Cozy Mysteries discussion

Though not a mystery writer, I’m sure many of us read her books as — or to — children. Thanks for the memories, Beverly Cleary. Rest In Peace.


Beverly Cleary, Creator Of Ramona Quimby, Dies At 104

Children's author Beverly Cleary died Thursday in Carmel, Calif. She was 104 years old. Cleary was the creator of some of the most authentic characters in children's literature — Henry Huggins, Ralph S. Mouse and the irascible Ramona Quimby.

Generations of readers tore around the playground, learned to write in cursive, rebelled against tuna fish sandwiches, and acquired all the glorious scrapes and bruises of childhood right along with Ramona.

Cleary's simple idea — to write about the kids in her own neighborhood — ensured that her books have never gone out of print.


"I think children want to read about normal, everyday kids. That's what I wanted to read about when I was growing up," Cleary told NPR's Linda Wertheimer in 1999. "I wanted to read about the sort of boys and girls that I knew in my neighborhood and in my school. And in my childhood, many years ago, children's books seemed to be about English children, or pioneer children. And that wasn't what I wanted to read. And I think children like to find themselves in books."

Her writing style — clear, direct, uncomplicated — mirrored the author's own trajectory. Cleary was still a young girl when she decided to become a children's book author. By the 1940s she'd become a children's librarian in Portland, Ore., and she remembers boys in particular would ask her: "Where are the books about kids like us?"

There weren't any, so she sat down and wrote Henry Huggins, her first book about a regular little boy on Klickitat Street in Portland. Henry Huggins was a hit upon first printing, but her readers wanted to hear more about the little girl who lived just up the street.


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Wow. I just read about her a couple of weeks ago amazed that she was still alive.

If I recall correctly, one of her books, Ribsy, reads like a mystery. It's told mostly from the missing dog's point of view, but interspersed are scenes of Henry Huggins' experience when looking for Ribsy. Henry and his family were always looking for clues to find their dog. They interrogated the girls who gave Ribsy a bubble bath, for instance.

Even Ribsy himself acted like a very bad detective, sniffing for signs of his family and acting on incorrect conclusions.

Her books were a big part of growing up. Rest in peace and thank you so much!