Beverly Cleary, creator of Ramona Quimby, Henry Huggins, Ralph S. Mouse, and many other beloved characters, is 102 years old today.

Ramona-isms:

“She was not a slowpoke grownup. She was a girl who could not wait. Life was so interesting she had to find out what happened next.”
~Ramona the Pest

“Words were so puzzling. Present should mean a present just as attack should mean to stick tacks in people.”
~Ramona the Pest

Ramona: “Why can’t we be a happy family?”
Mr. Quimby: “I have news for you, Ramona, we are a happy family. . . No family is perfect. Get that idea out of your head. And nobody is perfect either. All we can do is work at it. And we do.”
~Ramona and Her Father

“Ramona was the sort of girl who was always early because something might happen that she didn’t want to miss.”
~Ramona’s World

Other posts and articles about Beverly Cleary and her wonderful books:
Beverly Cleary, Age 100, The New Yorker.
Beverly Cleary on Turning 100, Washington Post.
Beverly Cleary is Turning 100, but She Has Always Thought Like a Kid, NPR.
If you like Ramona Quimby by Beverly Cleary . . .