The Ramona Series

Beverly Cleary's Ramona books are true kidlit classics.

That Doggone Dog...

That Ribsy! He may be one of the most agreeable dogs on the face of the planet, but he’s also one of the most likely to get into trouble. In Henry and Ribsy, this spells trouble for his owner, Henry Huggins, who has his heart set on joining his dad on a fishing trip. When he first mentions the possibility, all that his dad says is, “We’ll see.” That sounds like a “yes” to Henry, but when he inquires again, shortly after Ribsy snatches the lunch out of a police officer’s car, Mr. Huggins tells him he can only go if he keeps Ribsy out of mischief. It sounds easy enough, but Henry soon realizes the job is going to be a lot harder than he thought.

To make matters worse, his parents decide to assign Henry the task of taking out the garbage every day. Sure, it means an extra fifteen cents in his allowance each week, but Henry isn’t sure dealing with all that smelly trash is worth it, especially when Ribsy inexplicably frightens the garbage man away, leaving Henry to deal with an overflowing can of extra-gross refuse. Just as unfortunate for Henry is the fact that his mother acquired a pair of clippers in order to give him a home haircut. His worries about his mother’s haircutting skills are realized when he looks in the mirror to discover a head full of chewed up hair, and just before the first day of school, too!

But the book doesn’t only spell disaster for Henry. Ribsy makes up for his recent misbehavior when he impresses Henry’s friends with a spur-of-the-minute stunt, and when he’s accused by the neighborhood busybody of terrorizing Ramona, the sage school principal sees the reality of the situation and defends Ribsy in front of the whole PTA. It looks like Henry will get to go on that fishing trip after all, but with Ribsy along for the ride, Henry endures his most chaotic encounter of the book, emerging with a fish tale he’ll be happy to recount again and again.

I recently re-read these books out of order, but that did not detract from my enjoyment of them. All of Cleary’s chronicles are written with such heart and humor, they are a delight no matter what order they are read in. And while they were written specifically with the juvenile crowd in mind, their appeal does not dim when being read by adults. Three cheers for Beverly Cleary!

A Boy and His Bike

In Beverly Cleary’s Ramona books, Ramona longs for a bike of her own. She only gets to ride a bike when her friend Howie lets her borrow his. Henry and Beezus finds Henry Huggins in the same situation. He wants nothing in the world more than his very own bike, which he then hopes to use to help him get a paper route. The trouble is, bikes are expensive, and Henry’s parents don’t have the money to buy him one. If he’s going to get one, the task will fall to Henry to earn the money for it.

Henry knows exactly which one he wants: the beautiful shiny red bike that he passes in the shop window every day. But it costs $59.95, which is an awful lot of money for a young boy without a paper route to produce. With a little help from Ramona’s older sister Beezus, Henry launches a business selling chewing gum that has both lucrative and disastrous results. He’s thrilled when the sometimes chummy, sometimes antagonistic Scooter McCarthy asks him to cover his paper route while he’s away, but first Henry must untrain his dog Ribsy, who, in an attempt to be helpful, has recently taken to collecting all of the newspapers in the neighborhood and depositing them on Henry’s porch. In this endeavor he receives some unexpected aid from Ramona, who is just as pesky as ever in this volume.

It’s interesting to note the differences in characterizations between the Ramona books and the Henry books. Ramona, of course, never comes off so badly from her own perspective. Meanwhile, though the Ramona books generally show Beezus as rather boring and prissy, the Henry books always emphasize that she is “very sensible, for a girl,” and it’s always Beezus who is willing to help Henry out of a jam, no matter how unladylike that requires her to be. She also seems to have a crush on Henry. Beezus is always popping up in the Henry books, but oddly enough, Henry scarcely makes an appearance in the Ramona books at all, and when he does it is usually only as a haughty crossing guard.

Henry, as usual, finds himself in all sorts of unusual situations in this book. It looks like his hopes for a bike are about to derail when he discovers that Ribsy is the recipient of a parking ticket whose fee will just about exhaust his bike fund. Then, when he finally does get his hands on a bike, courtesy of Beezus, it turns out to be such a clunker that none of his repairs are capable of rendering it rideable. It’s no surprise that Henry finally attains his prize at the end of the book, but it’s the unpredictable steps (and mis-steps) along the way that make Henry and Beezus a very satisfying read, worthy of standing alongside Cleary’s other accomplished Henry and Ramona novels.

