Celebrate Drop Everything and Read with Beverly Cleary

Today, there are all kinds of reasons to celebrate books and reading. It’s National Library Week. It’s National Drop Everything and Read Day. And it’s also the birthday of the author Beverly Cleary. Beverly Cleary is the best-selling and award-winning author of dozens of books for children, including Ramona the Pest, The Mouse and the Motorcycle, Henry Huggins, and Dear Mr. Henshaw. She was born in 1916, and found the books of the time boring. Ms. Cleary was slow to learn to read herself. She felt like the people in the books didn’t have much to do with her and her life. One of the reasons Ms. Cleary started writing books was because a student asked her where he could find books about children like himself. She realized there weren’t many books about ordinary kids, and she set out to write them. She went on to become a librarian, later on. One of Ms. Cleary’s most famous characters is Ramona Quimby, also known as Ramona the Pest. In Ms. Cleary’s 1981 book, eight year old Ramona Quimby talks about a reading activity in her class called “Drop Everything and Read” (D.E.A.R.). During D.E.A.R., students are usually allowed to go wherever they want in a classroom and read whatever they choose to read. D.E.A.R. is a national month-long celebration of reading designed to remind folks of all ages to make reading a priority activity in their lives. As an organization, library, school, or bookstore, you can participate by hosting a “Drop Everything and Read” event at your location (or elsewhere) during the month of April. As an individual, you can participate by attending an event in your community or by reading at home with your children, siblings, or friends