Ramona's World

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Ramona's World
1st edition
Author	Beverly Cleary
Cover artist	Alan Tiegreen
Country	United States
Language	English
Series	Ramona
Genre	Children's novel
Publisher	William Morrow
Publication date	1999
Media type	Print (Paperback)
Pages	209 pp
ISBN	0-380-73272-6
OCLC	46365349
Preceded by	Ramona Forever -1981

Ramona's World is the eighth book in the Ramona Quimby series by Beverly Cleary. Ramona and her sister Beezus are growing up. Ramona is in the fourth grade now, and for the first time she has a best girl-friend, Daisy Kidd. At home she tries her best to be a good role model for baby Roberta, but finds baby sitting harder than she expected. Published in 1999, Ramona's World was written fifteen years after its predecessor, Ramona Forever. It was the last published installment in the series, as well as the last book Ms. Cleary published.

Plot summary

Ramona's world is changing. There's tiny baby Roberta at home, and as Ramona adjusts to being a big sister she discovers she likes teaching her to do things like stick out her tongue. In fourth grade now, she finally has a best girlfriend, new student Daisy Kidd. At school Ramona is frustrated with her teacher, Mrs. Meacham, who pushes her class to be proper spellers, a difficult subject for Ramona.

Beezus, a 15-year-old just entering high school, starts speaking French around the house, spending a lot of time on the phone talking about boys and asking her friends about who she should date, makes her little sister mad. Ramona begins to feel forgotten as Beezus, while Mr. Quimby, and Mrs. Quimby are always fussing over Roberta.

Ramona's rivalry with Susan, her nemesis since kindergarten, continues. Ramona's parents and Susan's parents have become friends, and both sets of parents have asked their daughters to get along with each other. Ramona is frustrated by Susan's perfect attitude. She reluctantly invites Susan to her "zero teenth" (tenth, actually) birthday party at the park at her mother's insistence. At the party, a silly dispute breaks out in which everyone turns against Susan, and for the first time, Ramona feels sorry for her and defends her, showing that she's beginning to be able to see things from someone else's point of view. In the end, Mrs. Quimby kisses Ramona's hair like she kisses Roberta's and says, "Ten is the best age of growing up".

Characters

The following characters appear in the novel:

Ramona Quimby, a 9 year old girl, and protagonist of the story
Beatrice "Beezus" Quimby, Ramona's older sister, who is now in ninth grade.
Dorothy Quimby, Ramona's mother
Robert Quimby, Ramona's father
Daisy Kidd, a girl who is new to the neighborhood, who soon becomes Ramona's best friend
Jeremy Kidd, Daisy's older brother; he and Beezus seem to like one another
Howard "Howie" Kemp, Ramona's childhood-friend-turned-cousin, thanks to the marriage of his uncle and her aunt
Danny (no last name given), nicknamed "Yard Ape", Ramona's friend
Roberta Day Quimby, Beezus and Ramona's baby sister
Mrs. Meacham, Ramona's fourth grade teacher.
Susan Kushner, Ramona's rival since their kindergarten days

Critical reaction

Reviewers' reactions to Cleary's books continues to be positive, as seen in Kirkus Reviews: "Ramona returns, and she’s as feisty as ever… Cleary picks up on all the details of fourth grade, from comparing hand calluses to the distribution of little plastic combs by the school photographer. This year Ramona is trying to improve her spelling, and Cleary is especially deft at limning the emotional nuances as Ramona fails and succeeds, goes from sad to happy, and from hurt to proud… Despite a brief mention of nose piercing, Cleary’s writing still reflects a secure middle-class family and untroubled school life, untouched by the classroom violence or the broken families of the 1990s. While her book doesn’t match what’s in the newspapers, it’s a timeless, serene alternative for children..."^[1]

Editions

Audio Formats: Ramona's World is available in cassette, CD and eAudiobook from Random House/Listening Library;^[2]
Print/English: Braille available from Morrow Junior Books, e-Book through HarperCollins;^[2]
Print/Worldwide: As of 2010, 53 editions of Ramona's World had been published in 7 languages.^[3]

v t e Henry Huggins and Ramona by Beverly Cleary

Henry Huggins novels	Henry Huggins Henry and Beezus Henry and Ribsy Henry and the Paper Route Henry and the Clubhouse Ribsy

Ramona novels	Beezus and Ramona Ramona the Pest Ramona the Brave Ramona and Her Father Ramona and Her Mother Ramona Quimby, Age 8 Ramona Forever Ramona's World

Characters	Henry Huggins Ramona Quimby Beezus Quimby Ribsy Picky-picky Howie Kemp Mrs. Swink Susan Kushner Davy Roberta Quimby Mrs. Dorothy Quimby Mr. Robert Quimby

Adaptations	Ramona (TV) Ramona and Beezus (film)

v t e Works by Beverly Cleary

Henry Huggins	Henry Huggins Henry and Beezus Henry and Ribsy Henry and the Paper Route Henry and the Clubhouse Ribsy

Ramona Quimby	Beezus and Ramona Ramona the Pest Ramona the Brave Ramona and Her Father Ramona and Her Mother Ramona Quimby, Age 8 Ramona Forever Ramona's World

Ralph S. Mouse	The Mouse and the Motorcycle Runaway Ralph Ralph S. Mouse

First Love	Fifteen The Luckiest Girl Jean and Johnny Sister of the Bride

Ellen & Otis	Ellen Tebbits Otis Spofford

Leigh Botts	Dear Mr. Henshaw Strider

Leave It to Beaver	Leave It To Beaver Here's Beaver!

Picture books	The Hullabaloo ABC The Real Hole Two Dog Biscuits The Growing-Up Feet Lucky Chuck Janet's Thingamajigs Petey's Bedtime Story

Other fiction	Emily's Runaway Imagination Mitch and Amy Socks Muggie Maggie

Related media	Ramona Ramona and Beezus

Autobiographies	A Girl From Yamhill My Own Two Feet

References

↑ "Ramona's World". Kirkus reviews. Retrieved 2012-04-30.
↑ 2.0 2.1 "Formats and Editions". Ramona's World. Retrieved April 30, 2012.
↑ "Editions". Ramona's World. Retrieved April 30, 2012.

External links

The World of Beverly Cleary

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