# Happy Birthday, Beverly Cleary!! **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [April 12, 2013, 3:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/happy-birthday-beverly-cleary/655510 "2013-04-12T15:35:27Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Chanteuse](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/9de053/32.png) [@Chanteuse](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chanteuse)\ **Post date:** [April 12, 2013, 3:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/happy-birthday-beverly-cleary/655510/1 "2013-04-12T15:35:27Z")
Beverly Cleary, prolific author of junior fiction books, is 97 today. I’ve spent many an hour wrapped up in Ramona, Ralph, and Ribsy! Even today, I love to read these stories, so thanks, Beverly, for all the fun you put into my youth and the nostalgia in my adult years! ---
**Author:** ![apollonia](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/2bfe46/32.png) [@apollonia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/apollonia)\ **Post date:** [April 12, 2013, 3:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/happy-birthday-beverly-cleary/655510/2 "2013-04-12T15:55:35Z")
Also excellent are her two memoirs, [A Girl from Yamhill](http://www.amazon.com/Girl-Yamhill-Beverly-Cleary/dp/0380727404) and [My Own Two Feet.](http://www.amazon.com/My-Own-Two-Feet-Memoir/dp/0380727463/ref=pd_bxgy_b_img_y) Growing up during the Depression, and not an easy life at that, made for some fascinating memoirs. ---
**Author:** ![Jophiel](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jophiel/32/66_2.png) [@Jophiel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jophiel)\ **Post date:** [April 12, 2013, 4:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/happy-birthday-beverly-cleary/655510/3 "2013-04-12T16:02:31Z")
I saw some of her youth titles at a book store a few years ago. I wonder if they edit them to update the references from time to time (“Kreskin crystal??”) ---
**Author:** ![Hippy\_Hollow](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hippy_hollow/32/4841_2.png) [@Hippy\_Hollow](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hippy_Hollow)\ **Post date:** [April 12, 2013, 4:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/happy-birthday-beverly-cleary/655510/4 "2013-04-12T16:03:09Z")
Wow, I am simultaneously surprised and happy that Beverly is still with us! I read all of her books, from Henry Huggins to Ramona and Beezus and even Ellen Tibbitts and Otis Spofford. Even though I was reading a good 20-30 years after she wrote them, these books so aptly captured the experiences of youth. I started reading _Ramona the Pest_ to my son a few months back and he loved it. Happy Birthday Beverly! ---
**Author:** ![bup](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/6bbea6/32.png) [@bup](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bup)\ **Post date:** [April 12, 2013, 4:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/happy-birthday-beverly-cleary/655510/5 "2013-04-12T16:08:17Z")
She’s still alive? _Runaway Ralph_ is the shit. ---
**Author:** ![garygnu](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/garygnu/32/2924_2.png) [@garygnu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/garygnu)\ **Post date:** [April 12, 2013, 4:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/happy-birthday-beverly-cleary/655510/6 "2013-04-12T16:18:08Z")
> [@bup](#): > > She’s still alive?.. I superstitiously put her on my Death Pool list every year, just to keep her alive. ---
**Author:** ![Renifer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/71c47a/32.png) [@Renifer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Renifer)\ **Post date:** [April 12, 2013, 4:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/happy-birthday-beverly-cleary/655510/7 "2013-04-12T16:44:39Z")
Appropriate that this thread is running concurrently with the When I Was a Little Kid, I wondered . . . thread. The Ramona books are packed with those scenarios. Like when Ramona talks about the “dawnzer” that gives “lee light.” Or when an adult asks Ramona if a cat got her tongue and Ramona sticks out her tongue to show the adult she still had her tongue. ---
**Author:** ![Chefguy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chefguy/32/138_2.png) [@Chefguy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chefguy)\ **Post date:** [April 12, 2013, 4:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/happy-birthday-beverly-cleary/655510/8 "2013-04-12T16:46:35Z")
There’s also the movie, [Ramona and Beezus](http://www.amazon.com/Ramona-Beezus-Joey-King/dp/B00437IEI6/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1365785132&sr=8-1&keywords=ramona+and+beezus+dvd). ---
