Scan barcode
melissafirman's review against another edition
It pains me to say it...this is a DNF for me. The writing felt overly simplistic and very much (ironically) like a children's book, which probably shouldn't have been too surprising given Beverly Cleary's success as the beloved creator of Beezus, Ramona, Henry, Ralph and other childhood literary friends. I'm not sure what I was expecting from this memoir but within the first few chapters I knew this wasn't for me. (There was a funny story about Beverly taking a blue inkwell and making handprints around a pristine white tablecloth before dinner -- showing, perhaps, that Beverly and Ramona are one and the same.)
kermittuesday's review against another edition
4.0
I love Beverly Cleary. I have read this book before, but this time it was fun to actually know the places in Portland that she talked about. It is amazing how clearly she remembers her childhood. As in her children's books, Mrs. Cleary writes in a simple, concise style that speaks straight to the reader.
tamarayork's review against another edition
4.0
I love Beverly Cleary. I loved learning more about her life from this delightful memoir. Considering she was born in 1916, reading about her childhood was an interesting history lesson as well. I am looking forward to reading the second installment. This book covers her family history as Oregon pioneers, her childhood, and high school years. I would recommend this for any Beverly Cleary fans, middle school age and older.
ranchdubois's review against another edition
5.0
I read this years ago. I'm pretty sure it was at the same time it was released. This was probably the first biography I read that wasn't aimed at children. This has stuck with me. I plan to reread it.
emmkayt's review against another edition
4.0
I really enjoyed Beverley Cleary's memoir of growing up in the1920s and1930s, first on a family farm and then in Portland, Oregon.some of the scrapes she got into had a distinctly Ramona-like quality, but it was also fascinating to read of her difficult relationship with her mother, who came more and more to live through her daughter in her high school years. My 11 year old liked this too, but says she didn't like the ending.
aklibrarychick's review against another edition
5.0
Beverly Cleary is my all-time favorite children's author. No other writer so vividly captures the heart and mind of the child. This book, the first of her two-part memoirs, follows her story from a brief history of her grandparents and parents, all the way through her high school graduation and journey to California to go to college.
Her early childhood on the farm was rather lonely. An only child, she was left much to herself, and seemed closer to her grandparents than to her parents. Like Ramona, she lacked a best friend until much later in life, some time after they had moved to Portland. Her life was very much dominated by her relationships with adults. Her relationship with her cold,controlling, and occasionally, conniving, mother was never good, and her father, while more loving and understanding, was distant and generally allowed her mother to take the lead on child-rearing. She did well in school, and was able to go to college in California, which was an escape in every sense of the word. Escape from her mother, from the boring boyfriend foisted on her by her mother, and from the sense of drudgery and hopelessness brought on by the depression and living under her mother's thumb.
It was delightful to recognize little snippets of her books in her own childhood stories, like coffee can stilts, grubby knees, and preferring the first bite of the apple. I loved this book. Not gripping, but very, very enjoyable.
Her early childhood on the farm was rather lonely. An only child, she was left much to herself, and seemed closer to her grandparents than to her parents. Like Ramona, she lacked a best friend until much later in life, some time after they had moved to Portland. Her life was very much dominated by her relationships with adults. Her relationship with her cold,controlling, and occasionally, conniving, mother was never good, and her father, while more loving and understanding, was distant and generally allowed her mother to take the lead on child-rearing. She did well in school, and was able to go to college in California, which was an escape in every sense of the word. Escape from her mother, from the boring boyfriend foisted on her by her mother, and from the sense of drudgery and hopelessness brought on by the depression and living under her mother's thumb.
It was delightful to recognize little snippets of her books in her own childhood stories, like coffee can stilts, grubby knees, and preferring the first bite of the apple. I loved this book. Not gripping, but very, very enjoyable.
thehlb's review against another edition
4.0
Some of this was very familiar, and made me think that maybe I've read it before. Back in high school maybe? I really enjoyed it. I wish I'd picked this one for book club, as there is much more to discuss than I would have thought, but there aren't enough library copies for that anyway.
thebrookelist's review against another edition
3.0
Read with Tyler for school. An interesting memoir of the Depression years, but a sad look at a strained mother-daughter relationship. A bit boring for a fifth grader, but interesting study of a woman we all love through the characters she’s given us. Tyler loved picking out things she’d put in Ramona from her own childhood. Astonished to find she’s still alive at 104!