Viola Davis, Reese Witherspoon, and more honor Beverly Cleary: 'You made my childhood fun'

Entertainment Weekly
·4 min read
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Beverly Cleary was one of the most beloved authors of all time, with such classic characters as Henry Huggins and Ramona and Beezus Quimby securing her a permanent place in the children's lit pantheon. And the impact she made was soon apparent after her death was announced on Friday, with an outpouring of tributes from fans and celebrities on social media.

Some of the most poignant tributes came from Cleary's fellow authors. All You Can Ever Know author Nicole Chung wrote on Twitter, "It meant a lot to read her books & see the Quimbys go through the same things my family did (unemployment, financial hardship, parental stress, dead pets, huge arguments, tons of love) — in Oregon, to boot."

Jenny Han, who penned the To All the Boys I've Loved Before book series, reminisced about one of her favorite scenes from Cleary's work: "Ramona's mom and dad have a huge fight over one of them forgetting to turn on the crock pot, and her mom swats her dad on the butt with a pancake turner," Han wrote. "Ramona's tummy hurts watching them fight and she worries they will divorce. That night Ramona sleeps in Beezus's bed and they comfort each other. It was such a real scene. As a little kid it comforted me and as an adult, I just reread it and it's still a banger."

Wrote First Lady Jill Biden, "RIP Beverly Cleary. Millions of girls saw themselves in Ramona Quimby. Thank you from all the 'pests' out there."

See more tributes to Cleary below.

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