ADRI
Congratulations!! (Please email me, valgeary@gmail.com, with your information and which bookstore you want the card from so I can get that to you asap!) There are no strings attached to this gift card, but it is Middle Grade Fiction month... just saying...
Now... where were we... ah yes...
Beverly Cleary. Icon of Middle Grade Fiction. Known for such great books as Ramona The Pest, Ramona Quimby, Age 8, Henry and Risby and The Mouse and the Motorcycle, Ms. Cleary had a huge impact on my childhood.My sister and I would pretend to be Ramona and Beezus all the time (taking turns being Ramona of course, because nobody wanted to be the mean older sister... though now that I think about it... my sister was older, she should have played Beezus all the time... oh well)!
For me, the thing that makes Middle Grade Fiction special is that when children read these books, they start to imitate the characters, they start to pretend and create worlds of their own. At least that's what I did. (Besides Ramona, I also dabbled in being Harriet the Spy and one or more of the girls from The Babysitter's Club. Yes. Yes I did.) That's why Middle Grade Fiction is so powerful, so difficult to write, so important. Because kids are pretending to be these characters! You, as a writer, wouldn't want to be responsible for kids pretending to be gun-toting, animal (or people!) killing monsters... would you? No, I didn't think so.
Portland, OR is a lucky city. It's where Beverly Cleary grew up. Where she played, where she lived, where she wrote. There's even a sculpture garden in her honor and a school with her name on it! (We can all dream, can't we?) Since you don't all live in this fabulous city... I'm bringing the city to you. Well... part of it...
Ramona Quimby
Henry Huggins
Ribsy
My dog trying to talk to Risby
My dog deciding she's too good for Risby.
Ribsy
My dog trying to talk to Risby
My dog deciding she's too good for Risby.
Klickitat Street! Where Ramona grew up.
My well worn collection.A dear friend of mine once told me that she thinks I'm going to be a successful writer someday because my name sounds a lot like Beverly Cleary (go ahead... say them out loud together ... you'll see). Whether or not that's true, remains to be seen. Regardless, I still can't help but smile at all the delightful memories Ms. Cleary has given me through her writing.
Which characters did you pretend to be when you were a kid? If you have kids, do they pretend to be characters from books? If so, which ones?
14 comments:
wow that picture takes me back.. I LOVED those books. I remember eating cow tongue in 3rd grade (in honor of Ramona) and loving it! lol Also remember reading the Babysitter Club books and making my own babysitting kit (from a tackle box) AND using it when I went babysitting, but come to find out it wasn't as fun as the books described lol. I also remember being Dawn for Halloween one year. I parted my hair way on the side and lacquered it down. I looked ridiculous. haha
I love those pics too Val, they're great!
OH here's another memory. I bought guppies and tired to breed them in honor of Henry :)
I was Lucy in The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe. My youngest daughter pretended to be Thumbelina for years.
Kristy-- OMG... the babysitting kits... how did I forget about those!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! And totally remember the guppies.
Catherine-- Of course! Lucy!! There were definitely times I pushed myself into our coat closet hoping to find Narnia. :)
I don't remember pretending to be any book characters when I was little. My son likes to think he's Ready Freddy,though! ;-)
All I can think about is the darn cold weather here. The great thing about Portland is the 8 months of bad weather almost forces you to stay inside and let your mind roam :)
I used to pretend I was Harriet the Spy, I would slink around and would scribble down observations in a little notebook (nothing that would get me in trouble though! I learned from Harriet's misfortune!). Says a lot about my (future) career choice I think!
Bane- I grew up in Oregon but moved to So Cal for 5 years during/after college. One of the main reasons I moved back to Oregon was I figured the weather would force me to write more. Boy howdy did it ever! But god, I wish it would rain... :P I hate looking out my window at bright sunshine and being deceived into thinking it's 75 degrees.
Yeah, my wife's the same way... 'look, the sun's out. It must be warm.' A cruel NW mirage.
I love Beverly Cleary's books. All of them gave me a warm and fuzzy feeling as a kid that is easy to conjour up today when I read these with my boys. I'm reading two BC books with my third-grade book club this year, HENRY AND RIBSY and RAMONA THE PEST.
As a mom, Ramona has reminded me to be compassionate with my little ones. Cleary's understanding of childhood is spot on. And Henry, that earnest boy. Her characters are endearing and enduring.
I loved to be Nancy Drew and Gurgi from the Prydain Chronicles (yes, that weird "Crunchings and Munchings" creature.
Am loving your month devoted to mid-grade. Thank you. Pick up a copy of THE MISADVENTURES OF MAUDE MARCH when you can. It's about a fiesty girl in the Wild West. Really fun.
Caroline- I'm glad you're enjoying it! And The Misadventures... is now officially on my To-Be-Read list!
I loved her books and ready every one she wrote! (that I know of anyway) I also read the Boxcar Children series and pretended to be all the children in that. Fun post!
Cinderella all the way! Couldn't wait for my prince charming. :) Finally got him! yeay! Cute post! Have a great weekend!
I always pretended to be Dorothy from The Wizard of Oz. My mom did read me all the books, but I think I based my play off of the Dorothy from the movie. My girls are similarly movie obsessed. They are pretty much always playing a Disney princess or Barbie.
I too, was definitely Nancy Drew. Everything was a mystery story to me, and I remember spending HOURS upon hours in our local library reading and re-reading all of the Nancy Drews. And Ramona was also a fave. I also remember a book called Help! I'm a Prisoner in the Library or something like that and wanting to be in that book. the end.
Post a Comment