Ramona (novel series)
The Ramona books are a series of eight humorous children's novels by Beverly Cleary that center on Ramona Quimby, her family and friends. The first book, Beezus and Ramona, appeared in 1955. The final book, Ramona's World, was published in 1999. Two books in the series were named Newbery Honor books, Ramona and Her Father and Ramona Quimby, Age 8. Ramona and Her Mother received the National Book Award. Sometimes known as the Beezus and Ramona series, as of 2012, the books were being marketed by HarperCollins as "The Complete Ramona Collection".
Background
The Ramona books grew out of Cleary's earlier Henry Huggins series and take place in the same neighborhood. In the Henry Huggins books Beezus was one of Henry's friends, and her younger sister Ramona was generally a pest to Henry, Beezus and the other children.It occurred to Cleary that all of the characters she had created thus far had no brothers or sisters. "Someone should have a sibling," she wrote in My Own Two Feet, "so I tossed in a little sister to explain Beezus's nickname. When it came time to name the sister, I overheard a neighbor call out to another whose name was Ramona. I wrote in "Ramona," made several references to her, gave her one brief scene, and thought that was the end of her. Little did I dream, to use a trite expression from books of my childhood, that she would take over books of her own."
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."
Ramona the Pest, like the remaining books in the series, is written from Ramona's point of view. In Ramona the Pest Ramona enters kindergarten. The succeeding books follow her as she grows up and advances through school, usually at the rate of one grade over two books. Written from the 1950s through the 1990s, dates aren't mentioned in the books, and the children are designed to appeal to real children in any time period. The last Ramona book, Ramona's World, was published in 1999, 15 years after the previous one.
Series
;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
;The Ramona Quimby Diary
Ramona's characterization
Librarian Kathleen Odean appreciates Ramona's fearless attitude, calling her "irrepressible" and saying "She represents the kind of girl who has not been subdued by adults or the world in general." Twentieth-Century Children's Writers cites Ramona's "spunk, her impermeable but often ambivalent bond to Beezus, and her unsurpassed creativity... never sacrifices Ramona's integrity or intelligence".Part of the appeal of the series is watching Ramona grow up. Cleary's writing has been praised for its ability to show her main character maturing: "Throughout the series, Cleary depicts Ramona's emotional development as well as her adventures and misadventures." Anita Silvey calls Ramona "Cleary's most developed characterization, a child at once ordinary and extraordinary."
Critical reception
Generally critics have been positive about all the Ramona books, pointing out the pleasure readers derive from watching Ramona grow up in the series. "Cleary outlines Ramona's joys and sorrows in a manner considered both poignant and hilarious" In Twentieth-Century Children's Writers, Cathryn Mercier praises Cleary's accomplishments through the series as a whole. "Through Ramona, Cleary touches young readers on an emotional level which engages and challenges, but does not overwhelm. Her ability to sustain their attention over time, from book to book, remains an accomplishment beyond evaluation."Though now considered a standard for realistic children's fiction, Beverly Cleary's books were unique in their time. "Ramona's complexity was something unusual in children's literature. Seen through the eyes of any other character, she could be a real nuisance. But when Cleary wrote from Ramona's point of view, all of the little girl's actions made perfect sense." They are still valued today, as Julia Doubt writes, and read around the world. "It is greatly significant that today the Ramona series still sells in many languages and countries across the globe - reaching out to ordinary kids - and their extraordinary common misunderstandings about the world - everywhere." As The Essential Guide to Children's Books and Their Creators says, Beverly Cleary "remains one of those rare authors who are both critically acclaimed and immensely popular with young readers."
Adaptations
Cleary's Ramona books have been adapted for Canadian television as Ramona. The 10-part Canadian television series starred Sarah Polley as Ramona and Lori as Beezus.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. Although the film jumps from book to book, the plot mainly focuses on the seventh book in the series, Ramona Forever.
Characters
;The Quimbys- Ramona Quimby: The main character. She has straight, short brown hair and an active imagination. Her middle name is Geraldine.
- Beatrice "Beezus" Quimby: Ramona's sensible, big sister, whose nickname comes from Ramona's babyhood mispronunciation of her name. She was named after Aunt Beatrice. Her middle name is Ann. While she supports and loves Ramona, she can misunderstand and be frustrated by her actions.
