Beverly Cleary is a name we all remember from our childhood.
Whether you read Ramona Quimby Age 8 on its original publication date in 1981, or you fell in love with Henry Huggins in the early 2000's, there's a certain amount of nostalgia that Cleary's work gives us.
Cleary's realistic characters stay with us long after we're done reading.
Like a lot of other young kids, I saw myself in Ramona Quimby.
"Books in those days, back in the 1920s, had been published in England, and the children had nannies and pony carts" she explained to TODAY "and they seemed like a bunch of sissies to me."
"I remember a very earnest conversation my best friend and I had when we were, I guess, freshmen in high school, about how long we wanted to live," Cleary writes, "And we decided that 80 was the cut-off date."
Judy Bloom, another beloved children's author, says that Cleary's books heavily influenced her own writing.
"Beverly... you were my inspiration when I started to write all those years ago, and you remain my inspiration today."
Cleary's most focused on the impact that her writing has had on young people.
"I'm proudest of the fact that children love my books." she shares matter-of-factually.
Though she didn't stay alive for 103 years on purpose, we're certainly glad that she did.
Thank you Beverly Cleary, and Happy Birthday!
