Ramona and Her Mother

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Ramona and Her Mother is a juvenile fiction novel written by Beverly Cleary. It is the fourth installment in the Ramona Quimby series. The book was illustrated by Alan Tiegreen and was first published in 1979.

The story picks up where Ramona and Her Father left off, with Mr. Quimby going to work at a supermarket after having been unemployed for a while. Mrs. Quimby is also working full time as a receptionist in a pediatrician's office, so there's now a lot of action in the household.

One key story in the book stretches over two chapters as it deals with one of those days where everything goes wrong. First, the day starts off with Ramona being criticized by both parents and her older sister Beezus. Then, typical for Oregon, it rains and rains hard. Ramona is stuck at her friend Howie Kemp's house when her folks are late picking her up and is forced to watch the Kemps eat dinner. All the family wants is a hot dinner when they get home, but it doesn't happen because someone didn't plug in the crock pot that morning. So as they are stuck eating pancakes and carrots for dinner, Mr. and Mrs. Quimby argue, which leaves Beezus and Ramona fearing that their folks may split up. Of course, in the morning, everything is brighter.

Other chapters involve Beezus' quest to have her hair cut in a salon, which doesn't go as planned; and Ramona wearing her comfortable new pajamas to school under her clothes. A misunderstanding in the last chapter has Ramona threatening to run away, when her mother comes up with a plan to convince Ramona she's wanted.