Sunday, June 27, 2021

A Tribute to Beverly Cleary

RHYS BOWEN: 

This is my first time to host since the world was told of the death of Beverly Cleary, aged 104.

What a remarkable woman and a remarkable life she led. And yet, if you met her, she was quiet and unassuming, like anyone’s grandmother.

I was lucky enough to meet her back in the 1970s when I was living in Texas, writing children’s books, and helped to organize a literary festival. Beverly was the keynote speaker and I hosted her at our house. (In those days we had a Texas-style mansion with a Gone with the Wind staircase so a suitable place to house an icon.)

She was charming, undemanding, great sense of humor. She must have made a big impression on our children because after she had left the doorbell rang one afternoon. I opened it and there was my son, Dominic, aged three, standing outside with my purse over his arm and a serious look on his face.

“Good afternoon, I’m Beverly Cleary come to stay,” he said in a posh voice.

(He was born an actor!)

My daughter Jane went to school very excited and told her class that Beverly was staying at our house. Nobody believed her. They all laughed at her. So Beverly signed a copy of one of the Ramona books, “To Jane, at whose house I am staying.”

When I look back on her life it’s amazing the impact she made. She wrote a few small children’s books, about everyday subjects and ordinary people. No super-heroes, no Greek Gods, no explosions and car chases, and yet they have endured and will endure. Why? Because every child could identify with those characters. So could most adults. We think of the times we have done stupid or embarrassing things. I remember Ramona on her first day of school being told to ‘sit here for the present’. And she thinks it’s a test. If she sits there and doesn’t move she’ll get a present. So she won’t go out to recess. She won’t stand up.

That could easily have been me: hesitant, wanting to please and do the right thing but sometimes getting it so embarrassingly wrong.

Ramona’s family is everyman. The father loses his job. They have money troubles. Ramona’s relationship with her big sister is not always smooth.  And yet they are funny. We laugh at Ramona saying Jeesus Beezus and getting into trouble. Actually we laugh WITH Ramona, not at her.

Beverly’s magnum opus, of course, was Dear Mr. Henshaw that won the Newberry Award. If you read it as an adult you will see why—the subtle psychology behind a relationship between famous writer and unhappy boy, shown only through letters. The boys’ father has left them. He is unreliable, makes promises he never keeps. When the boy writes to Mr. Henshaw he asked what thinks he likes and doesn’t like. He says he doesn’t like little kids with runny noses.  Why is that we wonder until we realize that when he does see his father his father always ends by saying “Keep your nose clean, kid.” Brilliant.

Looking back over my own writing career I wish that I could say I had a body of work that would endure, that spoke of the human condition as palpably as Steinbeck or Dickens. But I don’t. Beverly Cleary does, I believe, because she retained the heart of a child and she


wrote from the heart.


29 comments:

  1. This is lovely, Rhys . . . our children [and all my schoolchildren] loved reading Beverly’s books . . . such wonderful memories.
    Such wonderful books . . . she will be missed.

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  2. What a lovely tribute, Rhys, and how lucky you were to meet and host her. I don't remember reading her when I was young, but my sons loved her books. Writing from the heart - isn't that what we all aspire to?

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  3. Thank you, Rhys. You were lucky to meet her and host her. I find it remarkable to be privileged to communicate here with authors whose work I admire. It's hard not to come across as starry-eyed, even in writing. Could you tell us more about that visit?

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  4. Rhys, this is wonderful! What a visit--I bet your kids will never forget that, and we won't either.

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  5. Rhys, this is a wonderful tribute to Beverly Clearly. I definitely remember her Ramona books from my childhood.

    Ramona on her first day of school really resonated with me. That could have been me - embarrassedly misunderstanding the instructions. Thinking that I would get a present if I sit still could have happened to me. LOL

    Isn't it lovely when we get to meet people we admire like authors? Beverly Clearly wrote wonderful books for children.

    Thank you for sharing your memories of meeting her with us.

    Diana

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  6. Beezus and Ramona and Henry Huggins were my childhood friends. As an adult, Mr. Henshaw, Leigh, and Strider. Thanks for sharing your memories of Cleary.

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  7. How my son cried while he was reading Dear Mr. Henshaw! The ending worked out fine and so he was a happy boy again. Beverly Clearly had such a wonderful gift!

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  8. Lovely tribute, Rhys, and what wonderful memories of hosting a writing legend.

    As usual, I wonder who among the writers now will achieve such success in children's literature. A middle school friend of my youngest daughter's, who is a very good illustrator, just publisher her first book that she both wrote and illustrated. Her name is Blythe Russo, and I'm rooting for her.

