I have many memories of my parents reading Beverly Cleary to my siblings and me. Our family sitting on couches and the floor, laughing out loud during RAMONA THE PEST, BEEZUS AND RAMONA, and others.
You can’t put a price on that.
Once reading at that level, I collected the HENRY HUGGINS books, and went through them again and again.
At one point, around 3rd Grade, THE MOUSE AND THE MOTORCYCLE and RIBSY were my two favorites. They had a high sense of adventure combined with Cleary’s trademark humor. And that was about the time I began to write my own stories. Stories with my own attempts at adventure and comedy.
Beverly Cleary, thank you for telling your stories.