I love, love, love Beverly Cleary. I re-read the Ramona books in the school library until the librarian told me I really should branch out and read other things. So it was with great pleasure that I recently read her autobiography. Many of the details from the Ramona books had links to Ms. Cleary's own life-- for example, I loved the detail that Ramona named her doll Chevrolet and was mocked for it- and this is something the author herself did as a child.
I re-read a few Ramona books several months ago, after a trip to Portland, Oregon (now I sound like a stalker, but I did NOT go to stake out Ms. Cleary's homestead!). And, as is my fashion, when reading something inspiring, I did a few sketches while reading. AND, (here's the crux of this post), months later, when I read the memoir, I realized that one of my Ramona skeches was eerily similar to a picture of the author as a young child!
The photo's a little small, but you get the idea.
2 comments:
OH I LOVED the Ramona books as well, especially her antics (squirting all the toothpaste into the sink, wrecking Susie's owl because she had copied off Ramona, making a paper towel "shoe" because she lost one to the big scary dog, etc.). You can't find such endearing books like these today!
I was such a fan as a little girl that I bought all the books, filled out the Ramona Quimby diary, had my mom cut my hair like Ramona, and pored over the TV Guide trying to find out when the show would come on.
Your sketches are PERFECT! I've got to start sketching while I read, too! So simple, yet such a genius idea.
Ha, ha- I always wished my hair wasn't curly, so I could get a heart-shaped haircut like Ramona! And for a time, I wrote all of my "Q"s with cat ears, tail, & whiskers.
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