Beverly Cleary Interviewed

She's 95 now and the Atlantic catches up with her.

From the piece...

Do you think that your success as an author, and becoming a national figure in children's literature and publishing, influenced your writing?

I don't think it has, because I am so surprised by it all. I just wrote about childhood as I had known it.

Benjamin Schwarz, The Atlantic's literary editor, observed that over time your books seemed to grow more topical, sometimes in ways that seemed to contrast your initial efforts to avoid message-y stories. Was this intentional?

I don't agree with the interpretation. I simply have written about a little girl growing up, and so her life is different at different stages.

In the new World of Beverly Cleary collection, the illustrations have been updated from Louis Darling's originals to reflect more 21st-century-looking children who wear backpacks and bicycle helmets. Why try to contemporize them?

I was always very happy with the Louis Darling and Alan Tiegreen illustrations, but my publisher felt it was time for a change.

Did you see the recent Ramona and Beezus movie? What were your thoughts?

I thought Joey King, the actress who played Ramona, was very good. She had loved the books and was eager to play the part. Although there were scenes left out that I would have liked to see, on the whole I think it was a movie that parents could take their children to without worry.