Happy 100th Birthday, Beverly Cleary (children's author and librarian)!

from WRITER's ALMANAC (American Public Media: Garrison Keillor):
Today, April 12, 2016 is the 100th birthday of children's book author Beverly Cleary, born in McMinnville, Oregon (1916), and raised on a farm in nearby Yamhill. She became a children's librarian in a small town in Washington State, and over the years, she noticed that many of the children complained that they couldn't find books about children like themselves. It took her a while to get started, but Cleary eventually decided to write the kind of books those kids were looking for, books about ordinary children living ordinary everyday lives, whose parents struggle to pay the bills and hang onto their jobs. Her first book was Henry Huggins (1950), and it was a huge success. One of the minor characters in that book was a girl named Ramona Quimby, the kind of girl who wipes paint on the neighbor's cat, draws pictures in library books, and locks her friend's dog in the bathroom, without ever realizing that she's bothering anybody. She went on to become the main character of Cleary's most popular series of books, including Ramona the Pest (1968), Ramona the Brave (1975), and Ramona Forever (1984).
Asked in a recent interview how she felt about turning 100 today, Cleary responded, "Well, I didn't do it on purpose!" While events are planned across the country to honor the milestone, Cleary prefers to keep the day low-key, celebrating with friends and family and having a slice of carrot cake. She said, “Someone told me, ‘You don’t look a day over 80,’ and I took it as a compliment. I’m surprised that I’m almost 100. I sometimes write the figures down on paper to make sure.”