Ribsy a Doggone Good Read

Although the series of Henry Huggins books technically ended with Henry and the Clubhouse, it would not be far-fetched to group Ribsy together with the Henry books preceding it. Just as Beezus and Ramona is a stand-alone as the only Beverly Cleary book which takes the point of view of Beezus but an introduction to the Ramona books since it takes place in the Quimby household, Ribsy is a stand-alone as the only book from Ribsy’s point of view but a P.S. to the Henry books since it focuses on a member of his household. It just so happens that this time, that member is a dog.

Ribsy is an extraordinarily easy-going dog, but he does not like being left behind. So it is that he finds himself locked in the Huggins’ car at the mall after chasing it down the block. Because he has spent the morning pestered by a particularly vicious flea, Ribsy is liberated from his collar by Henry, leaving him without identification when he accidentally opens the automatic car window and hops out. This probably would not be a major problem if it weren’t for the fact that Ribsy returns to the wrong car and finds himself rumbling out of town with a gaggle of giggling girls. This is only the first of many interesting stops on his month-long journey back to the boy he loves.

From time to time throughout the story, the readers get a page or so about what is happening in the Huggins household. But for the most part, the book follows Ribsy’s trail, from the girls who give him a bubble bath to a little old lady who dresses him up and teaches him tricks, from a second-grade class that adopts him to a boy not so different from Henry who begins to think of Ribsy as his own. There is an interesting detachment about the writing here that is absent in the books about children. Ribsy is not particularly concerned with what happens to him. Over and over, Cleary tells us that he does not care for one thing or another, but she leaves us with the impression that Ribsy can take or leave just about anything. He is tolerant of almost everything, even if it does not particularly please him. But he is truly passionate about one thing: his young master, Henry Huggins. Throughout his varied travels, Henry never leaves his thoughts entirely. The inevitable reunion is reminiscent of the concluding confrontation between Henry and Ribsy’s former owner in Henry Huggins, with a photo in the newspaper proving the long-lost pooch is alive and well.

Ribsy is an entertaining and unique volume that once again proves Cleary’s skill at getting inside characters’ heads. All sorts of interesting occurrences happen to Ribsy, making for an enjoyable read. This is the only Klickitat chronicle featuring an animal’s point of view, but other Cleary books with a nonhuman protagonist include Socks, Ralph S. Mouse, and The Mouse and the Motorcycle.

Henry Passes the Torch to Ramona

Henry and the Clubhouse picks up where Henry and the Paper Route left off, with Henry just beginning to deliver Journals now that he has finally convinced Mr. Capper, the district manager, that he can handle a route. Henry loves having a paper route – most of the time, anyway – but he still has a lot of extra time he has to figure out what to do with. He and his friends Robert and Murph soon decide that building a clubhouse would be the best use of their time. With a load of leftover boards and other building materials, the boys set to work, and Henry must balance his paper boy duties with the task of putting together a sturdy clubhouse. And, as always, he has to put up with his friend Beezus’ exasperating little sister, Ramona, who has a habit of tagging along wherever Henry goes and making trouble for him on his paper route. It is mainly because of Ramona that the boys feel their clubhouse requires a boys-only policy, even though Beezus’ feelings might be hurt.

As is often the case with Henry, he finds himself getting into all sorts of trouble without meaning to. When his neighbor, Mr. Grumbie, offers him the chance to ride to the dump with him in an old bathtub, Henry is thrilled… until he finds himself halfway across town and realizes he’s supposed to start his paper route any minute. One thing Henry does not love about his job is selling subscriptions, and his first attempt to sell the paper to his nice new neighbor, Mrs. Peabody, ends disastrously when her intimidating dog and Ribsy wind up in a fight. On another occasion, Henry’s subscription money collection goes horribly awry when Ramona, who is visiting the customer’s daughter, opens the lid on the washing machine while it is running.

