Beverly Cleary Author Study: Ramona the Pest

 Illustrations by Louis Darling, though my copy

has a revised cover by JoAnn Scribner.

Ramona's first solo book! After always being the "baby" on the sidelines, Ramona is finally starting kindergarten! She loves her kind teacher, Miss Binney, and has a crush on a classmate, Davy. Ramona gets to participate in a Halloween parade, walk to school on her own, and learns to write her name with a cute cat Q.

I remembered so much of this book, and I wonder if other Ramona fans feel the same. My kindergarten experience was totally different but this one is also part of my memory in a unique way. My favorite parts have always been when Ramona hides behind the garbage cans because she has a substitute teacher and when she loses her new boots in the mud.

Beverly Cleary Author Study: The Growing-Up Feet

 Original illustrations by DyAnne DiSalvo, though my copy is a re-release with illustrations redone by Carol Thompson.

I have this story in Two Times the Fun, a collection of the Janet and Jimmy stories. Janet and Jimmy's mother thinks they've outgrown their shoes, so they all go on an adventure to the shoe store.

Janet and Jimmy are excited to get something new. They can't wait to surprise their friend, the mailman, with new shoes. But the salesman measures their feet and finds the twins don't need new shoes after all. How can they surprise the mailman now?

Beverly Cleary Author Study: The Mouse and the Motorcycle

Illustrations by Louis Darling, though my copy

has a revised cover by JoAnn Scribner.

I can't tell you how many times I watched this movie in my childhood; I'm pretty sure my mom still has the VHS. I read the book as a kid but I didn't remember much of the written story, however, when I read it, I could vividly picture the movie scenes!

I absolutely love the creativity and imagination in this book. It's fun to think of a boy being able to talk to a mouse anyway, but the way Ralph has to use his own imagination to make the motorcycle move is such a nice touch. I also like how Ralph gets in trouble just like any other boy because it makes him so easy to relate to.

I can't wait to read this with my son because I think it's timeless and he'll love it too.

Beverly Cleary Author Study: Ribsy

Illustrations by Louis Darling, though my copy

has a revised cover by JoAnn Scribner.

This is my original copy of the book but I didn't remember the story at all, so it was a nice read. I loved (and fondly remember many random details about) Socks (1973), so I knew Cleary had a great way of writing animals, but I was especially drawn to Ribsy after being with him so much in the Henry Huggins books.

Ribsy gets lost from the Huggins family on a rainy day so he has trouble picking up their scent to find his way home. Another family takes him home, further away from Henry's house than Ribsy has ever been before. It seems like it'll be impossible for Ribsy to find his way back because different people keep taking him in. Every chapter has a lot of adventure and suspense.

Beverly Cleary Author Study: Henry and the Clubhouse

Illustrations by Louis Darling, though my copy

has a revised cover by JoAnn Scribner.

Henry finally got his paper route in the last book, but now he feels the pressure of selling subscriptions. He's waiting for someone to move into the empty house in his neighborhood so he'll have a new customer. In the meantime, he and his friends build their own clubhouse.

Ramona is very prevalent in this book, and she's quite the character. (She won't have her first solo book for six more years.) Henry is growing up though, so his interactions with Ramona are more brotherly than kids bugging each other, as it was in the earlier books. The ending of this book has a very touching scene between the two of them.

Beverly Cleary Author Study: Two Dog Biscuits

Original illustrations by DyAnne DiSalvo, though my copy

is a re-release with illustrations redone by Carol Thompson.

I have this story in Two Times the Fun, a collection of the Janet and Jimmy stories. This was a cute Janet and Jimmy story. A neighbor hives them each a dog biscuit (though... why?) and their mother is worried they'll eat them. Then she gets sick of seeing the dog biscuits everywhere around the house and finding them in pockets. Their mother takes them on a walk so the twins can give their biscuits to dogs they meet along the way. But one dog is too big, one is too mean, one too loud... Will the twins ever find a critter to enjoy their biscuits?

Beverly Cleary Author Study: The Real Hole

Original illustrations by DyAnne DiSalvo, though my copy is

a re-release with illustrations redone by Carol Thompson.

I have this story in Two Times the Fun, a collection of the Janet and Jimmy stories. It seems like an Easy Reader story on its own, but Google shows they were kind of a picture book/Easy Reader hybrid. I like them as a collection because I think they work well as a beginner chapter book. The twins are only four, though, so I can see the reasoning behind making it a picture book parents would read to their four-year-olds.

Janet loves to play pretend, but Jimmy loves things that are real. When he digs a real hole, Janet wants to pretend it's a nest or a fishing pond. Jimmy doesn't like that, but he doesn't know what he could use the hole for.

