The Complete 8-Book Ramona Collection: Beezus and Ramona, Ramona and Her Father, Ramona and Her Mother, Ramona Quimby, Age 8, Ramona Forever, Ramona the Brave, Ramona the Pest, Ramona's World

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Modesty Shorts: For fourth-grade picture day, Ramona puts on a pair of play shorts under her skirt. In 1955, after finishing three Henry books, Cleary wrote Beezus and Ramona, a novel in which Beezus was the central character. The plot revolved around fourth grade Beezus' frustrations with her younger sister. Then in 1968, having concluded the Henry Huggins series, Cleary returned to focus on the two sisters in Ramona the Pest. It became the foundation book of the Ramona series. As publisher, writer and reviewer Anita Silvey says, "It was almost inevitable that Cleary would publish a series of books about this boisterous yet appealing character." [2] The Grumbies: An older couple who doesn't like Ribsy, Henry's dog, because he likes to chase their cat.

Bratty Half-Pint: Willa Jean, Howie's little sister, who is four years younger than Ramona and Howie. Both Ramona and Howie can't stand her, and especially the fact that Willa Jean never seems to get in trouble for the things she does. Or the fact that Ramona is blamed when Willa Jean does something wrong because supposedly looking after a bratty little kid is another kid's job. She does, however, get a lot better in Ramona Forever (the last book she appeared in). Ramona, however, wasn't too different from her when she was Willa Jean's age. Mrs. Pitt: One of Ramona's neighbors who lives in front of the bus stop. She doesn't like kids who throw trash in her yard. Serious Business: Much of the drama in the books may be seen this way from an adult perspective, but as noted above, it's justified in-universe because a lot of minor-in-the-big-scheme-of-things stuff is Serious Business when you're a kid. In Ramona Quimby, Age 8, it is stated that Ramona and her fellow third graders are the oldest kids at her new school. However, in Ramona's World she enters fourth grade at the same school. It's also explicitly stated that Ramona's teacher, Mrs. Meachem, has been teaching fourth grade there long enough to have had some of her current students' parents in her class (ruling out the possibility that the school just added a grade over the summer).

Publication Order of Ramona Quimby Books

Tomboy and Girly Girl: Beezus is the tomboy to her best friend Mary Jane's girly girl. In Ramona's World, Ramona is the tomboy to Daisy's girly girl.

Age-Appropriate Angst: Ramona's problems are treated as Serious Business, but they're all things kids her current age can relate to. These include being late for school, having to deal with a substitute in place of her favorite teacher, and worrying about getting the wrong kind of sandwich in her lunch. Compressed Vice: Mr. Quimby has a smoking problem in Ramona and her Father. He never seemed to have that problem before, but Ramona hadn't really thought about it before. It got brought up when Beezus angrily asked why he could afford to smoke when the family couldn't afford decent food for the cat. He might also have taken it up due to the stress of losing his job. Pohlmann, John Ogden (1974). California's mission myth. Dept. of History (doctorate thesis). University of California, Los Angeles. They were also made into the American movie Ramona and Beezus, released on July 23, 2010, starring Joey King as Ramona and Selena Gomez as Beezus. [12] Although the film jumps from book to book, the plot mainly focuses on the seventh book in the series, Ramona Forever.Wake-Up Call Boss: While Ramona, like any other child, feels that grown-ups are often unfair in their rules because she doesn't understand why those rules are in place, Mrs. Griggs represents Ramona's first realization that some authority figures are genuinely unfair and that life in itself isn't always fair. Mrs. Griggs is also the first time in her life that Ramona has had to deal with a stern and coldly indifferent authority figure, in contrast to the warm understanding of her parents and Miss Binney. Her parents are sympathetic enough to her complaints about Mrs. Griggs to question Beezus about her experiences with the teacher, but point out to Ramona that many of Mrs. Griggs's observations are fair ones (with regards to Ramona's problems with self-control). They also point out that part of growing up is learning how to deal constructively with people you do not get along with. This proves to be a turning point for Ramona, as she takes her parents' advice to heart and develops much better self-control in school. Birth-Death Juxtaposition: Ramona and Beezus learn that their mother is pregnant shortly after they have to bury the family cat.