Beverly Cleary is one of America's most beloved authors. As a
child, she struggled with reading and writing. But by third grade,
after spending much time in her public library in Portland, Oregon,
she found her skills had greatly improved. Before long, her school
librarian was saying that she should write children's books when
she grew up.
Instead she became a librarian. When a young boy asked her, "Where
are the books about kids like us?" she remembered her teacher's
encouragement and was inspired to write the books she'd longed to
read but couldn't find when she was younger. She based her funny
stories on her own neighborhood experiences and the sort of
children she knew. And so, the Klickitat Street gang was born!
Mrs. Cleary's books have earned her many prestigious awards,
including the American Library Association's Laura Ingalls Wilder
Award, presented to her in recognition of her lasting contribution
to children's literature. Dear Mr. Henshaw won the Newbery Medal,
and Ramona Quimby, Age 8 and Ramona and Her Father have been named
Newbery Honor Books. Her characters, including Beezus and Ramona
Quimby, Henry Huggins, and Ralph, the motorcycle-riding mouse, have
delighted children for generations.
Paul O. Zelinsky is the illustrator of many acclaimed books for
children. He is the illustrator of Kelly Bingham's Z Is for Moose
and Circle, Square, Moose, Jack Prelutsky's Awful Ogre's Awful Day,
Emily Jenkins's Toys Go Out, and Anne Isaac's Dust Devil. He is
also the creator of the now-classic interactive book The Wheels on
the Bus. His retelling of Rapunzel was awarded the 1998 Caldecott
Medal. Rumpelstiltskin, Hansel and Gretel, and Swamp Angel, with
different authors, all garnered him a Caldecott Honor. Paul O.
Zelinsky lives with his wife in Brooklyn, New York.
"A first-rate, poignant story ... a lovely, well-crafted, three-dimensional work."-- "The New York Times Book Review""Cleary succeeds again. [Her] sense of humor leavens and lightens ..."-- "School Library Journal""Capably and unobtrusively structured as well as valid and realistic."-- "Kirkus Reviews"
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