Judy Blume had nothing but fond memories to share about Beverly Cleary following her passing, even though the two legendary children’s authors never actually got the chance to meet in real life.
After news broke over the weekend that Cleary had died at age 104, Blume tweeted some of her recollections of the Ramona Quimby author, calling her, “My inspiration. I wanted to write books like yours. I so regret never having met you. You will not be forgotten.” She also retweeted Gimlet Media’s Deputy Head of Programming, Reyhan Harmanci, who shared an anecdote the Superfudge writer once relayed during an interview about having to swap fan mail with Cleary when their mutual publisher accidentally sent them each other’s letters.
Blume recalled that when she started writing in the late 60s and was reading children’s books for inspiration, “No books delighted and inspired the way Beverly Cleary’s did, I once fell off the sofa I was laughing so hard while reading one of her books.” She went on to explain, “I wish I could meet Beverly. The closest I got was when our mutual publisher switched a packet of fan mail quite a few years ago. She got mine, I got hers, and I admit I read a couple of letters meant for her.”
When returning her fan mail, Blume included a personal letter to Cleary and the author wrote her one in turn. “She cautioned me not to get caught up in the demands of the teachers and students,” Blume said. “She was concerned that if I did it would interfere with my writing. She was right. There was a time when I was totally caught up in the needs of my readers and it did take me away from my writing.” She concluded, “Beverly’s books have touched generations of readers and I can’t imagine kids growing up without them. What kind of world would that be? Her characters are timeless.”
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