Ramona's World

Ramona's World

First 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 -1984

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 that she likes teaching Roberta to do things such as sticking out her tongue. In fourth grade, she finally has a best girlfriend, the new student Daisy Kidd (who is also new to the neighborhood). At school Ramona is frustrated with her teacher, Mrs. Meacham. Mrs. Meacham pushes her students to be proper spellers; spelling is a difficult subject for Ramona.

Beezus, a 14-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" (or tenth) 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 Susan and defends her, showing that Ramona is beginning to be able to see things from someone else's point of view (which means that she is growing more mature). 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:

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

See also

References

  1. ↑ "Ramona's World". Kirkus reviews. Retrieved 2012-04-30.
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 "Formats and Editions". Ramona's World. Retrieved April 30, 2012.
  3. ↑ "Editions". Ramona's World. Retrieved April 30, 2012.

External links