Tuesday, December 11, 2007

Beverly Cleary's Teen Books







Guilty confession-- read Sister of the Bride AGAIN over the weekend because nothing sounded good. This still goes out well in my library, and it is quite contemporary, considering it is almost 50 years old. There are some references to "putting up one's hair" and bobbie socks, but it is the warm family relationships, the teen angst (yeah, she made lots of cookies for the jerk and he never asked her out until she refused to mend his shirt and tells him off. Question is-- why did she want to go out with him then?), and the understandably flawed teen characters that make them appealing.
I do appreciate these new covers, which aren't quite the original Joe and Beth Krush illustrations but do bring them to mind and point out that these are, in a way, historical fiction. Another good one is Fifteen, and I loved both of Cleary's memoirs, A Girl From Yamhill and On My Own Two Feet. Fascinating stuff from an author with enviable longevity.

1 comment:

  1. Ooooooh! I have a couple books to bring in to you next time I'm there -- "Trish" by Margaret Maze Craig ("complete and unabridged" - appears to be a 1951 paperback copy) and my MOTHER's copy of Cleary's "Fifteen" (a 1962 paperback). Just for kicks...Both are taped up and probably will fall apart if I open them more than a peek.

    I ever mention I have a bunch of "old" books? :-)

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