24 Facts About Beverly Cleary

Beverly Atlee Cleary was an American writer of children's and young adult fiction.

Beverly Cleary's first children's book was Henry Huggins after a question from a kid when Cleary was a librarian.

Beverly Cleary won the 1981 National Book Award for Ramona and Her Mother and the 1984 Newbery Medal for Dear Mr Henshaw.

Beverly Cleary Atlee Bunn was born on April 12,1916, in McMinnville, Oregon, to Chester Lloyd Bunn, a farmer, and Mable Atlee Bunn, a schoolteacher.

Beverly Cleary was an only child and lived on a farm in rural Yamhill, Oregon, in her early childhood.

Beverly Cleary's parents disapproved of her relationship with Cleary, a Roman Catholic, so the couple eloped and were married in 1940.

In 1955, Beverly Cleary gave birth to twins, Malcolm and Marianne.

Beverly Cleary lived in Carmel Valley Village in California from the 1960s onwards.

Beverly Cleary worked at Sather Gate Book Shop in Berkeley before becoming a full-time writer for children.

When writing the book, Beverly Cleary took inspiration from the times she composed stories for children during Saturday afternoon story hours when she worked as a librarian in Yakima.

Beverly Cleary resisted, because she had not attended kindergarten, but later changed her mind after the birth of her twins.

Beverly Cleary wrote two memoirs, one about her childhood, entitled A Girl from Yamhill, and one about her years in college and as an adult up to writing her first book, entitled My Own Two Feet.

Beverly Cleary's books have been historically noted for their attention to the daily minutiae of childhood, specifically the experience of children growing up in middle-class families.

Beverly Cleary knows they're sometimes confused or frightened by the world around them, and that they feel deeply about things that adults can dismiss.

Dresang added that Beverly Cleary's writing, "in terms of the topics [covered], the honesty, the accuracy, [and] the ability to portray real-life children", was decades ahead of her time.

Beverly Cleary celebrated her 100th birthday on April 12,2016.

On March 25,2021, Beverly Cleary died at her retirement home in Carmel-by-the-Sea, California, aged 104.

In 1975, Beverly Cleary won the Laura Ingalls Wilder Award from the American Library Association for "substantial and lasting contributions to children's literature".

Beverly Cleary was the US nominee for the biennial international Hans Christian Andersen Award in 1984.

Beverly Cleary received the National Medal of Arts in 2003.

Beverly Cleary's books have been published in over 25 different languages and have been recognized by many awards and honors.

Beverly Cleary won the 1981 National Book Award in category children's fiction for Ramona and Her Mother, a William Allen White Children's Book award for Socks, the Catholic Library Association's Regina Medal, and the Children's Book Council's Every Child Award.

Beverly Cleary has been mentioned as a major influence by other authors, including Laurie Halse Anderson, Judy Blume, Lauren Myracle, and Jon Scieszka.

In 2004, the University of Washington Information School completed fund-raising for the Beverly Cleary Endowed Chair for Children and Youth Services to honor her work and commitment to librarianship.