The Ramona Quimby Series by Beverly Cleary is a fun and silly series about a young girl, Ramona Quimby, growing up on Klickitat Street in Portland, Oregan. The series begins with Ramona in Kindergarten. As the title of the first book suggests, Ramona can be a bit of a pest. However, she really just wants to be nice and do well. Her imagination and gusto sometimes gets the best of her. The series continues to follow Ramona as she moves up grades in school. By the third book she is entering the second grade. She still manages to get into all sorts of trouble and interesting situations. In this book her dad has lost his job and is looking for a new career. Romona and her dad go through some trials, but together they are able to still have fun and get through them with love and silliness.
In later books Ramona deals with a new little sister, Roberta, and growing older as she is in the fourth grade by Ramona's World.
This series grew out of the Henry Huggins Series of books where Ramona appears as one of Henry's friends. Those books are listed below as well.
Overall Review
We love the series of Ramona Quimby books. They are fun, silly, and touching all at the same time. Although the books can be enjoyed by most anyone of any age, they will be especially appealing to girls ages 5-10.
Major Characters
Ramona Quimby - The lead character in the stories, Ramona is most known for her vivid imagination. This gets her into all sorts of funny situations and sometimes trouble as adults don't always understand her. She likes fairy tales and playing in the park. She doesn't like spelling.
Henry Huggins - Henry is one of Ramona's good friends. He likes to ride his bike and has his own paper route.
Beezus Quimby - The older sister, Beezus is a nickname for Beatrice. She deals with more grown-up stuff and likes to read.
Mr. Robert Quimby - Ramona's dad. He is artistic and perhaps understands her better than most adults. He switches jobs a lot, but always does his best.
Mrs. Dorothy Quimby - Mrs. Quimby works as a receptionist in a doctor's office. She helps hold everything together when things go crazy with the family.
Roberta Quimby - Roberta is the little sister. She is born in the book Ramona Forever.
Howie Kemp and Daisy Kidd - Best friends of Ramona.
Books in the Ramona Quimby series
Ramona the Pest (1968)
Ramona the Brave (1975)
Ramona and Her Father (1977) - A Newbery Honor Book
