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My Own Two Feet (An Avon Camelot Book) by [Beverly Cleary]

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Beverly Cleary

My Own Two Feet (An Avon Camelot Book) Kindle Edition

by Beverly Cleary (Author) Format: Kindle Edition

237 ratings

Part of: An Avon Camelot Book (91 books)

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Told in her own words, My Own Two Feet is Newbery Medal–winning author Beverly Cleary’s second heartfelt and relatable memoir.

The New Yorker called Beverly Cleary's first volume of memoirs, A Girl From Yamhill, "a warm, honest book, as interesting as any novel."

Now the creator of the classic children's stories millions grew up with continues her own fascinating story. Here is Beverly Cleary, from college years to the publication of her first book. It is a fascinating look at her life and a writing career that spans three generations, continuing to capture the hearts and imaginations of children of all ages throughout the world.

Beverly Cleary's books have sold more than 85 million copies and have been translated into twenty-nine different languages, which speaks to the worldwide reach and love of her stories. She was honored with a Newbery Honor for Ramona and Her Father and a second one for Ramona Quimby, Age 8. She received the John Newbery Medal for Dear Mr. Henshaw, which was inspired by letters she’d received from children. Her autobiographies, A Girl from Yamhill and My Own Two Feet, are a wonderful way to get to know more about this most beloved children's book author.

Reading age

8 - 12 years
Print length

356 pages
Language

English
Grade level

7 and up
Lexile measure

1110L
Publisher

HarperCollins
Publication date

March 17, 2009
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ISBN-13

978-0380727469
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Editorial Reviews

Review

"Beverly Cleary brings the same verve to her own story that has made her fiction classic for nearly 50 years."--"Kirkus Reviews"Cleary will endear herself even more to her fans with this account of her struggle for independence." --"Publishers Weekly"Cleary recalls the past with humor, affection, and insight. Those who have always admired her books will have an even greater admiration for the author."--"Horn Book --This text refers to the paperback edition.

From the Back Cover

The New Yorker called Beverly Cleary's first volume of memoirs, A Girl From Yamhill, a warm, honest book, as interesting as any novel. Now the creator of the classic children's stories millions grew up with continues her own fascination story. Here is Beverly Cleary, from college years to the publication of her first book. It is a fascinating look at her life and a writing career that spans three generations, continuing to capture the hearts and imaginations of children of all ages throughout the world. --This text refers to the paperback edition.

About the Author

Beverly Cleary is one of America's most beloved authors. As a child, she struggled with reading and writing. But by third grade, after spending much time in her public library in Portland, Oregon, she found her skills had greatly improved. Before long, her school librarian was saying that she should write children's books when she grew up.

Instead she became a librarian. When a young boy asked her, "Where are the books about kids like us?" she remembered her teacher's encouragement and was inspired to write the books she'd longed to read but couldn't find when she was younger. She based her funny stories on her own neighborhood experiences and the sort of children she knew. And so, the Klickitat Street gang was born!

Mrs. Cleary's books have earned her many prestigious awards, including the American Library Association's Laura Ingalls Wilder Award, presented to her in recognition of her lasting contribution to children's literature. Dear Mr. Henshaw won the Newbery Medal, and Ramona Quimby, Age 8 and Ramona and Her Father have been named Newbery Honor Books. Her characters, including Beezus and Ramona Quimby, Henry Huggins, and Ralph, the motorcycle-riding mouse, have delighted children for generations.

--This text refers to the paperback edition.

