and cleary's books became an instant hit in print >> ha, ha, i get to ride the bus to school today all by myself. >> reporter: and on screen >> ramona. >> ramona. >> ramona. >> reporter: she won dozens of awards for her 42 books with more than 85 million copies sold all around the world. when she turned 100 in 2016, she was as witty as ever. >> i didn't do it on purpose. >> reporter: what cleary did do on purpose was to celebrate kids with captivating tales of childhood adventures that are still worth the read today rehema ellis, nbc news, new york up next, how to beat the soaring cost of renting a car