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My Own Two Feet: A Memoir
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From Publishers Weekly
This second installment of the Newbery Medalist's autobiography (after A Girl from Yamhill) begins during the '30s, with the young Cleary leaving her home state of Oregon to attend junior college in California. The volume ends in 1949, with Morrow's acceptance of Cleary's first novel, the now-classic Henry Huggins (initially written as a short story entitled "Spareribs and Henry"). The author's unsentimental recollections of herself as a student in the Depression, a librarian and a newlywed are told humorously and candidly. Friends and adversaries-her ever-critical mother, formidable professors, congenial classmates, gentlemen acquaintances (including future husband Clarence)-are as colorfully sketched as the characters appearing in Cleary's beloved novels. Able to laugh at her own mistakes and to recognize universal truths in everyday life, Cleary will endear herself even more to her fans with this account of her struggle for independence. Ages 12-up.
Copyright 1995 Reed Business Information, Inc.
--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
From School Library Journal
Grade 7 Up?This sequel to A Girl from Yamhill (Morrow, 1988) begins with Cleary starting college. The only child of Depression-era parents, she leaves her Oregon home to live with relatives and go to school tuition-free in California. Her vivid recollections of the various stops on the bus; her room in her aunt's home; and her many friends, including a few romances, are continued evidence of this author's ability to convince readers. It's all in the details. Cleary handles her own life well, giving it the shape that real life most often does not have, offering readers a sense of what it was like growing up in the 1930s, going to college when it was not common for women to do so, marrying and working during World War II. She also has those incidents that are common in coming-of-age books, fiction or otherwise: young love, wardrobes, defying parents, a first apartment, a first job (as a children's librarian). The book ends with her first book, inspired by her inner drive to write books for children who are not committed readers. So the book ends with a beginning. YAs who grew up on Cleary's books will find this one readable and inviting as they mature into young adulthood.?Ruth K. MacDonald, Bay Path College, Longmeadow, MA
Copyright 1995 Reed Business Information, Inc.
--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
28/06/2008
This was an interesting and thoroughly enjoyable memoir about Beverly Cleary, nee Bunn, as a young woman during the Depression and World War II. The previous reviewers were on target concerning Beverly's easy writing style and vivid recollections of her family and college years: traveling alone by bus from Oregon to California to attend Chaffey Junior College for two years, matriculating to U Cal Berkeley, studying at the U of Washington after graduating from Berkeley to become a librarian, marrying Clarence Cleary (her strained relationship with her mother because of it) and working as a librarian at the US Army's Camp Knight and Oakland Regional Hospital during WWII, writing and publishing her first children's book. Many B&W photos of family and friends are included. I highly recommend MY OWN TWO FEET.
27/12/2002
A must-read for all Beverly Cleary fans. Picks up the story where "A Girl from Yamhill" left off and takes us through her college years and her career as a librarian. A book that will inspire you to become a librarian or a children's book author. As well writen and accessible as all of her children's books about the gang on Klikitat Street.
13/12/2001
After devouring Beverly Cleary's first memoir "A Girl From Yamhill" I couldn't wait to read My Own Two Feet. The only thing to complain about is that there isn't a sequel to this one! Picking up where Yamhill left off, we share in Beverly Cleary's journey through college and into her adult years and the writing of her first book, Henry Huggins. Reading Cleary's Memoirs, I was taken back to my own childhood and my love for Ramona & Beezus. Cleary has a unique gift of simple writing that readers of all ages can enjoy, whether you are 8 or 80. I lover her writing as much today as I did when I was in the 3rd grade.
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