Beverly Cleary. Written by: Cari Meister Genre: Non-Fiction Biography. Copyright: 2001 Pages: 24.
From The Mouse and the Motorcycle to Ramon Quinby, Age 8, and so many more, Beverly Cleary has made a tremendous stamp on Children's Literature. This however, is her story. Find out everything you ever wanted to learn about Beverly Cleary in this Non-Fiction Biography.
The Summary:
This book summarizes the life of Beverly (Bunn) Cleary. It's starts by telling the story of how Beverly grew up on a farm in Yamhill, Oregon. She had a certain fondness for books that she inherited from her mother. There wasn't a library in town so her mother decided to build one. It was here that Beverly was first introduced to the idea that she could be a librarian. In the early 1920's money was rough for the Bunns living on the farm so they moved to Portland so that Mr. Bunn could find a better job.
It was in elementary school that Beverly learned she had a knack for writing but sadly illnesses kept her out of school and therefore she kept falling behind. Because of this, she began having trouble reading and was eventually placed in the lowest reading group. This created the first signs of a bit of academic anxiety for Beverly. It wasn't until the second and third grade that Beverly started to catch back up and started having fun reading and eventually writing. In the seventh grade, Beverly was starting to be recognized by her teachers as having some talent when it came to writing. Never the less, she was encouraged by her mother to find a job with stability so when it was time to go to college, Beverly set her sights on becoming a Librarian. Beverly attended Chaffey Junior College, University of California, Berkley, and then the School of Librarianship at the University of Washington in Seattle. It was at Berkley that she met her soon to be husband, Clarence Cleary.
During World War II, Beverly worked as a Librarian in an army hospital. She worked with wounded soldiers and spent many days discussing books. It was soon after this that she began to write the children's books she had always dreamed of. Her first book, Henry Huggins was published in 1950. From there all of her other characters began to emerge. She is an extremely well recognized children's book author with several honors in her name, including winning the Laura Ingalls Wider Medal and the Newbery Medal. She is honored and beloved by all and has many tributes to her all around Portland, Oregon.
My Assessment:
This is a terrific book to use as an introduction to non-fiction text as well as autobiography's. It gives students a wealth of information with lots of pictures and text cues. It also serves as a great model of what should be expected from an elementary school autobiography report.
Teacher Tips:
As I mentioned above, I think that this would serve as a great example of how an autobiography could and should be written. It very clearly outlines important pieces of information as well as giving students fun insights. It is also useful in teaching students how to read non-fiction text. It is great that there are bold words throughout the text that are later defined in a Glossary. The Glossary along with the index teaches many important text concepts.
My Favorite Part:
This was an easy pick for me because Beverly Cleary is one of my very favorite authors. I absolutely loved learning about her in a simple and visually stimulating way. I thought that the pictures did a terrific job of enhancing the story and making pieces identifiable.
From The Mouse and the Motorcycle to Ramon Quinby, Age 8, and so many more, Beverly Cleary has made a tremendous stamp on Children's Literature. This however, is her story. Find out everything you ever wanted to learn about Beverly Cleary in this Non-Fiction Biography.
The Summary:
This book summarizes the life of Beverly (Bunn) Cleary. It's starts by telling the story of how Beverly grew up on a farm in Yamhill, Oregon. She had a certain fondness for books that she inherited from her mother. There wasn't a library in town so her mother decided to build one. It was here that Beverly was first introduced to the idea that she could be a librarian. In the early 1920's money was rough for the Bunns living on the farm so they moved to Portland so that Mr. Bunn could find a better job.
It was in elementary school that Beverly learned she had a knack for writing but sadly illnesses kept her out of school and therefore she kept falling behind. Because of this, she began having trouble reading and was eventually placed in the lowest reading group. This created the first signs of a bit of academic anxiety for Beverly. It wasn't until the second and third grade that Beverly started to catch back up and started having fun reading and eventually writing. In the seventh grade, Beverly was starting to be recognized by her teachers as having some talent when it came to writing. Never the less, she was encouraged by her mother to find a job with stability so when it was time to go to college, Beverly set her sights on becoming a Librarian. Beverly attended Chaffey Junior College, University of California, Berkley, and then the School of Librarianship at the University of Washington in Seattle. It was at Berkley that she met her soon to be husband, Clarence Cleary.
During World War II, Beverly worked as a Librarian in an army hospital. She worked with wounded soldiers and spent many days discussing books. It was soon after this that she began to write the children's books she had always dreamed of. Her first book, Henry Huggins was published in 1950. From there all of her other characters began to emerge. She is an extremely well recognized children's book author with several honors in her name, including winning the Laura Ingalls Wider Medal and the Newbery Medal. She is honored and beloved by all and has many tributes to her all around Portland, Oregon.
My Assessment:
This is a terrific book to use as an introduction to non-fiction text as well as autobiography's. It gives students a wealth of information with lots of pictures and text cues. It also serves as a great model of what should be expected from an elementary school autobiography report.
Teacher Tips:
As I mentioned above, I think that this would serve as a great example of how an autobiography could and should be written. It very clearly outlines important pieces of information as well as giving students fun insights. It is also useful in teaching students how to read non-fiction text. It is great that there are bold words throughout the text that are later defined in a Glossary. The Glossary along with the index teaches many important text concepts.
My Favorite Part:
This was an easy pick for me because Beverly Cleary is one of my very favorite authors. I absolutely loved learning about her in a simple and visually stimulating way. I thought that the pictures did a terrific job of enhancing the story and making pieces identifiable.