Little Sisters Can Be Just as Aggravating as Big Sisters

I was first introduced to the wonderful writing of Beverly Cleary via the exploits of Ramona, her most popular character, as chronicled in the five-book set I received containing Ramona the Pest, Ramona and her Mother, Ramona and her Father, Ramona Quimby, Age 8, and Ramona Forever. These books offer a look at the world through Ramona’s perspective, and I was used to thinking of Beezus as a frustrating older sister who always has more privileges than Ramona and never seems to get into trouble. But before Ramona took over the Klickitat Street line of books, the Quimby household was seen through a different pair of eyes. In Beezus and Ramona, it is Beezus’ thoughts to which we have ready access, and while the characterizations are still about the same, the different viewpoint puts the later books into a whole new light.

Beezus is a prim and proper 9-year-old girl, happy to help her mother and sit quietly reading a book or making potholders. The behavior of the rambunctious 4-year-old Ramona baffles and infuriates Beezus. The best word to describe Ramona, she decides, is “exasperating.” The same sorts of irritating traits Ramona loathes in her best friend Howie’s little sister, Willa Jean, during later books appear in Ramona herself here. If anything, the creativity and spunk which set Ramona apart make her capable of rising to greater heights of aggravation than Willa Jean could dream of.

Beezus and Ramona finds Beezus trying her best to be a responsible big sister, but Ramona tries her patience every step of the way. She gets into all sorts of trouble: marking up a library book with “her name,” a series of squiggles; eating one bite each out of half a bushel of apples; provoking Beezus’ friend Henry’s dog, Ribsy, into locking himself in their bathroom; inviting fifteen kids over for a party without alerting anyone; and ruining two birthday cakes in one day. Sometimes, Beezus finds herself jealous of her little sister. She envies her boundless creativity, as Beezus is much more practical and feels that her own imagination does not function properly. Even more maddening, it seems Ramona always gets what she wants if she just misbehaves long enough. She makes her read the same unladylike steamshovel book over and over, sabotages the checker games she and Howie play, and bursts into temper tantrums on a regular basis. If Ramona feels like she has it tough as the little sister, Beezus finds her role as big sister just as vexing. Sometimes, she doesn’t think she loves Ramona at all, and that awful realization is even more troubling than all of Ramona’s antics until her mother and aunt provide some perspective on the ups and downs of sisterhood.

This is not the first Cleary book to feature Beezus and Ramona, but it serves as a turning point at which the focus shifts from Henry Huggins to his neighbors, the Quimbys. Written in 1955, the book has a bit of a dated quality to it. Though Ramona runs around in overalls, Beezus and the other girls and women in the book wear dresses and skirts almost exclusively, a clothing choice absent in later book. There are references to a mouth harp, a phonograph-and-record shop, and a davenport – a term for a couch which I don’t think I’ve ever heard anyone besides my maternal grandma use – and Beezus consistently uses the word “gay” to describe her carefree young Aunt Beatrice. While later books generally refer to the parents as Mr. Quimby and Mrs. Quimby, here they are simply called Mother and Father. “Father” is particularly jarring, as both girls always refer to him as “Daddy” in later books. He does not appear very much in this book, and when he does we don’t get a very strong sense of his constantly joking nature. Picky-picky the cat fares worst; he’s never mentioned at all.

Nonetheless, the book manages to fit in pretty well with the remainder of the Ramona books, though I would call it more of a prequel than an actual part of the collection. Since my Cleary indoctrination began with Ramona the Pest and led me to work backwards once I had finished Ramona Forever, I would probably recommend reading Beezus and Ramona after the books which feature Ramona’s perspective. Then again, you might want to start with Henry Huggins and read them in true chronological order. Wherever this book fits in on your reading timeline, Ramona’s ridiculous antics and Beezus’ perpetual exasperation combine to create a chronicle chock-full of comedic chaos.