From Publishers Weekly

This second installment of the Newbery Medalist's autobiography (after A Girl from Yamhill) begins during the '30s, with the young Cleary leaving her home state of Oregon to attend junior college in California. The volume ends in 1949, with Morrow's acceptance of Cleary's first novel, the now-classic Henry Huggins (initially written as a short story entitled "Spareribs and Henry"). The author's unsentimental recollections of herself as a student in the Depression, a librarian and a newlywed are told humorously and candidly. Friends and adversaries-her ever-critical mother, formidable professors, congenial classmates, gentlemen acquaintances (including future husband Clarence)-are as colorfully sketched as the characters appearing in Cleary's beloved novels. Able to laugh at her own mistakes and to recognize universal truths in everyday life, Cleary will endear herself even more to her fans with this account of her struggle for independence. Ages 12-up.
Copyright 1995 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From School Library Journal

Grade 7 Up?This sequel to A Girl from Yamhill (Morrow, 1988) begins with Cleary starting college. The only child of Depression-era parents, she leaves her Oregon home to live with relatives and go to school tuition-free in California. Her vivid recollections of the various stops on the bus; her room in her aunt's home; and her many friends, including a few romances, are continued evidence of this author's ability to convince readers. It's all in the details. Cleary handles her own life well, giving it the shape that real life most often does not have, offering readers a sense of what it was like growing up in the 1930s, going to college when it was not common for women to do so, marrying and working during World War II. She also has those incidents that are common in coming-of-age books, fiction or otherwise: young love, wardrobes, defying parents, a first apartment, a first job (as a children's librarian). The book ends with her first book, inspired by her inner drive to write books for children who are not committed readers. So the book ends with a beginning. YAs who grew up on Cleary's books will find this one readable and inviting as they mature into young adulthood.?Ruth K. MacDonald, Bay Path College, Longmeadow, MA
Copyright 1995 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From Booklist

Gr. 7 and up. Cleary begins the second part of her autobiography where A Girl from Yamhill (1988) ends, as she is about to depart for college. Much of Cleary's success as a writer comes from her ability to write so honestly. She almost never makes a misstep, and that's as true here as it is in her fiction. The language is plain, but the images evoked are vivid, and Cleary ably creates a portrait of an era as well as of herself. As she did in the previous volume, she writes quite candidly of her relationships. She does not sugarcoat her relationship with her mother, and the keen eye for human nature that has served her so well over the years is put to good use here as she describes family members, co-workers, and cohorts. Of course, there is a question of audience. In addition to Cleary's college years, this memoir covers the courting and wedding of Beverly and Clarence Cleary and her work as a librarian during World War II. The book's most appreciative audience will be several generations of adults who have grown up with Cleary's books, but there's certainly a place for this on youth shelves as well. Older kids will find it a welcome change in the biography section. For one thing, it's so much better written than many titles found there; for another, the subject is much better loved. Ilene Cooper --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

ASIN ‏ : ‎ B001AZRJFS
Publisher ‏ : ‎ HarperCollins; Reprint edition (March 17, 2009)
Publication date ‏ : ‎ March 17, 2009
Language ‏ : ‎ English
File size ‏ : ‎ 2325 KB
Text-to-Speech ‏ : ‎ Enabled
Screen Reader ‏ : ‎ Supported
Enhanced typesetting ‏ : ‎ Enabled
X-Ray ‏ : ‎ Enabled
Word Wise ‏ : ‎ Enabled
Print length ‏ : ‎ 356 pages
Lending ‏ : ‎ Not Enabled

Best Sellers Rank: #213,529 in Kindle Store (See Top 100 in Kindle Store)

Customer Reviews:
237 ratings

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Beverly Cleary

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Beverly Cleary's birthday, April 12th, is celebrated across the country on D.E.A.R. Day, with activities related to the Drop Everything and Read Program. One of the most popular and honored authors of all time, Beverly Cleary has won the Newbery Medal for Dear Mr. Henshaw, and both Ramona Quimby, Age 8 and Ramona and Her Father have been named Newbery Honor Books. She makes her home in coastal California.

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Laura D

As Wonderful and Readable As Her Own Novels Are!

