It 'came about because two different boys from different parts of the country asked me to write a book about a boy whose parents were divorced,' she told National Public Radio as she neared her 90th birthday. Henshaw,' the touching story of a lonely boy who corresponds with a children's book author, won the 1984 John Newbery Medal for the most distinguished contribution to American literature for children. So when I sat down to write, I found myself writing about the sort of children I had grown up with,' Cleary said in a 1993 Associated Press interview. 'As a librarian, children were always asking for books about 'kids like us.′ Well, there weren't any books about kids like them. When I started writing I found that I was thinking more about my typing than what I was going to say, so I wrote it long hand,' she said in March 2016.Īlthough she put away her pen, Cleary re-released three of her most cherished books with three famous fans writing forewords for the new editions.Īctress Amy Poehler penned the front section of 'Ramona Quimby, Age 8 ' author Kate DiCamillo wrote the opening for 'The Mouse and the Motorcycle ' and author Judy Blume wrote the foreword for 'Henry Huggins.'Ĭleary, a self-described 'fuddy-duddy,' said there was a simple reason she began writing children's books.

Cleary wasn't writing recently because she said she felt 'it's important for writers to know when to quit.'

Age for beverly cleary books