**Author:** ![Dendarii\_Dame](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/bbce88/32.png) [@Dendarii\_Dame](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dendarii_Dame)\ **Post date:** [April 12, 2013, 5:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/happy-birthday-beverly-cleary/655510/9 "2013-04-12T17:15:37Z")
> [@apollonia](#): > > Also excellent are her two memoirs, [A Girl from Yamhill](http://www.amazon.com/Girl-Yamhill-Beverly-Cleary/dp/0380727404) and [My Own Two Feet.](http://www.amazon.com/My-Own-Two-Feet-Memoir/dp/0380727463/ref=pd_bxgy_b_img_y) Growing up during the Depression, and not an easy life at that, made for some fascinating memoirs. I agree, these books are excellent, especially when she writes about her days as a young librarian. ---
**Author:** ![SaharaTea](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e9a140/32.png) [@SaharaTea](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SaharaTea)\ **Post date:** [April 12, 2013, 5:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/happy-birthday-beverly-cleary/655510/10 "2013-04-12T17:44:15Z")
Besides all the Ramona books, one of my favorite books of hers from my childhood was _Dear Mr. Henshaw._ It’s about a kid trying to cope with his parents’ divorce and being new in town, so he starts writing letters to his favorite author. Just a great, sensitive book. Happy birthday Ms. Cleary, and many more. ---
**Author:** ![Voyager](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/voyager/32/133_2.png) [@Voyager](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Voyager)\ **Post date:** [April 12, 2013, 5:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/happy-birthday-beverly-cleary/655510/11 "2013-04-12T17:45:09Z")
I read the Henry Huggins books, the Beezus books, and the first Ramona books when I was a kid, and I read all the Ramona books to both my kids. I’ve never read anyone who can get into the head of a little girl the way Cleary does. The first time I went to Portland and had a rental car, I made a pilgrimage to Klickitat Street before going to the airport. It didn’t look like I thought it did from the books. Her’s was far more real. ---
**Author:** ![Hermione](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/cdc98d/32.png) [@Hermione](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hermione)\ **Post date:** [April 12, 2013, 6:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/happy-birthday-beverly-cleary/655510/12 "2013-04-12T18:52:47Z")
> [@Jophiel](#): > > I saw some of her youth titles at a book store a few years ago. I wonder if they edit them to update the references from time to time (“Kreskin crystal??”) I think the Kreskin’s crystal was from one of Judy Blume’s Fudge books–Superfudge, to be precise. I know THOSE have been updated (in the old version, Fudge mentions watching The Electric Company and Mr. Rogers; in the newest version, that’s changed to Nickelodeon and the Cartoon Network) but I can’t remember if they change the Kreskin’s crystal business. ---
**Author:** ![Jophiel](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jophiel/32/66_2.png) [@Jophiel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jophiel)\ **Post date:** [April 12, 2013, 7:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/happy-birthday-beverly-cleary/655510/13 "2013-04-12T19:14:07Z")
You are, of course, completely correct on me confusing my childhood authors :smack: Still interesting to hear they received periodic revisions/updates. ---
**Author:** ![Katriona](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/katriona/32/113_2.png) [@Katriona](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Katriona)\ **Post date:** [April 12, 2013, 7:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/happy-birthday-beverly-cleary/655510/14 "2013-04-12T19:57:24Z")
> [@Chanteuse](#): > > Beverly Cleary, prolific author of junior fiction books, is 97 today. I’ve spent many an hour wrapped up in Ramona, Ralph, and Ribsy! Even today, I love to read these stories, so thanks, Beverly, for all the fun you put into my youth and the nostalgia in my adult years! I loved her! Though I have to say, reading her “young adult” books (Jean and Johnny, The Luckiest Girl, Sister of the Bride, and Fifteen) sure gave me a skewed idea of what high school dating would be like! ---
