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Beverly Cleary was born Beverly Atlee Bunn in McMinnville, Oregon . When she was 6, her family moved to Portland, Oregon where she attended school. She was slow in learning to read, due partly to her dissatisfaction with the books she was required to read and partly to an unpleasant first grade teacher. It wasn't until her third grade year that she found enjoyment from books, when she started reading '' The Dutch Twins '' by Lucy Fitch Perkins . Thereafter, she was a frequent visitor to the library, though she rarely found the books she most wanted to read -- those about children like herself. She moved to California to attend the University Of California, Berkeley , and after graduation with a B.A in English in 1938, studied at the School of Librarianship at the University Of Washington in Seattle , where she earned a degree in Librarianship in 1939. Her first job was as a librarian in Yakima, Washington , where she met many children who were searching for the same books that she had always hoped to find as a child herself. In response, she wrote her first book, '' Henry Huggins ,'' which was published in 1950 . In 1940 she married Clarence Cleary and moved back to California. The Clearys became parents to a set of twins, Marianne Elisabeth and Malcolm James, in 1955 . Clarence Cleary died in 2004 . She currently lives in Carmel, California . She has also written two auto-biographies, '' A Girl From Yamhill '' and '' My Own Two Feet ''. Her books are available in 14 languages in over 20 countries. She has won many awards, including the 1984 Newbery Medal for her book '' Dear Mr. Henshaw '' and the Laura Ingalls Wilder Award in 1975 . Cleary received the Library Of Congress '' Living Legends '' award in the "Writers and Artists" category in April 2000 for her significant contributions to America's cultural heritage. The Hollywood branch of the Multnomah County library, near where she lived as a child, has created a map on their lobby wall of Henry Huggins' Klickitat Street neighborhood. Statues of her beloved characters Ramona, Henry Huggins, and Huggins' dog Ribsy can be found in Grant Park in Portland, Oregon . In 2004, the University of Washington's Information School completed fundraising for a Beverly Cleary Endowed Chair for Children and Youth Services to honor her work and commitment to Librarianship . She has a residential hall at University Of California, Berkeley named after her. BIBLIOGRAPHY
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