Cleary Captures Childhood Hilarity with Ramona

When I was younger, I was probably the biggest bookworm I knew. I filled my shelves with books at every opportunity I got, and many of those books remain today. One author whose books I have collected and cherished over the years in Beverly Cleary. The continuing adventures of the Quimby family are especially enjoyable. Although Cleary wrote the books over the course of several decades, there is great continuity from book to book and always a keen understanding of how young children think. I’ve been stuck in a writing rut for quite a while, and I’ve begun rereading my Ramona books for inspiration. The books don’t take long to plow through now; I can finish one in about a two-hour sitting. But they are just as insightful and comical as ever, and Cleary’s incredible skill is readily evident.

Ramona Quimby, Age 8 finds Ramona starting a new chapter in her life: third grade. Not only does this new year bring a new teacher and a classroom, it also finds Ramona at a new school, which she must get to by bus, much to her delight. Meanwhile, her sister Beezus is just as excited to start junior high school, and Mr. Quimby looks forward to earning his teaching degree at a local college. He also takes on a part-time job in a frozen foods plant, and Mrs. Quimby continues her job as a receptionist. The family cat, Picky-picky, remains as ornery as ever. Her parents’ busy schedules require Ramona to spend her afternoons with her best friend Howie Kemp at his grandmother’s house, which wouldn’t be so bad if Howie wasn’t always taking off on his bike and leaving Ramona to keep an eye on his annoying little sister, Willa Jean.

In the book’s first pages, Ramona has an encounter with a boy named Danny whom she initially deems a nemesis but grows fond of despite his brutish mannerisms. She also meets her teacher, and though Ramona loves the third grade addition of Sustained Silent Reading (or, as most of her classmates prefer to call it, DEAR – Drop Everything and Read), she isn’t quite sure what to make of the woman, especially after she overhears her refer to Ramona as a show-off and nuisance after an unfortunate incident with an egg. Ramona’s 8-year-old triumphs and tribulations are true to life and a delight to read, from learning cursive (and discovering the cursive “Q” is not nearly as much fun as the printed version) and making dinner for the first time to throwing up in class and presenting a book report in the style of a cat food commercial.

Ramona is a character many children, male or female, can identify with. She lives in the shadow of her perfectionist big sister. She is often blamed for events that are not her fault. She worries about small things, like how to get her new eraser back from that “yard ape” Danny, and big things, like whether her mom will have to quit her job and her dad will have to quit school and go back to work at the grocery store if she fails to entertain Willa Jean to Mrs. Kemp’s satisfaction. Ramona is one of the most enjoyable characters in children’s literature, and this book contains many of her most interesting adventures. Highly recommended for 8-year-olds and anyone who remembers, or wants to remember, what it was like to be eight.