Beverly Atlee Bunn Cleary was born on April 12, 1916, in McMinnville, Oregon. She lived on a farm in the Willamette Valley in Oregon until she was six. Her love affair with children's books began when her mother had books sent from the state library each week and acted as librarian for Yamhill, a town too small to have its own library.

At the age of six, Beverly moved with her family to Portland, Oregon, where she attended elementary and high school. Despite her initial frustration in learning to read and the "disgrace" of being placed in the "lowest" reading group, by grade three she had mastered reading. She proceeded to read nearly every children's title in the public library, but she found few examples of the type of book she wanted to read most: funny stories about ordinary boys and girls. As a result of...