Beverly Cleary Walking Tour of Portland, Oregon
Some of the first books I clearly remember loving as a child were the Ramona Quimby books. Who doesn't love that irrepressible little girl? It's been literally decades since I read them so I don't remember many details from the stories at all, but I still think of Ramona and company with fondness. My husband and I are living in Portland, Oregon for a few months while he works here. This is Beverly Cleary/Ramona Quimby country! The local Multnomah County Library has published a walking tour map of sites from the Ramona books and author Beverly Cleary's life. One afternoon several weeks ago, my husband, who's always a good sport, agreed to walk the sites with me. I don't know if Beverly Cleary is still widely read, but I thought that readers my age and slightly older might enjoy virtually tagging along. Beverly Cleary Sculpture Garden We began at Grant Park, at the Beverly Cleary Sculpture Garden. It was a small space that looked like it's normally a splash pad. They probably have the water turned off because of COVID (Pools, etc. have not re-opened in this county since the initial shutdown). It was so fun to see Ramona, Henry, and Ribsy! Ribsy's plaque reads "People liked Ribsy and Ribsy liked people. Ribsy was what you might call a well-adjusted dog. Ribsy 1964" Ramona's plaque reads "Only grownups would say boots were for keeping feet dry. Anyone in kindergarten knew that a girl should wear shiny red or white boots on the first rainy day, not to keep her feet dry, but to show off. That's what boots were for--showing off, wading, splashing, stamping. Ramona the Pest 1968" Henry's plaque is pretty weathered and I couldn't even read the picture I took of it. The rest of the pictures aren't…
