Death: Still alive and serving as the grand dame of children's authors.
Comments: Beverly Cleary is quite possibly the most successful American children's author in history. After working as a librarian for a decade, Cleary decided to write books for ordinary children to enjoy and penned Henry Huggins in 1950, launching a fictional world that, if one includes spin-off series, lasted until 1999. Cleary's most famous books feature Henry, his dog Ribsy, his best friend Beezus, and her younger sister Ramona, but she also wrote books featuring a motorcycle-riding mouse, a cat named socks, and several different precocious children. Most of the children's authors who have come after Cleary seem to have been inspired in some way by her.
Cleary won numerous honors over the course of her career. Dear Mr. Henshaw won the Newbery Medal, and both Ramona and Her Father and Ramona Quimby, Age 8 received Newbery Honors. She received a National Book Award for Ramona and her Mother. Cleary herself was awarded the Laura Ingalls Wilder Award and a National Medal of Arts, and was named a Living Legend by the Library of Congress. She has had school buildings named after her, a university chair endowed in her name, statues made of her characters, and a map of Klickitat Street mounted on the wall of a library.
Cleary has a website dedicated to her work named The World of Beverly Cleary.
My reviews of Beverly Cleary's books:
Henry Huggins
Other books by Beverly Cleary that I have read but not reviewed:
Beezus and Ramona
The Mouse and the Motorcycle
Ribsy
Ramona and Her Father
Ramona and Her Mother
Ramona Quimby, Abe 8
Ramona the Pest
Short fiction by Beverly Cleary appearing in books that I have reviewed:
None
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