Mrs. Cleary's Neighborhood

photo from roadsideamerica.com

I tried to get to the sculpture garden yesterday but was sidetracked by the awesomeness of Portland’s Library.  Today I am on a mission.  Memorials to children’s book authors are not something you see everyday - their existence seems to demonstrate a community wide devotion to an author who has truly captured the essence of a place in their writing.  Robert McCloskey meets that criteria in his book “Make Way for Ducklings” and is honored with a parade of ducks in the Public Garden in Boston.  The bronze “Hachiko” statue at Shibuya railroad station in Japan is another memorial that appropriately marks the spot where a dog’s loyalty was tested as he waited for his master (more of a tribute to the dog than the author, I suppose).

But Beverly Cleary paints a picture of a 1950s and 60s neighborhood in Portland that readers feel like they can step right into.  Actually I kind of felt like I did live on Klickitat Street I knew it so well.  

Readers have spent mornings with Henry on his paper route, walked to school with Ramona and spent countless hours sitting on the porch steps or playing in the driveway.  The City of Portland recognized Cleary’s great talent and honored her with a whimsical sculpture garden in Grant Park that recalls the simple joy of being a kid.

The project began in 1991 when community members came together and began to raise money to create a memorial (schools and libraries held penny drives to raise money).  A contest was held to find the sculptor and Cleary was asked to be the judge.  She choose artist Lee Hunt who made life size statues of Ramona, Henry and Ribsy.  The bronze statues are arranged in a triangle and Ribsy and Ramona have real water fountains splashing up under their feet - perfect!  Check out these great pictures.  The garden was dedicated in 1995 (over 1,000 people came!) and Cleary spoke about growing up in the ‘hood in the 1930s.  What a beautiful project and a lovely way for the children of Portand to learn about the history of their city and an author who captured a time in America that will never be repeated.

The Whole Shelf

Beautiful Beverly Cleary

One of my favorite library experiences (yes, I have many) is discovering a whole shelf of books by an author I like. It happens less and less the older I get and the more I read - it’s hard to find an ‘undiscovered’ author who has written scads of books without me noticing.  

Of course, there are plenty of authors who can fill a whole bookcase with their work and continue to churn out a new one every six months, but they are usually not my cup of tea.  Two authors that have recently given me the ‘whole shelf” experience are Jan Karon and Robert B. Parker.  Jan Karon’s ‘Mitford’ series is one of my favorites, total comfort books.  Wouldn’t you love to have a Father Tim at your coffee shop?  I got a late start on the series but made up for it with reading voracity.  When I saw the Mitford books spanning the shelf at the library my heart sang - all those delicious stories to sink my teeth into, waiting there patiently to be checked out.  
Kids often have this experience as they start on their reading journey.   I remember finding the Magic Tree House section with my daughter for the first time - several shelves packed with the adventures of Jack and Annie - we filled our arms with books and headed to the check out.  

One of my favorite parts of being a teacher is helping kids fall in love with books.  It’s usually not too hard, my students often just haven’t met the right authors and once I start reading aloud from my favorite books they want more.  My best secret weapon when it comes to hooking kids on books is Beverly Cleary.  I’ve loved Cleary’s books since I was a kid, couldn’t wait to read them to my daughter (she is very Ramona-esque herself) and now read them with my 4th graders (we are in the middle of Dear Mr. Henshaw right now).  Beverly Cleary started writing books in 1950 and any library is sure to have at least one shelf of her treasures, including her series of books about Ramona and the kids on Klickitat Street.  

What I didn’t know was that Cleary began her career as a librarian in Yakima, Washington (and Yakima library began its career with a $10,ooo grant from Andrew Carnegie).  Cleary started writing her stories after spending time with kids at the library and hearing their frustration about finding books that were about real kids and that were funny.  Her very first manuscript, Henry Huggins, was accepted on its first submission and generations of children have been reading it ever since.  She went on to write more than 30 books, including her famous Ramona series.  I was even pleased to see Beezus & Ramona turned into a movie last year (typically I am wary of movie adaptations) because the attention will certainly lead more kids and parents to the full shelf experience - a simple joy in life that should not be missed.