This book is pretty simple but it's fun and light-hearted, and I think kids would love it because it's definitely how kids act.

Beverly Cleary Author Study: The Hullabaloo ABC

 Illustrations by Ted Rand

This might be a picture book, but the kids definitely have the same vibe as the kids in Henry Huggins' neighborhood. The book is more engaging than ABC books that just list words or show pictures of items starting with that letter. Instead, The Hullabaloo ABC takes a loud, fun walk around the farm, meeting animals and making noise.

There are a lot of fun things to see in Ted Rand's illustrations, which look like classic paintings with a lot of motion to engage young viewers.

Beverly Cleary Author Study: Henry and the Paper Route

Illustrations by Louis Darling, though my copy

has a revised cover by JoAnn Scribner.

Henry has been filling in on Scooter’s paper route for a few books, but now he’s determined to get his own. However, he’s not old enough, so he has to wait. Or, in true Henry Huggins fashion, try to prove his worth. Except how can he, when four kittens need to be rescued and old papers need to be collected for a school drive?

A new boy named Murph moves into the neighborhood at the end of this book. Henry wants to become his friend, but Murph seems like a genius! He’s building his own robot and doesn’t have much in common with Henry, except that he’s also interested in a paper route...

Beverly Cleary Author Study: Beezus and Ramona

Illustrations by Louis Darling.

The first book starring these two ladies! I remember SO MUCH of this book! I can’t tell you how many times I’ve randomly thought about Ramona taking a bite from every apple. Or pictured the candy dragon Beezus drew. I’d bet money I’ve thought of those at least once a month since I read this book in childhood. I’m sure I re-read the book many times, too.

Despite what I remembered on my own, on my re-read, I think I most loved Ramona writing her name all over her library book to make it hers. This is where Beverly Cleary’s background as a children’s librarian really came through - that and the sections where she talks about reading aloud. Henry is a minor character in this book, just as Beezus and Ramona have appeared in his books, so it was nice to “see” a familiar face.

It’s funny reading this as an adult and recognizing how you act with kids who are Ramona’s age and who are Beezus’s age. I also remember how I felt reading it as a kid, getting frustrated by Ramona’s antics while realizing I was the younger sibling...

Beverly Cleary Author Study

From December 2019 to April 2020, I did an informal author study of Judy Blume. I say informal because I didn't take notes or share posts about it here. I read her books, most being re-reads I remembered from childhood because I was taking her MasterClass and wanted to be reading her stories as I listened to her lessons. 

I had previously done a stricter Roald Dahl author study, which is still incomplete. I re-read many of his books, which I again remembered from childhood. But I also read his short stories for adults and then watched the television adaptations made for a series called Tales of the Unexpected. The author study kind of morphed into comparing written stories to the show versions, but it was still a lot of fun. I want to come back to Dahl and finish reading all of his works, since I've never read his books for adults, and still have a lot of short stories to read.

But I wanted to boost Beverly Cleary to the top of my list. After celebrating her birthday last April, soon after finishing my Judy Blume study, I decided that Cleary would be next. I wanted to get all of her books before she died and they became expensive or hard to find (I know, that's so morbid, but it was on my mind). I started collecting copies of the books I didn't own - thankfully my mom had kept most of my paperbacks, so I only had to track down titles I honestly had no idea she'd written, like Leave It to Beaver books.

After acquiring them all, I was ready to begin. But then... the news. I spent more time doom scrolling than I did reading. It was bad, and I knew Beverly Cleary's light-hearted books would be a good rescue from that, but also I didn't want to taint the books by associating them with that period of time.

But now, with a change in leadership and tentatively allowing myself to feel hope, it seems like a wonderful time to dive into Beverly Cleary's books. This project is partially just because I love Cleary and want to read her books, but my reviews might analyze her writing style or stories. I'm kind of just having fun with it and letting it guide me where it wants to go.

Happy 100th Birthday, Beverly Cleary!

Beverly Cleary's books were my favorites when I was a kid; they're still my "comfort food" of the book world. The stories of Henry Huggins, Ramona Quimby, and Otis Spofford pop into my mind more often than you think they would. I remember some of the exact phrases from the Ramona books I read and re-read as a child!

In 2012, a friend and I traveled to Portland, Oregon. While we were there, we visited Grant Park, where a lot of Beverly Cleary's books take place. Grant Park is the home of the Beverly Cleary Sculpture Garden for Children, with statues of Ramona Quimby, Henry Huggins, and Henry's dog Ribsy.





Check out more about Beverly Cleary's birthday from the author herself.