- Mr. Robert "Bob" Quimby: Ramona's father, who loves to draw, and remembers to bring home gummy bears and new Pink Pearl erasers for the girls. He works at sometimes unpleasant jobs to support the family, but wants to be a teacher; Ramona suggests he should be a cartoonist.
- Mrs. Dorothy Quimby : Ramona's mother, who works as a bookkeeper for a doctor. She is calm and practical, and much like Beezus in temperament, though she also has a deep and loving bond with Ramona.
- Aunt Beatrice Day-Kemp: Mrs. Quimby's sister, who is a teacher, and Beezus' favorite aunt and ideal adult. She marries Hobart Kemp later in the series. She is imaginative and carefree and tells the girls that she was remarkably like Ramona as a child.
- Grandpa Day: Mrs. Quimby and Aunt Bea's dad, who helps planned Aunt Bea's wedding. His wife Grandma Day died before the first book, so Ramona probably met her, but was young to remember.
- Roberta Quimby: Beezus and Ramona's baby sister, who is born at the end of Ramona Forever. Ramona is jealous that Roberta has all her parents' attention, but at the end of "Ramona's World" learns to love her sister. Her middle name is Day.
- Picky-picky: The Quimbys' elderly cat. He usually avoids Ramona, because, as Mrs. Quimby explains, he has grown grouchy in his old age and because Ramona was rough with him when she was little. As she gets older, he comes to trust her more, even curling up on the couch with her when she's sick. He dies in Ramona Forever, and the sisters bury him.
- Howie Kemp: Ramona's friend who loves building things. He becomes Ramona's cousin in Ramona Forever when his Uncle Hobart marries her Aunt Beatrice. He never gets excited about anything, which really makes Ramona disappointed.
- Willa Jean Kemp: Howie's bratty little sister, who is frequently thrust on Ramona. People say that she is very like Ramona when she was little; however, Willa Jean does not seem to possess Ramona's imagination.
- Mrs. Kemp: Howie's mother.
- Mr. Kemp: Howie's father.
- Grandma Kemp: Howie's grandmother, who lives in the same house and watches Ramona, Howie, and Willa Jean after school.
- Uncle Hobart Kemp: Howie's uncle who marries Ramona's aunt, Beatrice. He is Mr. Kemp's younger brother. He makes his only appearance in Ramona Forever.
- Henry Huggins: Beezus' red-headed friend. The Ramona series of books are a spin-off of the Henry Huggins series.
- Mr. Huggins: Henry's father.
- Mrs. Huggins: Henry's mother.
- Ribsy: Henry's dog.
- Nosy: Henry's cat.
- Daisy Kidd: Ramona's first friend in fourth grade. She's called 'Fence-face' by her brother because of the bands on her back teeth.
- Mrs. Kidd: Daisy's mother. She is a nice, plump woman. Ramona likes her.
- Mr. Kidd: Daisy's father.
- Jeremy Kidd: Daisy's big brother. Daisy calls him 'Germy.' Ramona once called him Prince. Beezus has a little crush on him in Ramona's World, and he returns it.
- Clawed: Jeremy Kidd's cat, a stray that he found and adopted.
- Scooter McCarthy: Henry's friend who often irritates Henry and Beezus with his upperclassman attitudes.
- Eva McCarthy: Scooter's mother.
- Robert: Henry's best friend.
- Mrs. Swink: An elderly lady who wears pants suits and calls Ramona "Juanita".
- The Grumbies: An older couple who doesn't like Ribsy, Henry's dog, because he likes to chase their cat.
- 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.
- Mrs. Peabody: A lady who was Henry's neighbor; her dog Ranger was unfriendly to them. She called Henry "Harry Higgins" in Henry and the Clubhouse until Ramona corrected her.
- Ranger: Mrs. Peabody's dog.
- Danny "Yard Ape": A boy who always annoys Ramona, and whom she secretly likes.
- Susan Kushner: Ramona's former rival, who seemed perfect and was revealed to be boring. Ramona was very tempted to pull her blond curls in kindergarten to make them bounce.
- Davy: A timid, skinny boy whom Ramona used to chase around the playground each day in kindergarten.