C is for Beverly Cleary

Beverly Cleary – Where She Fits In History

Beverly Cleary was born on a farm in Oregon in 1916 and raised in the city of Portland. The same year that Cleary was born, Kellogs introduced its All-Bran Cereal line, the US took possession of the Dominican Republic, German Zeppelins were bombing London, the Battle of Verdun stretched out for almost the whole year, and Emma Goldmann the violent anarchist was arrested yet again. I think that Beverly’s birth was probably the best part of the whole year, don’t you?

Currently 102 years old, Cleary lives in Carmel, CA on the Pacific Coast. Yes, she is still alive and well!

Her Stories Tell The Tale of America, As It Used To Be

All her stories are told from the point of view of children. Their cares and the causes they champion take a front row seat to the concerns of adults. It is the way children should grow up.

Beverly Cleary and her husband had twins, who became the model for her Mitch and Amy series. After that, she wrote Henry Huggins, which was our family’s favorite bedtime book for years and years.

My husband read Henry Huggins to our twins when they were small. My son loved the stories that included Henry’s dog Ribsy, most of all. I discovered the Mitch and Amy series when my kids were a little bit older and we read those aloud as well. These stories of iconic American life are absolutely wonderful to share with your children.

Something Special For You

Beverly Cleary wrote two volumes of memoirs that I have not read, but will be checking out from the library this week. These are A Girl from Yamhill (1988) and My Own Two Feet (1995)

A Beverly Cleary Sculpture Garden to Visit!

Want to read more about the sculpture garden and discover which parts of Portland were written into Cleary’s many books? Check out the Oregon Encyclopedia.

Come back next week and read about another author.

But in the meantime, join me and my fantastic co-hosts as we link up all of our “C is for” posts!

Amanda @ Hopkins Homeschool
Kirsten @ DoodleMom
Jennifer @ A Peace of Mind
Kimberley @ Vintage Blue Suitcase
Desiree @ Our Homeschool Notebook
Markie @ My Life as Mrs. Cooks
Hillary @ Walking Fruitfully

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