Ramona has a large role in this book, and she is the source of many of Henry’s problems. At her best, she is still a nuisance, repeating all the commercials she hears while watching her favorite television show, featuring her hero Sheriff Bud and wearing costumes imitating his various disguises. Even when she isn’t saying anything at all, she annoys Henry by following him everywhere and earning the title of “Henry’s little shadow.” Only Beezus seems to truly appreciate how irritating Ramona can be, and Beezus isn’t feeling very kindly toward Henry since he declared that she would not be allowed in his clubhouse.

Henry and the Clubhouse is written in Cleary’s consistently simple style that shows how attuned she is to young children. Henry’s struggles with maintaining his paper route, building his clubhouse, and keeping the little girl who drives him crazy in check make for entertaining reading and lead up to a satisfying conclusion of the books starring Cleary’s first major character. And while Henry’s time in the spotlight is up, Ramona’s is just about to begin…

Level-Headed Henry Still a Delight

Henry Huggins is a hard-working, well-mannered boy closing in on his eleventh birthday. Although his life has become much more interesting since his acquisition of Ribsy, a scrawny mutt who adopted him when Henry was in third grade, more and more he feels as though something is missing… but what? The what becomes clear when Scooter McCarthy, a gruff seventh-grade friend of his, mentions that his district manager, Mr. Capper, is looking for another boy to deliver papers. Yes, a paper route would definitely be a worthwhile use of Henry’s time, with some nice profits to go along with it. But getting the coveted position will not be as easy as Henry thought…

Henry and the Paper Route chronicles Henry’s escapades as he tries to convince the kindly but dubious Mr. Capper that he is ready for the responsibility of being a paper boy. Along the way, he finds himself in all sorts of situations beyond his control. A valiant attempt to save four kittens from the pound leads to a bad first impression, a day full of “No, thank you”s as he tries to give them away, and an unanticipated affection between Mr. Huggins and one of the kittens. A bit of clever advertising for a school paper drive escalates into a week-long pick-up and bundling procedure hilariously reminiscent of the mass-producing guppy episode in Henry Huggins. Henry has the best of intentions, but too often they seem to go awry.

It doesn’t help that his friend Beezus’ little sister Ramona is always hanging around causing trouble. This book takes place in roughly the same time frame as Beezus and Ramona, and Ramona’s rampant creativity and ferocious temper are just as evident from Henry’s point of view as Beezus’. Henry must rely on his quick wit – and some help from Beezus – to keep Ramona from ruining all his plans. But it isn’t just Ramona who stands in his way. Scooter invites Henry to take over some of his paper boy work, but a quarrel between them leaves Henry deprived of his duties and despairing of ever having a route of his own. Add into the mix a strange new glasses-wearing, robot-building neighbor, and you never know what’s going to happen to Henry next!

This book comes toward the end of the Henry series; only Henry and the Clubhouse remains to cap off the boy’s adventures. Of course, they aren’t really over; he continues to make guest appearances in the later Ramona books. But his starring role is nearly at an end. Maybe he is just a bit too even-tempered to arouse the sort of enthusiasm Ramona enjoys. Nonetheless, Henry and the Paper Route is written with as much of Cleary’s distinctive style as her more celebrated books, and Henry is immensely likable. If boys object to reading about a feisty girl named Ramona, they might consider immersing themselves in the activities of an ordinary boy named Henry.

Cleary's First Foray Into Novels as Brilliant as her Latest

Although Ramona Quimby is probably Beverly Cleary’s most well-known character, she started out as a minor supporting character in the world of Cleary’s first starring child, Henry Huggins. Henry’s adventures stretched across nearly as many books as Ramona’s, and they all began with Henry Huggins, the author’s very first novel, completed after repeated requests by her young library visitors for stories about kids like them. The book was written in 1950, so some of the situations and language feel a bit dated, but the introduction to Henry and all the other residents of Klickitat Street is engaging nonetheless.

