RIP Beverly Cleary

How lucky are we to have been given the chance to the chance to live in a world with Beverly Cleary? Beverly Cleary was 104 years old when she passed away on March 25, 2021. Can you imagine the generations of kids that got hooked on reading because of her many books?

I still have very clear memories of being read The Mouse and Motorcycle aloud to in school. I can’t remember what grade or the teacher, but I remember to book and it was so good. As a child, I fell in love with Ramona Quimby as a child – a little girl with a wild streak! I checked out the books multiple times from the local library and listened to the audiobook on cassette tape. I’ve written a number of posts that reference Ramona, here on my blog. Check out Chapter Book Read Alouds for First Graders to see the company Ramona keeps!

There’s something about Beverly Cleary’s writing that has stood the test of time. Beezus and Ramona, the first title in the Ramona series was published 66 years ago in 1955. Do all the references make sense to today’s kids? Maybe not. But, what does make sense is the story of a little girl in a family dealing with the pressures of daily life – managing an older sister, having to be babysat next door, navigating friendships and classmates. These themes haven’t changed and kids relate to that.

To have been reprinted numerous times, with bright new covers that engage new generations is not something to easily dismiss. Parents, teachers, tutors, and older siblings share these stories over and over again making them perennial favorites and true children’s classics.

Commemorate Beverly Cleary

The best way to commemorate this amazing author is to celebrate on her birthday, April 12. April 12 also happens to be Drop Everything And Read Day (D.E.A.R.) If you’re not familiar with her wonderful characters, have no fear. You can’t go wrong with her Newbery Award winning story Dear Mr. Henshaw or try a read aloud that I remember from my childhood, The Mouse and the Motorcycle, and certainly last, but not least the Ramona series. Cleary also wrote a bunch of other works as well that you can check out on The World of Beverly Cleary.

Thank you, Beverly Cleary for seeing children as complex little beings capable of processing a lot about the world around them and for understanding exactly how to help them do that! You are missed.