If you talk to my family about children's books for any length of time, you won't get too far into the conversation without bringing up multiple Beverley Cleary books. She impacted my wife and me, as well as our kids, with her timeless characters such as Henry Huggins, Ramona and Beezus, and more. My personal favorite story of hers was The Mouse and The Motorcycle. I read it to my kids as soon as they were old enough.
I still remember sitting in my classroom in elementary school and reading this book for the first time. I was so engrossed in the story that I tuned out everything else around me and thirty minutes later was startled back to reality by a noise. I wanted to be like Keith and have my own mouse named Ralph who could drive toy motorcycles around. What kid wouldn't dream of this?
My family was saddened by her passing but in honor of Beverley Cleary's life, I made my son a Ralph S. Mouse The Mouse and The Motorcycle lunch. Can you spot the references to the book in this lunchbox?