Reviewed in the United States on July 13, 2017

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I loved reading this book and the first memoir, A Girl from Yamhill. But I have to make this comment: What utterly cruel (and mostly female!) adults were in Beverly's life. My jaw dropped while reading of the relentlessly vindictive pettiness of so many of the older women -- deans, housemothers, professors, library science instructors -- Beverly and her classmates had to endure while getting their college education during the mid-1930's, always spoiling these girls' chances and tormenting them with their deliberate and intentional cruelty. A C grade given for A work because the old bat librarian instructor "didn't like the bored expression on Beverly's face during class"? Another gym teacher failing Beverly's friend because she couldn't compose a tap dance on the spot, so the poor girl could not ever graduate from college? A martinet housemother who grimly enjoyed seeing the dorm girls starve over their inedible meals? Was it the times, or just a bunch of emotionally sick old women living in the Pacific West who relished doing everything they could to thwart youngsters coming up in the world, because they happened to have the power of being on a university faculty and were therefore permitted to do so? Beverly wrote with tempered restraint and evenness, but it's all very apparent how resentful, envious, and jealous these dour older women were about their students or the charges they supervised in living arrangements. Middle-aged myself, I never would have dreamed of committing such sadistic cat-and-mouse games on the work study students I've supervised over the years in my academic office. I wanted those sweet kids to get ahead and succeed, not see them as victims I could resentfully and spitefully bully.

I won't even go into the nearly sociopathic Mrs. Bunn, a ghastly manipulator with no honest affection for her own daughter -- imagine wearing her daughter's DRESS to meet the fiance, not to mention all the other coldly monstrous things this hyper-critical, controlling, unhappy woman emotionally tortured her own daughter with over the years. I would love to read a third autobiography that somehow Beverly -- now I'm sure too old to write another book at age over 100! -- had gotten those two toxic parents completely out of her life. The Depression didn't "steal their happiness" as she said. They were just mean, nasty, sour people who resented anyone else having youth and a chance at conducting her own fulfilling life. They never should have had a child, but then, of course, we never would have had wonderful Beverly Cleary and her delightful books. At least her husband and children gave her happiness and she had a lot of friends, and deservedly a lot of admirers who appreciated her talent. And, bravest of all, she was happy and successful despite her parents. Her father was kinder and milder, but still an enabler of her dominating mother and therefore just as much to blame. Such people could absolutely ruin a less stronger child, destroy her for the rest of her days so that she'd be afraid to venture out and try anything to better herself. Abuse in a dysfunctional family is not limited to physical or sexual. Beverly's parents had no concept about how to raise a child in a healthy environment, even if they had had wealth -- and there was enough financial security and stability to get by; to blame "worries" for their unrelenting emotional bullying and grasping control of their daughter is no excuse. The sacrifices they made for her to go to school don't merit much forgiveness or understanding to a modern mind. I never understood why so many older people want to suck all the happiness out of the lives of everyone surrounding them. Let them wallow in their own misery, yet they always need to victimize someone else -- or as many people as possible.

I recognize, now, why there seemed to be that "old fashioned" tone in Cleary's first children's novels in the early 1950's about Henry Huggins and the Quimby sisters (and wish there had been more than one book apiece about Ellen Tebbits and Otis Spofford). The careful way of speaking without contractions ("I am" instead of I'm, "can not" instead of can't, etc, reflects the speech of Beverly's own stern ex-schoolteacher mother's early 1900's vernacular. I don't think little girls were forced to wear union suit woolen underwear by circa 1950, even in the chilly and rainy Pacific Northwest climate (was woolen underwear still available by then?) , but it's what Beverly endured in her 1920's childhood, and much of the slang, antics, and pranks of the Portland neighborhood children reflect that era as well. The author got more modern and "with it" as her characters grew and evolved, and at any rate the kids in her books were always really charming and fun, but having her own kids by the mid-1950's probably updated her as much as being a former children's librarian did. I still think 1967's Mitch and Amy, based on her own twins growing up in an academic university community (Berkeley) is one of the funniest and most realistic books about kids I'd ever read; I still remember it word for word 45+ years later. In fact, exactly 50 years ago is when I began reading Beverly Cleary's books, during the summer of 1967 when I was six and going into the first grade -- I was a precocious kid already reading at 4th grader level. All of the Henry and Beezus books were available at our local public library, and then in 1968 the first Ramona book came out (I never read any of the other ones of later decades, for I had long outgrown them). The books for teens are really enjoyable, too, and a dishy microcosm of middle-class, 1950's west coast life -- and somehow the parents in Jean and Johnny, Fifteen, and The Luckiest Girl manage to refrain from being the nightmares of Beverly's own struggling adolescence. I give her a lot of credit.