When we first meet Henry, he is nearing the end of third grade and bemoaning the fact that nothing exciting ever happens to him. Suddenly, something does. An ordinary trip to the YMCA leads to a chance encounter with a scraggly mutt who latches himself onto Henry. Observing the dog’s slight frame, Henry assigns him the name Ribsy and manages to convince his mother to let him keep him. Now all he has to do is get him home on the bus…

Henry is a nice, sensible boy whose misadventures never stem from a lack of control, as is so often the case with Ramona. He speaks politely to adults, pays for Ribsy’s upkeep with his own money, devotes all his time to feeding his fish when a simple pair of guppies turns into a regular fish factory, readily accepts the challenge of catching 1400 night crawlers to pay for his friend’s lost football, and agrees to an impartial ownership contest when Ribsy’s former master resurfaces to claim his dog. Adults and friends sometimes treat him unfairly, but he seems to take almost everything in stride. He is very different from Ramona but perhaps not far removed from her older sister Beezus, which is not surprising since they are such good friends. Beezus shows up a few times here, most notably agreeing to adopt one of Henry’s guppies, while Ramona’s part is so scant as to scarcely merit mention.

Henry’s adventures throughout the book are entertaining and show Cleary’s understanding of how young children think, while the simple but artistic language contributes to the ease of reading no matter what age the reader is. She is just as adept at getting into a boy’s head as a girl’s. Even though Henry’s speech consists largely of such outdated words as “gee whiz,” “jeepers,” “golly,” and “gosh” and monetary amounts and certain items mentioned in the book clearly place the novel in the 50s, he comes across very realistically, and his exploits are still great fun to read about. Most of the book is a series of funny incidents over the course of a year or so, but the last chapter ends on a slightly somber, heartfelt note that leaves the door open and the reader ready for the many Klickitat chronicles to come.

Ramona Backslides But Emerges Wiser

After devoting a book to Ramona Quimby’s relationship with her father, Beverly Cleary took the logical step and entitled the next volume Ramona and Her Mother. Ramona is still in second grade, but circumstances have changed. The book begins with a neighborhood party to celebrate Mr. Quimby’s acquisition of a job as a checker at a local shopping mart. With Mrs. Quimby still working full time, that means Ramona and her sister Beezus must stay with Ramona’s friend Howie Kemp’s grandmother after school, a situation neither of the girls is crazy about, especially when Howie’s sister Willa Jean is old enough now to be annoying. Ramona observes the sticky, crumby, destructive child with distaste and cringes when the neighbors and even her own family compare Willa Jean to her. Surely she never could have been that obnoxious!

Beezus lets it be known that she still finds Ramona obnoxious from time to time, and Ramona can’t help feeling cross with her older sister. Ramona tries to be good – sometimes goes out of her way – but no one seems to appreciate her efforts. While everyone comments on Beezus’ responsibility, calling her “her mother’s girl,” and Mrs. Quimby responds by saying she couldn’t get along without Beezus, her mother never announces in front of the neighbors what a good helper Ramona is. Even when Beezus’ new fashionable sensibilities cause her to quarrel with her mother, in the end the topic only brings them closer together, and Ramona feels more left out than ever.

While the seriousness of the situation in Ramona and Her Father required Ramona to keep her impulsive tendencies in check, less tense circumstances in this book allow some of Ramona’s less admirable qualities to surface once more. She indulges in several tantrums and even allows herself to realize her lifelong fantasy of squeezing out an entire tube of toothpaste. Her unconventional creativity also leads to a messy incident with a bottle of bluing in Howie’s basement and an uncomfortably hot trip to school with her pajamas under her clothes.

While Ramona observes Mrs. Quimby’s reactions to Beezus’ changing demeanor, she also bears witness to a very startling event: a full-blown fight between her mother and father. Although they later assure the girls that even though grown-ups get upset and quarrel sometimes, it doesn’t mean they don’t love one another, Ramona disapproves of their behavior, recalling her friend Davy whose parents got a divorce. The long, tense conversations her parents have after Ramona is in bed only make her more nervous, especially since they are too quiet for her to make out the words. What words she does understand have to do with school, leading her to believe they must be arguing about her, which makes matters even worse.

Cleary’s exploration into Ramona’s psyche continues with this book, and readers observe as the seven-year-old struggles to find her place in a world where she always seems too young to be responsible and too old to be cute. Cleary has a gift for using language simple enough for young children to comprehend but vibrant enough to keep them, and even their parents, enthralled. Her acute understanding of how young children think keeps Ramona and Her Mother, like the other Ramona books, by turns funny and moving, but always truthful.

