Beverly Cleary

Author profile

born

in McMinnville, OR, The United States

April 12, 1916

gender

female

website

http://www.beverlycleary.com

genre

Children's Books

About this author

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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)

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Beverly Cleary's Books

Average rating: 3.94 · 278,616 ratings · 7,219 reviews · 80 distinct works · Similar authors

	Ramona Quimby, Age 8 (Ramona, #6) 4.07 of 5 stars 4.07 avg rating — 38,403 ratings — published 1981 — 60 editions	Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Beezus and Ramona (Ramona, #1) 3.91 of 5 stars 3.91 avg rating — 35,391 ratings — published 1955 — 39 editions	Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	The Mouse and the Motorcycle (Ralph S. Mouse, #1) by Beverly Cleary, Louis Darling (Illustrator), Tracy Dockray (Illustrator) 3.84 of 5 stars 3.84 avg rating — 32,614 ratings — published 1965 — 43 editions	Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Ramona the Pest (Ramona, #2) 4.01 of 5 stars 4.01 avg rating — 30,416 ratings — published 1968 — 49 editions	Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Ramona the Brave (Ramona, #3) by Beverly Cleary, Alan Tiegreen (Illustrator) 4.04 of 5 stars 4.04 avg rating — 21,086 ratings — published 1975 — 9 editions	Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Ramona Forever (Ramona, #7) 4.01 of 5 stars 4.01 avg rating — 16,256 ratings — published 1984 — 44 editions	Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Dear Mr. Henshaw (Leigh Botts, #1) by Beverly Cleary, Paul O. Zelinsky (Illustrations) 3.62 of 5 stars 3.62 avg rating — 14,855 ratings — published 1983 — 44 editions	Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Ramona and Her Father (Ramona, #4) by Beverly Cleary, Alan Tiegreen (Illustrator) 3.98 of 5 stars 3.98 avg rating — 12,206 ratings — published 1975 — 38 editions	Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Henry Huggins (Henry, #1) by Beverly Cleary, Tracy Dockray (Illustrations) 3.92 of 5 stars 3.92 avg rating — 11,187 ratings — published 1950 — 34 editions	Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Ramona and Her Mother (Ramona, #5) by Beverly Cleary, Tracy Dockray (Illustrations) 4.03 of 5 stars 4.03 avg rating — 10,632 ratings — published 1977 — 44 editions	Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars

More books by Beverly Cleary…

Series by Beverly Cleary

Ramona Quimby (8 books)
by Beverly Cleary
4.012474744559256 of 5 stars 4.01 avg rating — 173,230 ratings

Ralph S. Mouse (4 books)
by Beverly Cleary, Paul O. Zelinsky (Illustrator), Louis Darling (Illustrator)
3.849016592095451 of 5 stars 3.85 avg rating — 42,912 ratings

Henry Huggins (6 books)
by Beverly Cleary
3.8811884811006623 of 5 stars 3.88 avg rating — 27,329 ratings

Leigh Botts (2 books)
by Beverly Cleary
3.6184764177604722 of 5 stars 3.62 avg rating — 15,923 ratings

First Love (4 books)
by Beverly Cleary, Beth Krush (Illustrator), Joe Krush (Illustrator)
3.7775100401606427 of 5 stars 3.78 avg rating — 4,980 ratings

More series by Beverly Cleary…

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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

132 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

77 people liked it

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

39 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

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