104 years old and a beloved author? Now that’s the way to go.
Beverly Cleary has died
11–20 of 56 posts
Re: Beverly Cleary has died
#12I hated those books. They read as if written like what an adult thinks kids are like instead of being what kids think kids are like.
Every kid-character was a thoughtless menace to everyone else around them without a shred of empathy. That’s great if you’re an adult who hates kids but as a kid, I didn’t want to identify with the characters at all.
I know Nancy Drew/the Hardy Boys were perhaps unrealistically intelligent for their age but I read them because I wanted to be like them. Why would I read about people who personify all the things I hate about myself?
Re: Beverly Cleary has died
#13I really enjoyed her books when I was a kid. I'm male but I really loved the Ramona and Beezus books. The male version (Henry Huggins?) was no where near as fun as Ramona and Beezus books. Those books, Judy Blume books, Roald Dahl books (Danny, Champion of the World) and C.S. Lewis books formed the basis of most of my reading for a few good years.
The first chapter-book I remember reading was one of the Ralph S. Mouse books, Motorcycle Mouse. I have fond memories of those times and I have since read them to my kids.
I looked forward to reading those books to my future kids for many years. Then as I read the first one to my son, I saw the gleam in his eye, remembered why I quit riding, and tucked the book away for good.
Re: Beverly Cleary has died
#14[deleted]
Re: Beverly Cleary has died
#15104 years old and a beloved author? Now that’s the way to go.
When you are 104 every way you go is the way to go. Getting to that age is accomplishment in itself. You are beyond awesome.
Re: Beverly Cleary has died
#16I hated those books. They read as if written like what an adult thinks kids are like instead of being what kids think kids are like. Every kid-character was a thoughtless menace to everyone else around them without a shred of empathy. That’s great if you’re an adult who hates kids but as a kid, I didn’t want to identify with the characters at all. I know Nancy Drew/the Hardy Boys were perhaps unrealistically intellig…
I think that’s a fair point you’re making.
At the time, I loved the books - but in hindsight, I wish I never read them at the age I did because they really colored my interpretation of my fellow classmates behavior. Every time someone accidentally slighted me, I figured that it was because they were thinking of ways to plot against me just as Beverly’s characters were always doing.
In hindsight, my classmates were just children behaving as children do - with little thought for anything above the immediate future.
Re: Beverly Cleary has died
#17Reading her books was one of the best parts about my childhood. I read my first Ramona book when I was in third grade (though I forgot the specific book). I feel in love with characters like Ramona, Beezus, and Henry, and I ended up reading every book in the Henry/Beezus/Ramona series that was published at the time (which ended at Ramona Forever, though there's another book, Ramona's World, that was published after I…
Same here, except Louis Darling brilliantly illustrated the ones I read. I wore different colored shoelaces on my Chuck Taylors after reading Otis Spofford. Her books will always have a warm spot in my memory.
Re: Beverly Cleary has died
#18I remember reading "The Mouse and the Motorcycle" in third grade. I immediately adopted the enthusiasm the mouse had for riding and I've been a motorcycle-riding fool ever since. I love that lean.
Re: Beverly Cleary has died
#19I wrote her a fan letter when I was a boy, probably about 50 years ago. She sent back a brochure with a handwritten note. It made me feel great to get a response from a "famous person"
Rest in peace
Re: Beverly Cleary has died
#20I hated those books. They read as if written like what an adult thinks kids are like instead of being what kids think kids are like. Every kid-character was a thoughtless menace to everyone else around them without a shred of empathy. That’s great if you’re an adult who hates kids but as a kid, I didn’t want to identify with the characters at all. I know Nancy Drew/the Hardy Boys were perhaps unrealistically intellig…
Because a lot of people are soothed by empathy, even as children.