29 people found this helpful

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Granny Garden

Brought me to tears

Reviewed in the United States on December 13, 2020

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First I read A Girl From Yamhill where I realized that Beverly Cleary's inspiration for Ramona was herself as a child. I also saw Howie and Henry in her relatives and neighborhood friends. Then I read My Own Two Feet and was moved to tears by the last chapter where she relates how she actually came up with the ideas for her characters, starting with Henry and Ribsy. When I was in the fourth grade back in 1958 my teacher Mrs. Rice read Henry and Ribsy to us. I was enthralled by Henry's pluck. Later I became an elementary school teacher myself and read Beverly Cleary stories to every one of my classes for 40 years. It became the best part of the school day for me and for my 1st and 2nd graders. Beverly Cleary's characters and stories were a huge part of my life and to read how it all started was just amazing to me, very emotional. Her stories and characters are timeless and universal. I highly recommend both of her memoirs. She is an amazing lady.

5 people found this helpful

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JC Davenport

The Librarian

Reviewed in the United States on October 22, 2016

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This is the kind of book you get to the end of, and you're sad. But of course you are biased. At least I am. You don't just love her books as a kid. You believe them. In my case I even believed in Ralph the Mouse. SMH I wanted to BE Ralph the Mouse. Turns out Beverly wrote that one for her son. Somebody should write a full biography (with footnotes!) of Ms. Cleary. I'll even give you the title - The Librarian. Cue the cool music . . .

Anyway if you didn't know, the depression sucked. Not just for the poor but for the "middle class" like Beverly's family. There are heroes like her grandfather and dad and sympathetic old ladies and well, Beverly. But it sucked. And then the story speeds up - War, love, rebellion and independence and here comes our hero . . . the librarian! Then when she darn well feels like it, she writes books for kids. Books that are for them. And eventually, for me.

5 people found this helpful

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Noni

getting to know an old friend better

Reviewed in the United States on February 28, 2022

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I enjoyed the autobiography so much. An oregon girl myself i could relate to so much of her experience growing ip in oregon. Reading this felt like reading letters from a lifelong friend, and if you read her children’s books, she is very much an old friend. Her life, which she tells about with humor and kindness, was extraordinary fir her time and for ours. This one and her earlier autobiography were captivating, i couldn’t out the down. I only wish she had chosen to write another.

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Christina C.

Wonderful read

Reviewed in the United States on November 26, 2021

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A terrific memoir by the beloved author Beverly Cleary. Insightful, heartfelt, self deprecating, and always emanating a vivid sense of time and place - this book is a joy to read and reread. If you like Beverly Cleary and are interested in how she came to write the Henry and Ribsy books etc and all her charcaters - this book is for you. It is also a great window into depression era life in the Pacific Northwest and into women's college/university life in the 1930s, as well as the home front during World War II. A book to be read and reread many times. And an inspiration to stand up on your "own two feet" and accomplish your dreams.

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Kindle Customer

A delight!

Reviewed in the United States on March 16, 2021

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This is a very interesting book about the author's life after high school. In reading her experiences in college,I found these were used as part of her books. Humorous, poignant,and informative, I truly enjoyed this book and was sorry to discover I was at the end,where she is first published.

2 people found this helpful

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Theresa

Sweet read

Reviewed in the United States on July 2, 2021

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This was a sweet read. Although it's written for older children/ young teens, this is wonderful read for adults interested in Beverly Cleary's life. It is one of two memoirs capturing different time periods in her early life.

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