pplpod Episode 219 offers a clear and coherent look at Beverly Cleary, the librarian-turned-author who gave generations a home on Klickitat Street. We begin with concrete milestones. She grew up in Oregon, studied at UC Berkeley, earned a library science degree at the University of Washington, and heard children ask for “books about kids like us.” That request shaped her first novel, Henry Huggins, in 1950, and the world that followed with Ramona, Beezus, Ribsy, and Ralph S. Mouse.
The episode stays correct and concise about craft and recognition. Cleary’s prose is plainspoken, funny, and firmly on the child’s side. Dear Mr. Henshaw won the Newbery Medal in 1984. Ramona and Her Father and Ramona Quimby, Age 8 received Newbery Honors. She earned the Laura Ingalls Wilder Medal for lifetime contribution and was named a Library of Congress Living Legend. Listeners also get a complete view of her memoirs, A Girl from Yamhill and My Own Two Feet, and the D.E.A.R. tradition that celebrates reading on her April birthday.
We close with a courteous summary of legacy. Cleary wrote about bikes, families, report cards, and small embarrassments with truthful detail. That clarity is why her books remain in print and in classrooms. If you want a concise guide to an author who made ordinary childhood feel seen and important, this deep dive delivers.
