Beverly Cleary

Author profile

born

April 12, 1916 in McMinnville, OR, The United States

gender

female

website

http://www.beverlycleary.com

genre

Children's Books

About this author

edit data

Beverly Cleary (born April 12, 1916) is the author of over 30 books for young adults and children. Her characters are normal children facing challenges that many of us face growing up, and her stories are liberally laced with humour. Some of her best known and loved characters are Ramona Quimby and her sister Beatrice ("Beezus"), Henry Huggins, and Ralph S. Mouse.

Beverly Cleary was born Beverly Atlee Bunn in McMinnville, Oregon. When she was 6, her family moved to Portland, Oregon, where she went to grammar and high school. She was slow in learning to read, due partly to her dissatisfaction with the books she was required to read and partly to an unpleasant first grade teacher. It wasn't until she was in third grade that she found enjoyment...more Beverly Cleary (born April 12, 1916) is the author of over 30 books for young adults and children. Her characters are normal children facing challenges that many of us face growing up, and her stories are liberally laced with humour. Some of her best known and loved characters are Ramona Quimby and her sister Beatrice ("Beezus"), Henry Huggins, and Ralph S. Mouse.

Beverly Cleary was born Beverly Atlee Bunn in McMinnville, Oregon. When she was 6, her family moved to Portland, Oregon, where she went to grammar and high school. She was slow in learning to read, due partly to her dissatisfaction with the books she was required to read and partly to an unpleasant first grade teacher. It wasn't until she was in third grade that she found enjoyment from books, when she started reading The Dutch Twins by Lucy Fitch Perkins. Thereafter, she was a frequent visitor to the library, though she rarely found the books she most wanted to read — those about children like herself.

She moved to California to attend the University of California, Berkeley, and after graduation with a B.A in English in 1938, studied at the School of Librarianship at the University of Washington in Seattle, where she earned a degree in librarianship in 1939. Her first job was as a librarian in Yakima, Washington, where she met many children who were searching for the same books that she had always hoped to find as a child herself. In response, she wrote her first book, Henry Huggins, which was published in 1950. Beezus and Ramona, Cleary's first novel to feature the Quimby sisters as the central focus of the story, was published in 1955, although Beezus and Ramona made frequent appearances in the Henry Huggins series as supporting characters.

In 1940 she married Clarence T. Cleary and they moved to Oakland, California. The Clearys became parents to a set of twins, Marianne Elisabeth and Malcolm James, in 1955. Clarence Cleary died in 2004. Beverly Cleary currently lives in Carmel, California.

She has also written two autobiographies, A Girl from Yamhill and My Own Two Feet.(less)

combine editions
Books by Beverly Cleary

Average rating: 3.90 · 180,459 ratings · 5,761 reviews · 77 distinct works

	Ramona Quimby, Age 8 (Ramona, #6) 4.04 avg rating — 25,064 ratings — published 1981 — 53 editions	My rating:
	Ramona the Pest (Ramona, #2) 3.98 avg rating — 20,771 ratings — published 1968 — 42 editions	My rating:
	Beezus and Ramona (Ramona, #1) 3.91 avg rating — 20,243 ratings — published 1955 — 34 editions	My rating:
	The Mouse and the Motorcycle by Beverly Cleary, Louis Darling (Illustrator), Tracy Dockray (Illustrator) 3.79 avg rating — 19,338 ratings — published 1965 — 36 editions	My rating:
	Ramona the Brave (Ramona, #3) by Beverly Cleary, Alan Tiegreen (Illustrator) 3.99 avg rating — 12,936 ratings — published 1975 — 32 editions	My rating:
	Ramona Forever (Ramona, #7) 3.98 avg rating — 10,745 ratings — published 1984 — 38 editions	My rating:
	Dear Mr. Henshaw (Leigh Botts, #1) by Beverly Cleary, Paul O. Zelinsky (Illustrations) 3.59 avg rating — 10,135 ratings — published 1983 — 40 editions	My rating:
	Ramona and Her Father (Ramona, #4) 3.94 avg rating — 7,961 ratings — published 1975 — 32 editions	My rating:
	Ramona and Her Mother (Ramona, #5) by Beverly Cleary, Tracy Dockray (Illustrations) 3.98 avg rating — 6,749 ratings — published 1979 — 37 editions	My rating:
	Henry Huggins (Henry, #1) by Beverly Cleary, Tracy Dockray (Illustrations) 3.87 avg rating — 6,088 ratings — published 1950 — 28 editions	My rating:

More books by Beverly Cleary…

Series by Beverly Cleary

Ramona Quimby (8 books)
by Beverly Cleary

3.98 avg rating — 107,172 ratings

Ralph S. Mouse (3 books)
by Beverly Cleary, Gloria Levine

3.79 avg rating — 28,096 ratings

Henry Huggins (6 books)
by Beverly Cleary

3.82 avg rating — 17,060 ratings

Leigh Botts (2 books)
by Beverly Cleary

3.60 avg rating — 10,905 ratings

First Love (4 books)
by Beverly Cleary, Beth Krush (Illustrator), Joe Krush (Illustrator)

3.75 avg rating — 3,592 ratings

More series by Beverly Cleary…

Upcoming Events

No scheduled events. Add an event.

Quotes by Beverly Cleary

“If she can't spell, why is she a librarian? Librarians should know how to spell.”
― Beverly Cleary, Ramona's World

tags: humor , librarians , spelling

87 people liked it

“Quite often somebody will say, 'What year do your books take place?' and the only answer I can give is, in childhood.”
― Beverly Cleary

56 people liked it

“Didn't the people who made those license plates care about little girls named Ramona?”
― Beverly Cleary

33 people liked it

See all Beverly Cleary's quotes »

Polls

What Newbery Medal Winner would you like to read in April?

The Wheel on the School by Meindert DeJong

7 votes 43.8%

Dear Mr. Henshaw by Beverly Cleary

6 votes 37.5%

Summer of the Swans by Betsy Byars

2 votes 12.5%

The Story of Mankind by Hendrik Willem Van Loon

1 vote 6.3%

Tales From Silver Lands by Charles J. Finger

0 votes 0.0%

16 total votes

2 comments

More...

Topics Mentioning This Author

topics	posts	views	last activity
The Next Best Boo...: Children's/YA Books	135	320	Nov 21, 2008 05:15pm
The Book Challenge: Sarah's 2008 Book Challenge v2.0 - Fini!	5	549	Dec 29, 2008 09:31am
The Next Best Boo...: OFFICIAL SPRING CHALLENGE - 2009	6462	7918	Jun 14, 2009 02:57pm
Novel Ladies: Author Alphabet	1287	93	Dec 01, 2009 05:58am
Novel Ladies: Book Cover Hunt	394	85	Dec 01, 2009 07:08am
Romance Readers R...: December Monthly Challenge: Participants' List Thread	314	236	Jan 03, 2010 06:04am

More…

Is this you? Let us know. If not, help out and invite Beverly to Goodreads.

Beverly's Fans (800)