Ramona Returns, Vibrant as Ever

Ever since the age of seven or so, I have been a big fan of Beverly Cleary’s books, particularly those involving Ramona Quimby, a girl I always found to be not so different from myself. For many years, my collection of Ramona books was complete, ending with the eventful Ramona Forever, which culminated in the marriage of Ramona’s Aunt Beatrice and the birth of her sister Roberta. I thought her saga had ended, but in 1999, fifteen years after Ramona Forever, Cleary added another volume.

Ramona’s World finds Ramona in the exciting new position of big sister. She is fascinated by her sister’s tiny but perfect body and her steady growth and can’t wait to start the fourth grade so she can tell her class all about Roberta. At the same time, she misses being the baby of the family and resents always being shushed so Roberta can sleep. Meanwhile, she still has to deal with being a little sister. Beezus is now in ninth grade and beginning to tire of the sensible persona she’s always held. As her days become consumed with excited telephone conversations and fashionable clothes and accessories – including a pair of earrings acquired without her parents’ permission with money earned from babysitting – Ramona begins to miss the old Beezus.

She feels very grown-up now that she is in the fourth grade, and school would be quite pleasant for her if it weren’t for the fact that her new teacher, Mrs. Meacham, is very concerned with spelling, a subject that bores Ramona. Not only does her teacher insist she take the time to spell words more carefully, her mother complains that Ramona uses the word “stuff” too much and wants her to find more interesting alternatives. Mrs. Quimby also wants her daughter to spend more time with Susan, the prissy, curly-haired girl who Ramona perceives as her classroom nemesis.

But Ramona doesn’t have much time to worry about Susan because she has befriended the new girl in her class, a girl with long blond hair named Daisy Kidd. Ramona has never had a girl best friend before; the chief friendship of her life up to this point has been with the bland Howie Kemp, whose obsession with building things begins to bore her. Now she has a friend with whom she can play dress up, watch the soap opera Big Hospital, and do other girly things. She loves going over to Daisy’s house with the cat who likes to be vacuumed, the dog who watches television, the big brother who calls Daisy names, and the mother who treats Ramona like a big girl.

The only subject on which she and Daisy disagree is Danny, the rowdy boy at school who Ramona calls “Yard Ape.” He’s the sort of boy who likes to tease and always comes close to causing trouble without actually angering the teacher. In fact, he’s a very good student, and his antics are more amusing than obnoxious. Still, his rambunctious behavior on the playground earns him the label “awful” from Daisy, a claim Ramona refuses to dispute because she does not want anyone to know she has a crush on him.

Cleary was 83 years old when this book was published, but her insight into a child’s psyche and skill at conveying pivotal situations in colorful but age-appropriate language had not diminished. The transition from Ramona Forever to Ramona’s World is perfectly natural, and children just being introduced to Ramona now would never guess at the span of years between volumes. For longtime fans like myself, meanwhile, this book is an unexpected treat, a venture back into the world of a most beloved childhood character whose adventures we’d thought were over. And as soon as we’ve read the first page, it’s as though we never left.

Spunky Seven-Year-Old Saves Her Family (Or Tries To)

Ramona and Her Father finds Ramona Quimby in second grade, though this volume barely makes mention of what is going on at school. The focus here is on her family and on Ramona’s worries that she is the only happy member left. The predominant source of stress in the household is the fact that her father lost his job. Now he spends every day at home, growing more and more irritable as he waits in vain for a job offer. Her mother is nearly as ornery, since she works longs hours every day at a doctor’s office. Her sister Beezus is entering into “that difficult age” and beginning to display disagreeable behavior; Ramona is startled to find Beezus getting into trouble as much as her. Adding to Beezus’ troubles is the fact that she must take Creative Writing, a subject she has always hated because she feels it requires more imagination than she has. Not even Picky-picky, the family cat, is happy, since the loss of Mr. Quimby’s job meant major budgetary cutbacks, including switching to the cheapest brand of cat food.

Little of Ramona’s famously awful behavior remains in this book, though her creativity and determination get her into trouble a few times. All she wants is to make her family, and most especially her once-so-jovial father, happy again. Early in the book, she decides she can save her family by landing herself in a television commercial and earning a million dollars, but after the practice crown she makes out of briars becomes entangled in her hair, taking hours to remove, she gives up on the bread-winning idea, uplifted by her father's assurance that he would never trade her for a million dollars. That is only the start of the troubles she faces in this book, however.