**Author:** ![Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/7cd45c/32.png) [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elendil_s_Heir)\ **Post date:** [April 12, 2013, 8:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/happy-birthday-beverly-cleary/655510/15 "2013-04-12T20:26:15Z")
Loved loved loved the Henry and Ribsy books back in the day - and have since read them with my boys. Still classics. Happy birthday, Mrs. Cleary, and thank you - here’s to long life and good health! ---
**Author:** ![lew\_cody](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/e274bd/32.png) [@lew\_cody](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lew_cody)\ **Post date:** [April 12, 2013, 8:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/happy-birthday-beverly-cleary/655510/16 "2013-04-12T20:26:29Z")
> [@Jophiel](#): > > I saw some of her youth titles at a book store a few years ago. I wonder if they edit them to update the references from time to time (“Kreskin crystal??”) My non-comprehensive look at previews of Cleary’s books on Google shows that the illustrations have been updated, but not the content of the stories as far as I noticed. Anyway, removing all dated references in her books would require more than just a few adjustments–one subplot of _Henry Huggins_ (written in 1950) deals with Henry’s ineptness at using a typewriter to fake an excuse note to his teacher. Today, kids of Henry’s age would likely be much better at typing and can erase their mistakes by pushing the backspace key. ---
**Author:** ![Voyager](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/voyager/32/133_2.png) [@Voyager](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Voyager)\ **Post date:** [April 12, 2013, 8:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/happy-birthday-beverly-cleary/655510/17 "2013-04-12T20:34:22Z")
> [@Hermione](#): > > I think the Kreskin’s crystal was from one of Judy Blume’s Fudge books–Superfudge, to be precise. I know THOSE have been updated (in the old version, Fudge mentions watching The Electric Company and Mr. Rogers; in the newest version, that’s changed to Nickelodeon and the Cartoon Network) but I can’t remember if they change the Kreskin’s crystal business. In the second one they move to Princeton, and have an adventure on a traffic circle on route 1 - right down the street from where we used to live. The circle had been removed when we were living there and which was just before we read these books to our kids. I need to check if that had been updated also. ---
**Author:** ![Tara57](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/4bbf92/32.png) [@Tara57](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tara57)\ **Post date:** [April 12, 2013, 10:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/happy-birthday-beverly-cleary/655510/18 "2013-04-12T22:15:26Z")
Happy birthday to one of my favorite authors – I hope you get a pink bakery cake with white roses and pink candles with no doll baked into it! ---
**Author:** ![delphica](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e9a140/32.png) [@delphica](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/delphica)\ **Post date:** [April 13, 2013, 2:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/happy-birthday-beverly-cleary/655510/19 "2013-04-13T02:09:11Z")
> [@Katriona](#): > > I loved her! Though I have to say, reading her “young adult” books (Jean and Johnny, The Luckiest Girl, Sister of the Bride, and Fifteen) sure gave me a skewed idea of what high school dating would be like! I still love these! Well, most of them, I think _Jean and Johnny_ is so dated as to be cringy. _Fifteen_ and _Sister of the Bride_ are hilarious, and _The Luckiest Girl_, even with its outdated high school culture, is still a solid story about figuring out how to be comfortable about who you are. I’ve never been to Portland, but if I ever go, the first thing I’ll visit is the Beverly Cleary [Sculpture Garden at Grant Park](http://www.portlandonline.com/parks/finder/index.cfm?PropertyID=167&action=ViewPark). ---
**Author:** ![Annie-Xmas](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ecc23a/32.png) [@Annie-Xmas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Annie-Xmas)\ **Post date:** [April 14, 2013, 5:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/happy-birthday-beverly-cleary/655510/20 "2013-04-14T17:40:27Z")
I read Mrs. Cleary books when I was in elementary school, and absolutely adored them. I’ve re-read most of them recently, and they hold up extremely well. Ramona is still hilarious. Happy B-day Mrs. Cleary, and thanks for being a part of my long life!