Beverly Cleary

Beverly Cleary
Cleary c. 1955 and her cat, "Kitty"[1]
Born	Beverly Atlee Bunn (1916-04-12)April 12, 1916 McMinnville, Oregon, U.S.
Died	March 25, 2021(2021-03-25) (aged 104) Carmel-by-the-Sea, California, U.S.
Resting place	Pike Cemetery, Yamhill, Oregon
Occupation	Writer and librarian
Language	English
Education	University of California, Berkeley (B.A.) University of Washington (B.A.)
Years active	1950 – 2005
Notable works	Henry Huggins series Ramona series The Mouse and the Motorcycle Dear Mr. Henshaw
Notable awards	Laura Ingalls Wilder Award (1975) National Book Award (1981) Newbery Medal (1984) National Medal of Arts (2003)
Spouse	Clarence Cleary ​ ​ (m. 1940; died 2004)​
Children	2
Website
beverlycleary.com

Beverly Atlee Cleary (née Bunn; April 12, 1916 – March 25, 2021) was an American writer of children's and young adult fiction. One of America's most successful authors, 91 million copies of her books have been sold worldwide since her first book was published in 1950.^[2] Some of her best known characters are Ramona Quimby and Beezus Quimby, Henry Huggins and his dog Ribsy, and Ralph S. Mouse.^[3]

The majority of Cleary's books are set in the Grant Park neighborhood of northeast Portland, Oregon, where she was raised, and she has been credited as one of the first authors of children's literature to figure emotional realism in the narratives of her characters, often children in middle-class families.^[4][5] Her first children's book was Henry Huggins after a question from a kid when Cleary was a librarian. Cleary won the 1981 National Book Award for Ramona and Her Mother^[6][a] and the 1984 Newbery Medal for Dear Mr. Henshaw. For her lifetime contributions to American literature, she received the National Medal of Arts, recognition as a Library of Congress Living Legend, and the Laura Ingalls Wilder Medal from the Association for Library Service to Children.^[7] The Beverly Cleary School, a public school in Portland, was named after her, and several statues of her most famous characters were erected in Grant Park in 1995. Cleary died on March 25, 2021, at the age of 104.

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