As a librarian, she empathized with young readers because they could not find books with characters they could relate to in the library.Īfter struggling to make suitable recommendations for these young readers, Cleary decided to fill the gap in the publishing arena by writing stories that children and young adults could enjoy. She made good use of her degrees by working for a US Army Hospital (Camp John T.

Cleary’s parents did not approve of their marriage. They had to elope because Clarence was Roman Catholic and the author was raised Presbyterian. She married her husband (Clarence Cleary) soon after. She eventually acquired her degree in English from the University of California, Berkley, and a degree in Library Science from the University of Washington (School of Librarianship). She went to the institution because it was the only college that students like her could afford. Her teachers noticed a remarkable improvement in her essays, with one of them going so far as to note that Cleary had the talent to become a children’s writer.įollowing her stint at Grant High in Portland, Beverly Cleary joined Chaffey Junior College with the intention of becoming a librarian. The book ignited the author’s love for storytelling.

More importantly, she was invested in their adventure. Written by Lucy Fitch Perkins, the book stood out because the characters at the center of the story felt so ordinary. Her opinion remained unchanged until she read ‘The Dutch Twins’. She could not relate to any of the characters she encountered. Their simplicity did not appeal to the girl. But then it became clear that she was primarily repelled by the stories she was forced to read. At first, it looked like she had no interest in the activity. Even when she mastered the skill, Cleary found that she did not enjoy reading.

It took the author much longer than she would have liked to learn to read.

She struggled to adjust to life in Portland, so much so that her studies suffered. When her father became a security officer at a bank in Portland, Cleary’s family was forced to abandon their rural community for the city, a transition that the author hated.

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