Meet the Librarian-Turned-Author Who Changed Children’s Literature

Beverly Cleary lived a remarkable life, by pretty much every metric going. She published dozens of books over a long career, sold more than 91 million copies around the world, and won multiple awards.

She’s even credited with changing children’s literature forever and shaping the modern literary landscape for young people. Oh, and she lived to be 104 years old. This is her fascinating story.

The First Uncertain Steps in Literature

This kind of story usually begins with a young person who is head over heels in love with literature. Only, for Beverly Atlee Bunn, it wasn’t like that at all. Moving from a rural setting in Yamhill, Oregon, to the big city of Portland, six-year-old Beverly struggled. She was placed in a class for children who found reading difficult. “I wanted to read,” Beverly said later, “but somehow could not.”

As her reading ability grew, however, the young Beverly became a little disappointed by what she encountered. She was unimpressed by the simplicity and formulaic nature of the stories presented to her.

There was a predictability about the narratives that she didn’t like, and the characters seemed two-dimensional and unrealized.

There was an exception, however. This was The Dutch Twins, written in 1911 by Lucy Fitch Perkins. Following the day-to-day experiences of Kit and Kat, two young siblings from the Netherlands, The Dutch Twins connects with the real lives of ordinary people. This was a revelation for Beverly and was formative to her own literary journey.

A Blossoming Career

Beverly might have struggled in school at first, but not for long. She graduated from high school in 1934 and achieved degrees in English and Library Sciences in 1938 and 1939, respectively. For someone who was initially put off by literature, she now delved fully into it, taking a post as a children’s librarian. Then she became a librarian at an army hospital, where she remained until the end of the war.

It was then that she began to formulate her own literary ideas. After working at a children’s library, she understood that the problems she’d encountered two decades before were still very much in evidence. Children’s books did not reflect the lived experience of the kids who were reading them, and so they simply did not inspire or inflame excitement.

So Beverly, who had become Beverly Cleary after her marriage in 1940, set about writing a children’s book of her own. This book was Henry Huggins, published in 1950, and it introduced the world to a new cast of characters.

These characters were Henry himself, an ordinary boy from Portland, Oregon, and his dog Ribsy. Alongside this pair were the sisters Beezus and Ramona, who also lived in the neighborhood.

A new universe of children’s literature was taking root.

Beverly’s Prolific Talent

Between 1950 and 1957, Beverly published five books in the Henry Huggins universe, developing a rich world for young readers to lose themselves in. Though she and her husband had since relocated to California, the Oregon landscape was something Beverly knew well, and writing about it was a joy.

Over that same period, Beverly wrote three other books, including a pair of volumes focusing on the characters Ellen Tebbits and Otis Spofford, and the teen novel Fifteen. Once she’d unleashed that creative spirit, there was no stopping her.

The next two decades saw Beverly averaging a book per year, with more entries into the Henry Huggins series and other popular series emerging too. Leave it to Beaver (1960) and The Mouse and the Motorcycle (1965) have become cornerstones of children’s popular culture in America, shaping the experience of youth for generations to come.

A Leading Light in Children’s Literature

It was Henry Huggins who started it all back in 1950, but over time, another of Beverly’s Portland characters came to the fore. That character was Ramona Quimby. Ramona ended up with seven books of her very own and featured in several more. TV shows and movies also cemented her fame, and she became one of Beverly’s best-loved creations.

Beverly’s final novel, written in 1999 when the author was in her eighties, is Ramona’s World. A fitting final chapter to Beverly’s writing career, Ramona’s World sees the titular hero maturing, growing up, and learning more about herself than ever before.

After Ramona’s World, Beverly entered a well-deserved retirement, but the profile of her work continued to grow. She has been honored by libraries and learning institutions across her native Washington State and way beyond, and her birthday is recognized as National DEAR Day – short for “Drop Everything and Read.”

Beverly Cleary passed away in March 2021, less than three weeks short of her 105th birthday. Her remarkable life, career, and contribution to children’s literature will continue to inspire for many years to come.