LifeStory
Celebrating a century of Beverly Cleary
The beloved author of Ramona, Beezus, the Mouse & the Motorcycle, and many more turns 100 today
For countless generations of children, her books began a lifelong love of reading. But be honest, Baby Boomers, you first read Beezus and Ramona so long ago that you were probably surprised and delighted to learn that Beverly Cleary is alive and well and celebrating her 100th birthday today.
Well, happily she is!
"Go ahead and fuss. Everyone else is."--Beverly Cleary, on her 100th birthday
Sounding like one of her characters, Cleary says she'll be enjoying her centennial with a piece of carrot cake because, "I like it."
To celebrate, we've put together a timeline of Beverly Cleary's work, from her first book in 1950, Henry Huggins. to her last, Ramona's World in 1999 - and weaved in audio excerpts, videos and book reviews. Check it out:
Just last month, the Washington Post interviewed the still feisty author:
Commemorating the occasion on the Opinion Page of the New York Times, Nicholas Kristof wrote:
One of the world’s great inventions, only a little behind the light bulb, was Ramona Quimby, the strong-willed, lovable and exasperating star of “Ramona the Pest” and other books. For decades the Ramona books have been a gateway drug luring young readers into the spellbinding world of books.
The Chicago Tribune offered this tribute:
For a look at the entire library of Beverly Cleary books, her website offers generous samples:
