One of the most successful living authors celebrated her milestone birthday with a slice of carrot cake, but Beverly Cleary doesn’t mind if others celebrate it.
She wrote more than 30 books over five decades, selling over 85-million copies.
Her publisher, HarperCollins, is sponsoring ”Drop Everything and Read,” this month by putting out new editions of three of her best-known works, ”Henry Huggins,” ”Ramona Quimby, Age 8,” and ”The Mouse and Motorcycle,” with introductions by actress Amy Poehler and authors Judy Blume and Kate DiCamillo.
DiCamillo wrote ”Beverly, it’s me Kate. I wanted to tell you ‘happy birthday’ from my eight-year-old self. You made me believe in impossibilities. You made me feel seen. And I wanted to tell you ‘happy birthday’ from my 52-year-old self, too. Because your stories still make me believe, and they still make me feel seen. Thank you.”
Among Cleary’s many awards was being named a Living Legend by the Library of Congress in 2000.
Her last book, ”Ramona’s World,” was published the year before, decades after the perpetually bratty little sister debuted in ”Henry Huggins.”
Cleary once said Ramona is her favorite character but isn’t really like she was as a child.
”I was a well-behaved girl but I often thought like Ramona.”