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    1. Blythe's new book, by the way, is called A Flood of Kindness.

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    2. I am going to look this up, Karen.

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  9. Rhys, a wonderful post, and leaves me wondering how it could be that I have never read Beverly Cleary! I listened to an audio sample of Dear Mr Henshaw after reading this, and I'm sold!

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  10. To calm down after a demanding day, I've begun listening to children's books I loved as a kid: Alice through the Looking Glass, The Secret Garden. I find them very delightful and calming. And although I didn't read Beverly Cleary as a child, I will now.

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  11. Rhys, what a wonderful tribute! There are only a very few writers to whom is given the gift of lasting and Beverly Cleary was one of them. RAMONA THE PEST was published in 1968; I read it, and my daughters read it, and I have no doubt my granddaughters will read it as well. The trappings of Ramona' world may age, but, as you say, the human realities never do.

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  12. Wonderful tribute. And I'm jealous you got to meet her.

    I only read a couple of the Ramona books, but I read all of the Henry Huggins books. They are stories of every day life and so completely recognizable and relatable as a result.

    One of my all time favorite chapters in any book is "Ramona and the PTA" from Henry and Ribsy. It is funny no matter how many times you read it, and it is a master class in set up and pay off. It makes me laugh just thinking about it.

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  13. Rhys, what a wonderful tribute to Beverly Cleary. Kayti and I read the Ramona books, but I have not read Dear Mr. Henshaw so have just ordered it! Where were you living in Texas then?

    Kayti and I, and I'm sure eventually Wren, feel the same way about the British children's book author Shirley Hughes. Her books, especially the ones about Alfie, capture childhood so perfectly.

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  14. Thank you for recognizing Beverly Cleary's importance to children's reading. I have fond memories reading mostly Beezus and Henry.

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  15. Brava to those whose writing encourages children to read! My niece Jillian produced her autographed DARK THIRTY to convince a skeptical boy that she had indeed had lunch with Patricial McKissack. Niece Joy carried Peggy Parrish's extremely light suitcase when we picked her up at the airport. "It's only for one night, just a nightie and a toothbrush."
    I should learn to pack so efficiently. I've requested Mr. H. from the library, along with a Jane Yolen book (more than 365 titles and still going ;-) So many good books, something for everyone. <3

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  16. Beautiful post, Rhys! Beverly Cleary helped shaped my life and my sons’ lives with her delightful fiction. She is absolutely a national treasure and will be missed.

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  17. I recently ready Beverly Cleary's memoir of her early adulthood. A delightful and instructive read. That took me to Ramona in all her strong-girl glory. I am a fan for life now.

    Rhys: That you not only met her but hosted her in your home is wonderful. What a memory for you and your family to have. Thank you for this post today that honours Beverly so beautifully.

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  18. Such a lovely lady, I met her here in Portland on two occasions, she was so charming! Her books are wonderful, for any age but especially the ages she intended. Rhys, such a nice piece, and yes, I think many of your books will endure just as hers have.

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  19. Rhys, what a lovely story. And yes, Beverley CLeary deserved very bit of praise she ever recevied. I did not love her books a a child. My librarian aunt introduced me to Ellen Tebbits and Henry Higgins but they were too much like ordinary life ( the exact reason most kids love them) I was already looking for books about long ago or far away or someplace that didn't even exist.then I became a librarian myself and rediscovered them, plus, of course, Ramona. I laughed out loud as I read them, and I did read them all. She was very, very special.

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  20. My girls LOVED the Ramona books. They were among the first they could read to themselves. Big-girl chapter books! This is inspiring me to reread them myself. Thanks, Rhys!

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  21. Oh Rhys, Beverly Cleary staying at your house! That would have been so thrilling. I never met her, but it was easy to see what a lovely person she was, and oh how she made a difference in kids' lives with her books. I remember ordering her books in the book orders at school.

    And, don't sell yourself so short, Rhys. Your books have definite staying power.

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  22. You know, I completely missed out of Beverly Cleary. No idea, except the most fleeting. Should I look now? But this is the loveliest story, no matter what!

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  23. It makes me mad I did not hear of her death in the news. To me she was just as important if not more than a pop star, a celebrity, a ball player. I loved reading her books to my kids. I love that she wrote about everyday life and made that interesting to my kids. This was a lovely tribute!

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  24. I knew who Beverly Cleary was, but had never read any of her books. I will now! Thank you.

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