With the opening of Ramona and Beezus in theaters today, People.com had an interview of sorts with Beverly Cleary. I have to admit, I was more than a little excited to click on the article. I grew up reading books, and one of my top 5 favorite authors was Beverly Cleary. I read every book she wrote - more than once. Henry Huggins and his dog Ribsy, Ralph S. Mouse, Beezus, Ellen Tebbits, Socks, and my all time favorite - Ramona Quimby. I fell in love with the all of Cleary's stories, because on some levels you could relate to them, but they were also outlandish enough to make you laugh and cringe all at the same time. Ramona had this incredible imagination - one that I wish I had.
Anyways! I started this post because I read the article with Cleary, and I felt like she is exactly the person who I would have expected to write such wonderful books. She's 94 now, and seems like a wonderful woman who has done so much in her life! (I ended up reading a Wikipedia article on her as well, so not all of my thoughts stem from the People.com article.) She has a love for books and children, and both are evident in the way she has lived her life and the way she talks about her books. My favorite quote from the People article:
She doesn't analyze her characters.
During one meeting with Ramona and Beezus director Elizabeth Allen, "[Beverly] asked, 'What are the themes in Ramona?' " recalls Allen. "I said, 'It's about this iconoclast who's learning how to navigate in society.' And she looked at me cross-eyed and said, 'No. It's about growing up.'
I love the simplicity that she keeps to her charters and her stories. They are timeless, as she says, and she wants children of any generation to be able to pick up the books and be able to relate to them, or feel a sense of normalcy when they read them. I know it worked for me. Growing up, we moved around a lot and I was constantly changing schools. While I would eventually make new friends in the neighborhoods we lived in or at school, I never felt like I had a place. One thing I did have was books! The characters never changed no matter where I lived, and I would read books over and over again and it gave me a sense of security in new places. As I've grown up, every now and then I will pick up one of my childhood favorites and those feelings and love of the characters are still there. I look forward to sharing those books with my own kids one day! (In fact, I just cleaned out about 3 or 4 boxes of those books from my mom's basement and now they are in my basement! It was fun to go through them all.)
Since this is sort of a hodgepodge of ramblings, I think I will leave you with my some of my favorite childhood authors.
Beverly Cleary, of course.
Ann M. Martin - Babysitters Club Series
Ann M. Martin - Babysitters Club Series
Louise Fitzhugh - Harriett The Spy and The Long Secret
Norton Juster - The Phantom Tollbooth
Francine Pascal - The Sweet Valley Twins and Sweet Valley High Series
Judy Blume (there are so many that I loved!!)
Roald Dahl (also, so many favorites!)
Carolyn Keene - I loved anything and everything Nancy Drew
Francine Pascal - The Sweet Valley Twins and Sweet Valley High Series
Judy Blume (there are so many that I loved!!)
Roald Dahl (also, so many favorites!)
Carolyn Keene - I loved anything and everything Nancy Drew
Anyways, those are just a few. I read so much that I can't remember them all now! It was fun to take a trip down memory lane though...I really want to go home and read the Phantom Tollbooth now :)
