Beverly lives, no worries.
She’s way into her 80’s. Doing fine.
Any fans of Henry Huggins? His dog Ribsy?
Otis Spofford?
I am in the process of re-reading B.C.'s books (I’m 45). I feel a little funny browsing in the children’s section of the liberry, but who cares when you find a new Ramona book? (Ramona’s World). I do love Ellen Tebbits. And Mrs. Cleary was a librarian (as I am) so that makes her doubly cool. Do you think Henry Huggins and Beezus ever hooked up romantically?
Or Ramona and her sister, Beezus? Wasn’t that her, too? She wrote some awesome books for younguns.
Man, her and whatshername, the one who wrote Tales of a Fourth Grade Nothing; Superfudge; Are You There God, It’s Me, Margaret… shoot, what was her name…
You’re thinking of Judy Blume, dan. She was slightly more controversial than B.C., and I actually preferred her when I was a kid.
Yeah, that’s her - thanks, grendel. B. Cleary wrote more books, though, I think - the Henry and Ramona series were both fairly lengthy.
Ramona was always my favourite. With Ralph S Mouse a close second.
In fact, due to my first exposure of Beverly Cleary being Ramona Quimby, who drew her Qs with whiskers and tails like they were cats, I was very much prejudiced against Henry and Beezus. I read all the Ramona ones first, because it was all my primary school library had, so Henry and Beezus seemed very much like the annoying older sister and friend. Because, of course, that’s how Ramona saw them.
The only thing I know about Oregon is that there is a city called Portland, a basketball team called the Trailblazers and Ramona Quimby lives there.
Beverly Cleary was at my house in April!*
My gramma died in late March at the age of 94 and her brother, Clarence, is Beverly’s husband…making her, I think, my Great Aunt. I helped serve the food at the funeral reception.
Here’s the spooky bit…
It was just yesterday that I was doing a web search to see if she had an online presence I could link to as I was going to post to that “who here is famous?” thread that turned into a “who’s met anyone famous?” thread. Yes, yes, I know - “If that’s the spookiest thing to happen to you today, count yourself lucky…”
*Well, okay, my parents’ house…
Dude, that is so freaking COOL. Being related to Beverly Cleary!
Ramona Q rocks. I always wanted to slap Willa Jean and her grandmother.
I loved those books as a kid. I haven’t read them in… it must be at least 7 or 8 years. I wonder what I would think of them if I re-read them now.
Well, Loopus, I can tell you from experience that Are You There God… gets better as you get older. As a kid, I was just excited about the references to nudity and feminine hygiene.
As an adult, I realize that that book is hilarious in a million subtle ways I never caught on to as a kid (kind of like Rocky and Bullwinkle, but that’s another thread)! If I knew a kid like Margaret, I’d never have to seek quality entertainment again.
I love Beverly Cleary! peedin, I’m also a frequent visitor to the children’s section. How else could I revisist with so many favorites?
Ramona just slays me. I was in bed the other night, and I remembered the scene where she wants to know how Mike Mulligan (of steam shovel fame) goes to the bathroom. I have no idea why this popped into my head, but it got me all worked up into a fit of giggles.
My favorite BC books, though, are the young adult titles. I remember reading Fifteen and longing to be the kind of girl who had a cashmere sweater set for every day of the week. Mind you, this was 1979 or so, and I don’t think ANYONE was still wearing cashmere sweater sets, but hey, they’re back in style now.
She’s written two memoirs, A Girl From Yamhill and My Own Two Feet. They are very intriguing to read and I would recommend them to anyone who is a fan of her fiction. Her own childhood seemed to be an odd mix of idyllic and sad. Actually, maybe it’s not so strange, probably most people have such mixed memories of their childhoods.
Ok, I think the most hilarious Ramona moment ever was when she gave Willa Jean an entire box of Kleenex as a gift. I think about this every time I open a new box of Kleenex.
Slightly more controversial?
Judy Blume’s books rank right up there with Catcher In The Rye & Robert Cormiers when it comes to being banned from school systems libraries.
That has never happened with any of Beverly Cleary’s stuff.
the book ramona and her father makes me cry. actually, all those books make me cry. ramona just had this innocent childhood with a normal family, and it’s so beautiful. i like when the old man at the restaurant pays for the quimby’s meal - when ramona and her father color a mural on the kitchen floor on a piece of butcher paper - when ramona wears her pajamas to school, and then goes commando (!) - and when she imagines sitting on a cushion in the sunshine, blowing dandelion fluff with her mother. mmm, those books are the childhood everybody deserves.
LOL! A classic! Whenever I wear a new pair of flannel pajamas I think of the time Ramona got a new pair of pajamas (a luxury at the time, since Dad was out of work) and they were so soft and snuggly she decided to wear them under her clothes “like a fireman.” They ended up getting all hot & sweaty & disgusting and she had to take them off and she was shocked because the teacher said she could wear them with – NO UNDERWEAR!!!
Or when she gets upset because that little curly haired brat Susan copies her paper bag owl, and the teacher sees Susan’s first, so she says that Susan’s owl is so great.
So Ramona rips her’s up, rips up Susan’s, and then runs home when her teacher catches her destroying Susan’s.
Or when Ramona and Beezus have to cook dinner for their parents. They leave the kitchen a mess and Ralph Quimby offers to clean up before he sees what a mess they made.
I cried so hard when Picky-Picky died.
BTW, did anyone know that years ago, PBS had a series based on Ramona? They had Sarah Polly as Ramona.
Let’s see, the hardboiled egg incident-the kids at school liked to bring eggs to school so they could crack them open on their foreheads. Only Ramona’s mother accidentally gave her a raw egg, and it splatters all over her face?
I just have to say that you people are great: What amazing memories you have! I am impressed.
I loved BC when I was a child (lo these 45+ years ago) and read all her children’s books. (Didn’t know about the young adults or memoirs.) Though I cannot remember the details of the stories, just saying her name fills me with warm, wonderful memories of the great enjoyment I got from her books.
I had no idea she was still alive. neofishboy please tell me (us?) that she knows how beloved she is to generations of readers.
Corbomite thank you for starting the topic.
Ramona Quimby, aka Ramona Kitty-Cat. Oh my, I’d forgotten all about Ramona.
My favorite Ramona episode is when she walks to school alone and throws her shoe at the big mean dog who scares her. Once she’s at school, she devises a way to fashion a slipper out of multiple layers of those rough school paper towels and the stapler that she had to sneak to use.
And when the house is renovated, and she and Howie run through the house to jump out of the hole, then after the new room is built she pretends that the new closet with the sliding door is an elevator.
Oh! And when the new boy on the schoolbus is a bully and calls her Bigfoot when she wears her new sandals, and her mother tells her to tell the boy “Not Bigfoot, Superfoot.”
I need to collect all of the Ramona books for baby Danielle. She needs to know these stories.
At 86, her mind is still sharp as a tack:) so the answer to your question is yes. Unfortunately, I didn’t get to speak to her much in April as we had a full house of multiple generations and I had a lot of wine glasses to top off.
I wish I could go to the library this minute! I love Ramona!
Hey, as long as we’re talking about Judy Bloom and Beverly Cleary, don’t forget Carolyn Haywood and those “Eddie and Annie-Pat” books.