The writings of Beverly Cleary (born 1916) include realistic and humorous portraits of American children. They have gained critical acclaim as "classics" of children's literature.

Born Beverly Bunn on April 12, 1916 in McMinnville, Oregon, Cleary was the only daughter of Chester Lloyd and Mable Atlee Bunn and a descendant of Oregon pioneers. She grew up on an 80-acre farm in Yamhill, Oregon, where her uncle was mayor and her father was on the town council. In her autobiography A Girl from Yamhill, she wrote that living there taught her "that the world was a safe and beautiful place, where children were treated with kindness, patience, and tolerance." All of these qualities would later be apparent in her books.

Yamhill had no library; her mother arranged for the State Library to send books to Yamhill, and created a small lending area in a lodge room over the Yamhill Bank. Cleary later...