A few words with Beverly Cleary on her 95th birthday

Beverly Cleary, author of the Beezus, Ramona and Henry Huggins books -- in all, more than 30 books for young adults and children -- celebrates her 95th birthday today. Happy birthday, Beverly Cleary!

Cleary will receive the Robert Kirsch Award at the L.A. Times book prizes on April 29. It's the first time the honor has gone to an author of books for children.

L.A. Times book critic David L. Ulin visited Cleary at her home near Carmel and interviewed her for a feature that will appear in Sunday's Calendar section. These outtakes from her conversation include stories about her inspiration, Los Angeles in the 1930s and her experiences with the iconic television show "Leave It to Beaver."

Jacket Copy: What were some of the early books that inspired you?

Beverly Cleary: I had a bad time in school in the first grade. Because I had been a rather lonely child on a farm, but I was free and wild and to be shut up in a classroom -- there were 40 children on those days in the classroom, and it was quite a shock. The reader was incredibly stupid -- about Ruth and John and Rover. But my mother always kept library books in the house, and one rainy Sunday afternoon -- this was before television, and we didn’t even have a radio -- I picked up a book to look at the pictures and discovered I was reading and enjoying what I read. It was "The Dutch Twins" by Lucy Fitch Perkins, who did a series of books about twins in different countries. Maybe that’s why I had twins. (laughs) Something happened in "The Dutch Twins." They fell into the Zuider Zee. They were lively stories, with a simple vocabulary, so then I took off with this and I’ve been a reader ever since.

JC: Henry Huggins was a real departure as a character. He was a boy like I knew boys.

BC: Yes. And I’ve had some very moving letters from young men in the last year or so saying that Henry Huggins gave them hope, that there were better neighborhoods to live in than wherever they lived. I didn’t start out writing to give children hope, but I’m glad some of them found it.

JC: You’ve also written a memoir, and in the early 1960s, you did three "Leave It to Beaver" tie-in books. Can you talk about that?

BC: Oh, that (she giggles). Bringing up little things is very tiring. And I just felt I didn’t have two thoughts to rub together. And one morning, the telephone rang and it was this man in New York saying would I consider turning "Leave It to Beaver" scripts into fiction, and in my exhaustion, "Well yes, I’ll consider it." And he said, "Good, I’ll fly out and see you." That rather stunned me. But I met him. The plane was late and somehow he had me paged and I got a message: Don’t go away, that he would get there. And he did. He said he had taken a room, and I had gotten in touch with my husband and I said, "Well, I’m meeting this man in a hotel room," and my husand just laughed. So we stepped into an  elevator and as we faced out, there was one of my neighbors and she gave me a big wink.

What happened after Beverly Cleary and the man got upstairs is after the jump.

BC (con't): But we went up and sat in this hotel room -- he very tactfully left the door open. But we got into a discussion about the Beaver books. He asked me, after we left, if I would like to have a drink, and I said no thank you and fled. So I wrote the Beaver books -- it was boring work. They wanted a certain number of words and I’m not used to writing prose by the yard and I received several letters saying the books were better than the movie. I cut out dear old Dad’s philosophizing...

JC: You seem fiercely independent as a writer, so the idea of writing words by the yard must have been difficult.

BC: Well, my mornings were very interrupted. I had to drive the children down the hill to the university nursery school and they weren’t there long enough for me to go back up the hill and then come down again so I needed something to do in the car and that’s how I occupied myself.

JC: You went to junior college in Los Angeles. What was the city like then?

BC: I have lovely memories of Los Angeles in the 1930s. I came down to live with my mother’s cousin and they invited me to come and go to junior college for a year. And my parents -- it was the darkest days of the Depression, and they were worrying about, "What are we going to do with Beverly now that she’s finishing high school?"  and so they allowed me to go. It was quite a journey. Greyhound bus from Portland to Southern California and my mother’s cousin went into Los Angeles once a month to something called the Book Breakfast. And so I went along, and I was free to roam for a couple of hours. The sky was so blue, and it seems to me that the library had been damaged by the Long Beach earthquake, and so I couldn’t go there. But I wandered around the department stores, and everything seemed so clean and sunshiney. I loved those trips. Of course, we drove through orange groves to get there.

-- David L. Ulin

Photo: Beverly Cleary. Credit: Harper Collins

 

Comments

[Marley]

Happy Birthday Beverly Cleary!

LAT, I love, love, love when you do features like this. I have enjoyed Ms. Cleary's books since I was about 8 years old (many, many moons ago), and discovered them in my school's library. Now my son too enjoys Henry, Beezus, Ramona and Ribsy as well. My favorite was Ellen T., I hope my son will like her as well. Cheers to good writers and enthusiastic readers everywhere.

[Victor Frankenstein]

RIBSY!

[legalchick]

I loved those books. Happy Birthday!

[aaron]

Happy Birthday Beverly Cleary!! I loved your books, they always put a smile on my face. Thank you! :)

[Sabrina Messenger]

I just ADORED Beverly Cleary's books when I was child. If ever anyone visits Portland, Oregon they should check out the Laurelhurst neighborhood where she based some of her stories. A few years back the main library had a really cool display for her. I believe it's still there. Happy 95th to Beverly!

