Beverly Cleary, through Ramona, captured the essence of childhood

Never mind that Beverly Cleary was beloved and popular, an icon. She was the kind of writer who answered her own phone.

In 2016, in the hopes of interviewing her about her upcoming 100th birthday, I called her (her number, shockingly, was listed). She picked up after a couple of rings, and in a vaguely annoyed tone, told me that she did not want to talk about her birthday — it was just too much fuss over nothing, she said — but sure, she’d talk about her books. What do you want to know?