she took a position in Yakima, Washington where she was a children’s librarian.  It was during this time that she met and married her husband. She and her husband moved to Carmel-by-the Sea after World War II and in 1960 Beverly moved to Carmel Valley Village.  https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Beverly_Cleary

I have always been curious as to what led Beverly Cleary to want to write children’s books.  It turns out that during her time as a librarian she learned that children struggled to find enough books that appealed to them to read.  Therefore in 1950 she wrote her first book Henry Huggins (I always thought the Ramona series came first) in order to provide young readers with books that they would enjoy reading and could be read on a Sunday afternoon.

As time went on her books gained quite the following and Mrs. Cleary received many prestigious awards including a John Newbery Medal in 1984 for Dear Mr. Henshaw.  Two of the books in her Ramona series, Ramona and Her Father and Ramona Quimby, Age 8 were Newbery Honor books in 1978 and 1982.  She was also named a Living Legend by the Library of Congress and received the National Medal of Art from the National Endowment of the Arts in 2003. https://www.beverlycleary.com/about

I fell in love with Beverly Cleary when I was in third grade when my teacher Mrs. Paugstat read them to the class.  My favorite stories are Mouse on a Motorcycle, Ralph S. Mouse and Runaway Ralph.

One thing is for certain Beverly Cleary is a beloved author by many, and we are fortunate to have the stories she wrote continue to be published and shared with the next generation.  If you’d like to see all of the books that she wrote please head to her website:  https://www.beverlycleary.com/ I know you’ll find a story that both you and the kiddos in your life will enjoy.