Beverly cleary books henry huggins5/30/2023 ![]() ![]() With a writing career beginning in the early 1950s, Cleary directly challenged such a notion.Ĭleary was a 2003 recipient of a National Medal of Arts, which honors artists and patrons of the arts. Though readers have, at least since the early 20th century, generally let go of this expectation for authors who write for adults, the expectation persists for those who write for children. Reading was expected to be, in the words of Horace, both “dulce” (literally sweet, or enjoyable) and “utile” (literally useful, or instructive). This expectation was set in the 18th century when it was assumed that the modern novel, newly developed, would teach as well as please. ![]() But what is it that makes Cleary’s characters so enduring? Novels that teachĪs a scholar of 18th-century British literature, I recognize the pressure on novelists to teach children through their writing. ![]() As a mother of twin boys, I have been surprised at how her writing continues to resonate. Many fans love Cleary’s work for a lifetime – first as young children, then as adults. The book is “Beezus and Ramona.” Most readers appreciate Ramona’s arguments, admiring the innocence, the free-spiritedness, the insight that inspires her to take a whole carton of apples and indulge in one first bite after another, only ever tasting “the reddest part.” The author of this scene is Beverly Cleary, who died on March 25, 2021, at the age of 104. ![]()
0 Comments
Leave a Reply.AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. Archives
May 2023
Categories |