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BIOGRAPHY Beverly Cleary was born Beverly Atlee Bunn in McMinnville , Oregon . When she was 6, her family moved to Portland , Oregon, where she went to grammar and high 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 she was in third grade 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. In 1934, she moved to Ontario , California to attend Chaffey College , from which she earned an Associate Of Arts diploma. She worked as a substitute librarian at the Ontario City Library. She then moved to Berkeley to major in English at the University Of California . After graduating with a B.A in English in 1938, she studied at the School of Librarianship at the University Of Washington in Seattle , where she earned a degree in Librarian ship in 1939. Her first full-time job as a librarian was 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 . '' Beezus And Ramona '', Cleary's first novel to feature the Quimby sisters as the central focus of the story, was published in 1955 , although Beezus and Ramona made frequent appearances in the Henry Huggins Series as supporting characters. In 1940 she married Clarence T. Cleary and they moved to Oakland, California. The Clearys became parents to a set of Twin s, Marianne Elisabeth and Malcolm James, in 1955 . Clarence Cleary died in 2004 . Beverly Cleary currently lives in Carmel , California. She has also written two autobiographies, ''A Girl from Yamhill'' and ''My Own Two Feet''. CAREER 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. HONORS 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 Henry Huggins, the Huggins' dog Ribsy, and Ramona Quimby 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 Librarian ship. She has a residential hall at University of California, Berkeley named after her. BIBLIOGRAPHY
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