Judy Blume Shares Advice Beverly Cleary Gave Her, Even Though They Never Met

Judy Blume recently shared the advice author Beverly Cleary gave her, another beloved author who died recently at age 104. 83-year-old Blume took to Twitter to pay tribute to the late Cleary, also revealing one of her regrets in life in the process. “Beverly Cleary! My inspiration. I wanted to write books like yours. I so regret never having met you. You will not be forgotten.”

Blume also shared a post from writer Reyhan Harmanci, highlighting earlier quotes that Blume stated about Cleary and how she influenced Blume’s writing.

Judy Blume and Beverly Cleary had a deep bond even though they never met

“When I began to write, in the late ’60s, I’d go to the public library and carry home armloads of books,” the quote from Blume reads. “At night, I’d read them, then divide them into piles. These are books I find boring. I don’t want to write books like these. But over here are books that delight and inspire me. No books delighted and inspired the way Beverly’s Cleary’s did.”

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Blume even admits that she fell off the couch from laughing so hard at one of Cleary’s books! “All of Beverly’s books were funny, honest, and refreshing. They still are. My daughter was reading them in second grade. She once had to have a scary test at the hospital. They sat her in a wheelchair while she waited. For company, besides me, she had a Beverly Cleary book. She seemed happy and relaxed, laughing all the while.”

Beverly Cleary’s piece of advice

“I wish I could meet Beverly,” she writes. “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. Most of them were about Ramona. Who doesn’t love Ramona?”

The advice Cleary had for her? “She cautioned me not to get caught up in the demands of the teachers and students. She was concerned that if I did it would interfere with my writing.”