BEVERLY CLEARY
BELOVED AUTHOR
BEVERLY CLEARY
Here is a picture of Beverly when she
was a young woman.
Beverly was born in 1916.
And here is what she looks like now.
Beverly’s Early Life
In her early years, Beverly lived on a
farm in the tiny town of Yamhill,
Oregon. Her name was Beverly Bunn.
The town was so small, it had no
library!
Luckily, Beverly’s mother had the
State Library send books to
Yamhill. Beverly’s mom used a
room above a bank and acted as
the librarian so that all the children
could borrow books.
BEVERLY MOVES TO THE CITY
When Beverly was six, she moved to
a big city in Oregon called Portland.
She wasn’t used to a big city, or a big
classroom.
STRUGGLING WITH READING
Her teacher put her in a “baby”
reading group and she didn’t get over
her difficulty in reading until 3rd grade.
She didn’t like the stories in the
reader either. She wanted to read
about kids like her, living in
neighborhoods like hers, instead of
reading about Pioneer children.
HER FAVORITE BOOK AS A
CHILD
Beverly found a book she loved called
The Dutch Twins by Lucy Fitch
Perkins.
She loved to read for enjoyment.
One reason she chose to write books
for kids was to help struggling readers
by writing books about kids just like
them.
OFF TO COLLEGE AND BEYOND
Beverly went to college and earned
her degree in English.
She also met her husband Clarence
Cleary while she was in college.
Clarence encouraged Beverly to write
books. She told him she couldn’t
because she didn’t have any sharp
pencils in the house.
GUESS WHAT CLARENCE CAME
HOME WITH THE NEXT DAY!
Can you guess what was inside?
Did you guess correctly?
A Pencil Sharpener!
LIBRARIAN
After college, Beverly went to school
to become a librarian.
She got a full-time job as a librarian.
Many children would come to the
library searching for the same kinds of
books that she looked for as a kid.
The children would say,
“PLEASE, PLEASE,
HELP ME FIND A
GOOD BOOK, A
BOOK ABOUT KIDS
JUST LIKE ME!”
So, she wrote some!
Her first book was Henry Huggins,
about a boy who lives on a street in
Portland called Klickitat Street. There
really is a Klickitat Street and it is in
the neighborhood where Beverly grew
up.
And here’s the street sign to prove
it!
Henry Huggins and his dog Ribsy.
THERE ARE MANY HENRY
HUGGINS BOOKS
Ramona Quimby
We meet a character named Ramona
in the book Henry Huggins.
Beverly based her character on a little
girl from the neighborhood.
Here is a drawing of Ramona.
AWARDS FOR BEVERLY
Beverly won the 1984 John Newbery
Medal for Dear Mr. Henshaw.
Two other books, Ramona and Her
Father, and Ramona Quimby, Age 8
won Newbery Honor Medals.
Her books are loved by children all
over the world.
WHAT A GREAT IDEA!
The city of Portland wanted to honor
Beverly Cleary.
They decided to build The Beverly
Cleary Sculpture Garden and place it
in Grant Park, in the neighborhood
where Beverly grew up, and where
her books take place.
KIDS HELP OUT
The city had to raise money for the
Sculpture Garden. Kids saved their
coins to help pay for the garden.
There was a contest to see which
artist would do the sculptures.
An artist named Lee Hunt was picked
by Beverly to do the sculptures.
IT FINALLY OPENS!
The dedication of the Beverly Cleary
Sculpture Garden on October 13, 1995
was a great celebration! Over 1000 people
came on a beautiful afternoon to see local
actors in the roles of Henry, Ribsy and
Ramona, unveil the three sculptures.
Beverly Cleary spoke about growing up in
the neighborhood and shared her
memories of Grant Park and Grant High
School in the 1930s.
SCULPTURE GARDEN
Would you like to see a
picture of Beverly and
Clarence Cleary at the
dedication ceremony?
Here they are!
SCULPTURE OF HENRY
RAMONA
“Ramona” having fun in the sprinklers.
We can’t forget Ribsy!
Here is a statue of Ribsy. Children
can stick their feet in the sprinklers on
hot days.
Like this!
HERE’S WHAT BEVERLY SAID
ABOUT THE SCULPTURE
GARDEN
“Oh, well, I was very honored and pleased
and very touched at how hard they worked
to raise the money. School children would
bring coffee cans full of pennies and
nickels. It was great fun to go up for the
dedication. People tell me that there is lots
of daily activity around it. People sit and
look at it. Dogs come and look at Ribsy;
they get their hackles up, and then they
approach his figure. “
BEVERLY ALSO SAYS:
“There was a competition for the selection
of the artist. I was asked to choose the
winner, and I chose Lee Hunt. She loves
the stories and her proposal was quite
conscientious. She looked up children’s
clothing from the 1950s and tried to select
things that wouldn’t date. She went out and
photographed the site and did a lot of
things that showed she was truly
interested. She worked very hard, and I
think she captured the characters quite well
as sculptures. “
BEVERLY CONTINUES …..
“She also has some Ramona
sculptures in the St. Paul Library
Children’s Room in Minneapolis, I
believe, and some of her Ramona
busts are in the public library in
Gresham, Oregon. She has been able
to capture Ramona’s different
expressions. In one of them, Ramona
is just mad. In another she is smiling.”
I LOVE BEVERLY CLEARY!
I hope you enjoyed learning about
Beverly Cleary. She is one of my
favorite authors and I enjoyed
creating this presentation.
Go on to the next slide for a link to
more information about Beverly
Cleary.
Mrs. Slattery, Grade 2
More About Beverly Cleary
http://www.beverlycleary.com/beverlycleary/index.html