Goodnight, Beverly

I discovered the public library at the age of six. I had already been introduced to the school library, which was certainly impressive to a youngster who would rather read than play, but the public library was something far beyond my little-girl expectations.

After I stood, jaw slack and eyes wide, in the doorway, the librarian took pity on me and ushered me inside. She walked me through the stacks, pointing out books that I might enjoy, and helped me apply for my first library card.

It was card 6409.

You might not be impressed with that, but I was six. I am now sixty. I recited that number on various occasions when I had forgotten my card at home, during frequent visits to the library between first grade and my Senior year of high school.

Then I graduated, got married and had lots of kids. But when it came time for me to introduce them to the library, MY library was gone. It had turned into an office building and a new library had been built.

My old card number had been made obsolete by "progress".

Phooey.

That lovely librarian was my best, best adult friend all through school, and yet I don't remember her name, if I ever knew it. I'm sure I must have...but unlike my library card number, that information is long gone.

Whatever her name was, she was wonderful. She introduced me to Beverly Cleary via Henry Huggins. It was the first book I checked out of the public library all those years ago.

I sat down with my book that night, and fell in love with Henry and Ribsy. I laughed out loud as Henry tried and tried to get the dog home on a bus.

I was hooked.

Ramona became an instant favorite, too. I was never the "little sister", but I completely understood being the "ugly" sister. (My sisters are so pretty!) I also understood being the awkward girl, the clumsy girl, the girl who stood out because she wasn't like the others.

Beverly Cleary was a writer who never lost sight of her audience--children. There must have remained within her an inner child who demanded that these stories be told. They are true to the emotions, fears and struggles children face, and they are timeless.

I don't believe I have ever read children's books that touched me the way her books did. She absolutely understood the inner lives of the children she wrote about. Ramona, in particular, was unlike any fictional little girl I have ever read about. She rarely managed to be the hero of her own story in the way she dreamed of being, but she was a hero to all the "pests" who were really just trying to live up to their own expectations--even more so than the expectations others had for them.

Over the years, I have shared these stories with my children, kids I babysat and now my grandchildren. Now that they are older, I expect that I may someday be blessed to read to great-grandchildren, too.

Beverly Cleary left this world and moved on to the next last week. My hope is that she truly understood the good she left in this world through the words of her stories and her empathy with childhood feelings.

We have lost a treasure.

Beverly Cleary, aged 104 years, passed away on March 25th. When I read the news, I was as deeply saddened as I would be at losing a family member.

After all, she has lived in my homes for decades.

Fly High, Scribe. You will be greatly missed.

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