Children's Author Beverly Cleary Dead at 104

Beverly Cleary, the author of the American children who made Ramona Quimby and Henry Huggins in their feisty characters, has died at 104 years of age.

In a statement, publisher HarperCollins said that famous children's book author Beverly Cleary dies at the age of 104 last Thursday, March 25, at her home in Carmel, California. She wrote about what she called ordinary "grubby kids," when children's literature at that time told stories about English genteel school children.

Beverly Cleary was born on April 12, 1916, in the city of McMinnville, Oregon. Her autobiography was entitled "A Girl from Yamhill," and she grew up in Portland. The main reason why most of Cleary's books were portrayed in a setting Portland, Oregon. 

Cleary started her career as a librarian, despite wanting to be a writer since she was in sixth grade. There she discovered Henry Huggins inspiration when a young boy asked him where he could find "Children Such as Us" books.

Cleary graduated in Ontario, California, from junior college. She met her husband, Clarence, at the University of California in Ontario, California, where she continued her university degree. They got married in 1940. They were the parents of twins, a young boy and a young girl, born in 1955.

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Cleary's first novel, Henry Huggins, was published in 1950 and was a standard for HarperCollins' realistic child fiction.

Beverly Cleary wrote six books on Henry and his dog Ribsy, but Ramona Quimby, an early girl who originally became a famous protagonist in the novel.

For "Ramona and Her Mother," in 1981, Cleary received the National Book Prize, and in 1984 the John Newbery Medal was presented to "Mr. Henshaw. 

The famous author was honored in 1995, with the Beverly Cleary Children's Sculpture Garden, with sculptures of her books' favorite characters, Ramona, Henry, and Ribsy. In Portland, a school was also named after Beverly Cleary. 

In 2000 the Library of Congress named her Living Legend. She was selected as one of the National Arts Medal winners in 2003 and met President George W. Bush. She is praised far and wide in literary circles.

In a TODAY 2016 interview, Clearly said, "Ok, I did not do it deliberately," to mark its hundredth birthday!

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Remembering Beverly Cleary 

Beverly Cleary believed children were pretty beautiful entities that deserved literature reflecting their existence. So, she wondered why there were no more children playing tales. She responded to her concern with more than 40 books over the next few decades. 

Shortly after the news of her passing, tributes went on the internet on Friday, March 26.

State Representative Anna V. Eskamani, Florida, said that Cleary's books "are why I fell in love with second-grade reading for the first time and since then have been a lifelong reader!"

Powell's Books, a Portland-based bookstore, wrote that Cleary was "a Portland Icon." She said, "we are so profoundly sorry for the loss and are thankful for the love she gave us."

She also inspired generations of children's book writers, including best-selling author Judy Blume. Blume believes that author Beverly Cleary dies capturing the essence of children's lives, which is fantastic. She also shared that we may not always have those childhoods, but something so universal still exists, so children will always love Cleary's books.

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