Happy 100th Birthday Beverly Cleary!

Beloved children’s book author Beverly Cleary was born on April 12^th, 1916, in McMinnville and raised in Portland. As a librarian, Cleary learned that elementary school children were looking for and struggling to find books about kids like themselves. In 1950, Cleary published her first book, Henry Huggins, which is about a boy, his dog, and his friends who live in the Hollywood neighborhood in Portland.

Since then, Beverly Cleary has published over 40 children’s books, most of which are still in print and relevant to kids today. She has won many literary awards, including the John Newbery Medal for Dear Mr. Henshaw and Newbery Honors for Ramona Quimby, Age 8 and Ramona and Her Father. Her most recent book, Ramona’s World, was published in 1999. Beverly Cleary now lives in California so she can be near her family.

OPB is celebrating with an Oregon Art Beat special “Discovering Beverly Cleary”—the first-ever documentary about the author. It includes a rare, new interview with Beverly Cleary herself! Watch the special on Thursday, April 7th at 8:00  p.m. on OPB TV or online at: www.opb.org/beverlycleary.

Want to celebrate Beverly Cleary all month?  Check out this blog post from the Oregon Library Association Children's Services Division.  While it primarily is targeted towards libraries, it does contain a lot of ideas that will serve as story extensions.

There's also D.E.A.R. Day (Drop Everything and Read), which happens every year on April 12th.  So be sure to drop EVERYTHING and read that day!

Happy 100th Birthday Beverly Cleary!  We love you and we love your books!