After news broke over the weekend that Beverly Cleary had died at age 104. Judy Blume took to Twitter, "Beverly Cleary! My inspiration. I wanted to write books like yours. I so regret never having met you. You will not be forgotten," she wrote on Twitter.
The "Are You There God? It's Me, Margaret" author vent on to share another social media post About one very memorable interaction she did have with Cleary. The 83-year-old author explained that their common publisher exchanged their fan mails, and she read some of Cleary's letters. After the accidental exchange, Blume sent back the fan mails with a special note. Cleary wrote her one in turn. "She cautioned me not to get caught up in the demands of the teachers and students," Blume said. "She was concerned that if I did it would interfere with (干扰) my writing. She was right. "
"When I started writing in the late 60s end was reading children's books for inspiration, no books delighted and inspired me the way Beverly Cleary's did. I once fell off the sofa while reading one of her books because I was laughing so hard," Blume added.
Journalist Reyhan Harmanci also shared a post about what Blune once told her on social media. "I'm always amused when I met young readers who say, ‘I love your Ramona books.' Then I explain that I love Ramona, too, but I didn't write those books, Beverly Cleary did," the author shared. "They give me an ashamed look then, and I tell them it's OK. What's important is that they're reading and loving the experience. "
Blume's admiration for Cleary was passed on to her daughter, who read it whenever she seemed anxious. Now, Blume's grandson is also a fan of Cleary's works. She concluded that Cleary's writing has positively impacted several generations, and she couldn't imagine what the world would be without her brilliance.
