h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

Entry: Beverly Cleary, Children's Author - A88019625
Author: Dmitri Gheorgheni - Freshly Vaccinated - U1590784

Why this entry? Today is Drop Everything and Read Day. And I noticed that we'd had to post an entry for a different children's author because we didn't have one on the woman the day was inspired by. And she died a couple of weeks ago, at the age of almost-105.

And since Beverly Cleary is the children's author I admire most, I figured we could do with a short entry on her, Henry Huggins, and his amazing dog Ribsy. (Go read the book in Open Library.)

Lovely - thank you very much

The only thing it might be helpful to clarify is how old children are in sixth grade.

Good idea, I'll do that!

I must confess I hadn't heard of this author before people on h2g2 mentioned that she'd died. This entry has said she sold 90 million copies of her books and that her first book was written in 1950 - but did she write more? I assume so, but it is still possible to interpret the entry as meaning that she wrote one that sold 90 million copies in various languages.

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You're right: we should be more upfront about that. I linked to a list of her many books, at least 40 of them.

I decided to add some more info about the genesis of Cleary's writing, plus a funny quote from her 100th-birthday interview.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dcT5hsD2PbY

By the way, anyone that articulate at 100 IS a living legend.

I'm glad this is here. Thank you for writing it up! I am still in total admiration of her. The essay she started for school class and couldn't stop - next day her teacher read it out to the class and said "Beverly needs to be a children's author". I wish I'd had such encouragement from my teachers.

There's a lovely photo online of Beverly signing a book for a little girl, who looked like she was in the presence of her idol. How wonderful. Beverly must have been in her 80s at the time, I wonder when that girl is now and if she aspired to become an author like her heroine.

GB

I know Judy Blum, who is a children's author, credits Cleary as an inspiration.

I'd really recommend reading her memoir, 'The Girl from Yamhill'. It's available on Open Library. Fascinating story about her childhood.

Yes, I confess I didn't read any of her books when I was a child, but I was familiar with her characters thanks to the TV series Ramona - powerful stuff - "ordinary adventures, described in an extraordinary way – just as ordinary kids experience them", as you say.

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Original illustration: child_reading_a_book.jpg Library of Congress

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