Beverly Cleary

Beverly Cleary, the creator of such beloved children's characters as Ramona Quimby, Henry Huggins, and Ralph S. Mouse, has been decorated with nearly every children's award in existence. She's won the Newbery Medal, two Newbery Honors, the Laura Ingalls Wilder Award, the Regina Medal, and the University of Southern Mississippi's Silver Medallion. In 1984, she was the U.S. author nominee for the Hans Christian Anderson Award

Born in 1916 as Beverly Atlee Bunn, she was raised on a farm in a small town in Oregon, eventually moving to Portland where she struggled as a reader for the first two years of school. In third grade, her school librarian told her she should write stories for children when she grew up-an idea that would stick with her.

Cleary went on to study library science at the University of California, Berkeley and the University of Washington. While working as a librarian, she wrote her first book about Henry and his dog, Ribsy.

She now has a sculpture garden in Portland, Oregon featuring bronze statues of her well-known characters. Her books have been translated into 14 languages and televison programs based on her books have been created in English, Japanese, Spanish, and Swedish.

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