[Opal Sitzman]

My daughter is 6 years old and loves all of Mrs. Cleary's books. I am typing the comments for her.
Dear Mrs. Cleary,
I love your books. They are so delightful. My favorite book is Ramona. HAPPY BIRTHDAY!!!!!
Love, Opal
p.s. My Mom's favorite is Ellen Tebbits!

[Ann]

I read all of Beverly Cleary's books to my child. Now, I teach college English and have referenced Ramona in class (favorite: "Sit here for the present"). Many of my students immediately catch on and talk about their favorite Ramona books and moments. Thank you Mrs. Cleary -- and Happy Birthday!

[Libby]

Too short of an interview :-(
Love her characters too.

[redhead1653]

Happy Birthday, Beverly Cleary. I found Henry Huggins in my library when I was 7 or 8, then followed the entire series through Beezus and Ramona. When my girls were 5 and 9 they loved Ellen Tibbits and we even got my husband involved in reading it out load. I bought both my girls and their families the Ramona movie for Christmas this year. Thank you for sharing a world that has caught and held our attention for several generations. Your stories are timeless and will be loved for years to come.

Thank you, David, for sharing this interview with us.

[Occa]

Happy, Happy, Birthday, Beverly Cleary!!! One of my fondest memories in the 60's is my Saturday trips to the library. I can still remember the beautiful oak tables, the card catalogs with their huge drawers and brass pulls and the excitement of having a library card of my own...a little plastic Camp Fire Girl wallet with only a library card inside.
And I can tell you to this day exactly what shelf the Beverly Cleary books occupied because I had read every one of them....Thanks for nuturing my love of reading!!!!!

[Helen]

Happy birthday Ms. Cleary! I read a lot as a kid, borrowing 10 books at a time at a local public library. I was a big fan of your books and you are easily one of my top favorite childhood authors. I actually aspired to be a children's book author myself when I was a kid, and this is all because of authors like you. I have a soft spot for Ramona because she reminds me of me and her relationship with Beezus also reminds me of my relationship with my sister.

It's been many years now and I still think of "dawnzer lee light" whenever I hear the Star Spangled Banner.

Thank you!

[Sandy C.]

I also loved the Ramona books, and one of my other favorites is "Fifteen". I still think of certain scenes from time to time, and I must have read that book 35 years ago! Mrs. Cleary, I'm glad you're doing so well, and that you're still writing!

[mary]

My mom was a children's librarian who introduced me to Beezus and Ramona. I loved all of Ms. Cleary's books.

[umwut]

Happy Birthday BC!

You were the first author I read my first English books by. Dear Mr Henshaw still sits on my book shelf today!

[AmeriDad]

More! Please.

[anonymouse]

I too read every single Beverly Cleary book, including "Jean and Johnny."

After reading an article about "Ramona" being made into a movie, I reread "Henry Higgins."

Thank you, Mrs. Cleary. Happy birthday. Here's to 95 more.

[Carla]

Thank you for this story about my childhood hero Beverly Cleary. Her Henry Huggins books inspired my early love of reading.

[Carla]

Very Happy Birthday Ms Cleary.....

[Ronda Engelbrecht]

Happy Birthday ! Thank you so much for your books. You truly have a gift ! My 4th grade teacher read these stories to our class. You have inspired so many children in such a positive way...Thank you....Im all gown up now age 45 but when I think back to your stories it takes me back 2 the fourth grade. Thanks again
Ronda (okie from Muskogee Oklahoma))

[Liz Healy]

Happy Birthday Beverly Cleary!
I loved all of your books growing up.
I was Beezus and my sister was definitely Ramona.
Now that I'm a grandma, I'm sharing your wonderful
books with my granddaughters. I've also shared your
books with my students over the years to develop
in them a love for reading.
Thanks for all of your efforts!!!!
Liz Healy

[Duv12]

Maybe someone should tell this lady that it isn't acceptable to be teaching kids it is ok to feed their dog horse meat. In Henry and Ribsy she writes about Henry feeding his dog horse meat. Why not just say meat? I was very offended by this and I know a lot of others that are too now that I told them about it. It is getting posted all over facebook. I won't be reading my kids any of her books now thats for sure. How disgusting this woman is.

[Shellie Lewis]

Happy Birthday, Beverly Cleary. To this book lover, your books were the best part of my childhood reading. Even now I reread them because I own so many of them. The original cover art is wonderful and if Beth and Joe Krush were the illustrators I love them more. Mrs. Cleary, your books about teenagers are the best I've ever read. The delicacy of young love and all the emotions of that age are timeless in your writing. When I read 'Jean and Johnny' I feel everything that they are feeling. I love the way the parents are written in this book and others. Loving, and they can be funny, too. Can I say that one of my favorite characters in your books is a cat? I love Picky-picky! My grown kids and I still chuckle about him. 'A Girl From Yamhill' is a beautiful memoir. Thank you for sharing your life.
All the best to you, Beverly Cleary, and, thank you.

[KariVery]

@Duv12 - um, that's what canned dog food is made of, sorry if you didn't know that!! Back off on Ms. Cleary, fella!