Her central battle in this book is a prolonged campaign, aided and initiated by Beezus, to convince Mr. Quimby to give up smoking. Since losing his job, he smokes more than ever, and the girls are increasingly concerned about his health. Mr. Quimby does not respond well to the barrage of anti-smoking signs and messages that begin popping up throughout the house, and Ramona begins to question the nobility of her efforts and wonder whether they will cause her father to stop loving her. Ramona has always been a "Daddy's girl," and the book allows for some wonderfully tender moments that affirm the fact that while outside pressures may make Mr. Quimby unusually cross, he will never abandon his love for his second daughter.

In the midst of these family troubles, Cleary focuses on the holidays of Halloween and Christmas, each of which comes complete with its own combination of cheer and calamity. Ramona matures considerably, often substituting self-centeredness with empathy for her family members. For the first time, she begins to understand some of the problems that come with growing up and must come to accept that no family is perfect and sometimes even grown-ups encounter situations that are difficult to handle. Like Cleary's other books, this is written in simple language that makes it accessible to children the age of the protagonist, but the style is engaging enough to entrap even adults. Its nearly 200 pages, broken up into seven chapters, are easily manageable for a child and can be read by an adult in two or three hours. A Newbery Honor book, Ramona and her Father is a fine addition to the series and one of the best of the Ramona books.

Ramona's Still a Pest, but at Least She's Trying

Irrepressible Ramona Quimby has been waiting her whole life to go to school like all the other children on Klickitat Street, and in Ramona the Pest, she finally gets that wish. She also goes from being the neighborhood nuisance viewed by Henry Huggins and the pesky sister perceived by her sister Beezus to being the grown-up little girl she sees herself as. Beezus and Henry still find her annoying, but theirs are no longer the prevailing perspectives. Instead, we see Ramona’s first days of kindergarten through her eyes.

Although her class turns out to be not exactly what she’d expected, she still decides that she loves kindergarten. She loves being around other kids her own age, playing games outside, chasing adorable little Davy around the schoolyard before class begins, learning how to write her name, and singing the song every morning about the “dawnzer” which gives off “lee light.” But most of all, she loves her teacher, Miss Binney, who is young, pretty, and sweet, and most importantly understands where Ramona is coming from.

This landmark year is full of triumphs for Ramona. She is grown-up enough to walk to school without adult supervision. She discovers that her last name begins with a fascinating letter and designs her own special version of the letter Q, complete with kittycat ears and whiskers to match the tail. Thanks to the innovation of Howie, her trike transforms from a vehicle too babyish to be suitable for a big kindergartener to a real two-wheeler, albeit a very wobbly and off-balance one.

Kindergarten is not free of frustrations, though. She must walk to school every day with her best friend Howie Kemp, whose demeanor is frightfully dull in comparison to her state of constant excitement. He always seems bored, which aggravates Ramona immensely. But Howie is nothing compared to Susan, a bossy girl in her class whose hair is filled with luxurious blonde curls. Every time she sees Susan, she longs to pull one of those nice, thick curls down and watch it spring up with a satisfying boing! Susan’s infuriating behavior only makes her urge stronger.

Cleary’s descriptions of Ramona’s exploits are hilarious. Though Ramona longs for the perks the older children in the neighborhood enjoy, she is unprepared to accept responsibility all of the time. She can’t be quiet and sensible like Beezus, and her stubbornness gets her into all sorts of trouble, from hiding between two garbage cans to avoid going to kindergarten with a substitute teacher to being temporarily expelled from the class after failing to resist her desire to yoink Susan’s curls. Much of the pest perceived by the long-suffering Beezus is present, but the readers begin to see that, aside from a few times when an irrational temper tantrum just feels so right, Ramona really does want to be good. A great read for anyone who can identify with the delicacy of balancing responsibility and spunk.

