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For Ramona Fans

(1) Beverly Cleary would start writing a novel around January 1, then finish around May, then "stay fallow" until the next New Year would roll around.

(2) Ramona popped up in "Huggins" simply because Cleary noticed that not one of the town kids seemed to have a sibling. Cleary's genius: What if Beatrice had a little sister who couldn't pronounce many words, and so the name Beatrice would get twisted into "Beezus"?

(3) Cleary's rule: "Make it simple. Keep it funny." (Not as straightforward as it seems.....)

More to come.
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