Ramona the Brat Gains Perspective

Ramona the Brave marks a new chapter in this energetic girl’s life. Ramona Quimby has completed kindergarten and will soon enter the first grade in the sturdy brick building with her sister Beezus, who, after a traumatic name-calling incident with some boys in the park, rejects her acquired nickname and reverts to her birth name, Beatrice. Waiting is hard, since the summer is hot and boring with her friends away at summer camps or visiting relatives and Beezus is often cross with her. Her primary source of excitement is a game she and her best friend Howie Kemp invented called Brick Factory whose object is to smash bricks into powder with rocks. But Beatrice finds this noisy, messy activity particularly maddening, so Ramona can only play it when Howie is available. Both girls long for something interesting to break up the monotony of their summer.

As summer draws to a close, that something comes in the form of an addition to the house, a new room so that Beatrice and Ramona can have their own space. By the time the first day of school finally arrives, Ramona has something exciting to talk about: a hole in the side of her house. But when her glorious show and tell story goes awry, she fears it may be an indication of things to come. When the new room she wanted so badly is completed, she realizes that she is not quite so brave as she had thought and misses her sister’s company in the lonely dark of the newly finished room.

Ramona was so looking forward to first grade, but now that she is here, she misses her carefree kindergarten lifestyle and always understanding teacher. Mrs. Griggs, the first grade teacher, is stricter, the work this year is harder, and her prissy classmate Susan continues to torment her. Worst of all, she copies Ramona’s paper bag owl and receives lavish praise from Mrs. Griggs. First grade is shaping up to be very unfair indeed.

The more unpleasant first grade becomes, the more Beatrice raves about the sixth grade and her wonderful teacher, Mr. Cardoza. More and more, Ramona wishes she could return to the classroom of her beloved Miss Binney. But unexpectedly, Beatrice understands Ramona’s first grade struggles and helps her to face school even when it brings disappointments.

Although Ramona is still free-spirited and still behaves badly at times, Ramona the Brave shows her beginning to understand how others view her. This strange new revelation encourages Ramona to think a bit more before she acts. In this book, author Beverly Cleary moves her further away from her persona as Ramona the brat and towards the creative but self-controlled individual she is bursting to become.

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.

Ramona Remains a Favorite Forever

Ramona Forever, the last Ramona book until the recently published Ramona’s World, picks up where Ramona Quimby, Age 8 left off. Spunky Ramona is still in third grade, but we almost forget she’s attending school because her academic activities are not mentioned at all. The focus here is entirely on her home life, with a bit of her best friend Howie Kemp and his family thrown in. Her older sister Beezus continues to be a perfectionist, but she shows more empathy for Ramona than she has in the past and allows herself some not-so-grown-up moments. Beezus also spends part of the book preoccupied with her complexion, as acne is beginning to set in and she is not one bit happy about it. The girls notice that their mother has been acting strangely and seems to be expanding, and Beezus tells Ramona that a third sibling may be on the way. Meanwhile, their father hopes for a teaching offer as he finishes his degree.

Big changes are in store for Ramona in this book. They begin when an encounter with Howie’s rich, teasing uncle leaves her with the revelation that Howie’s grandmother dislikes her. She has never liked going to Howie’s house after school, but now the thought seems unbearable. Beezus confesses that she, too, feels uncomfortable at the Kemps’ and offers to watch Ramona after school herself. Now both girls must prove they are grown-up enough to handle the responsibility. This resolve is tested when the sisters get into a big fight, but an unexpected tragedy brings them closer together than ever before and proves to their parents that they can handle themselves.

More than the last half of the book is centered around two key events: the marriage of Ramona’s Aunt Beatrice, Beezus’ namesake, and the birth of the newest Quimby. Mrs. Quimby becomes increasingly irritable, and the girls hope the baby will hold off until after the wedding. The wedding is yet another opportunity for Ramona to feel grown-up, and as the plans progress she grows to approve of the groom, despite her initial deep misgivings. When the time finally comes to call him “uncle,” she is happy to award him the title.

While Ramona Quimby, Age 8 dealt largely with various comical mishaps at home and at school, Ramona Forever has a slightly more serious tone. It features major life events that many children her age face; like Ramona, I had to deal with a wedding, a birth, and a family death all in one year, though for me it was second grade instead of third. Most of the kids reading the book probably have experienced at least one of the three or will soon, and can relate to the emotions that accompany such landmark occurrences. Readers can take heart because although her family is undergoing many significant changes, Ramona can deal with whatever comes her way.

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.