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Ramona Quimby, Age 8
Ramona Quimby, Age 8
Ramona Quimby, Age 8
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Ramona Quimby, Age 8

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In this edition of the Newbery Honor Book Ramona Quimby, Age 8, the timeless classic features a special foreword written by actress, producer, and author Amy Poehler, as well as an exclusive interview with Beverly Cleary herself.

Ramona likes that she’s old enough to be counted on, but must everything depend on her? Mrs. Quimby has gone back to work so that Mr. Quimby can return to school, and Ramona is expected to be good for Mrs. Kemp while her parents are away, to be brave enough to ride the school bus by herself, and to put up with being teased by Danny the Yard Ape.

In Ramona’s world, being eight isn’t easy, but it’s never dull!

Readers ages 6-12 will laugh along with and relate to Ramona's timeless adventures.

LanguageEnglish
PublisherHarperCollins
Release dateOct 6, 2009
ISBN9780061972348
Author

Beverly Cleary

Beverly Cleary is one of America's most beloved authors. As a child, she struggled with reading and writing. But by third grade, after spending much time in her public library in Portland, Oregon, she found her skills had greatly improved. Before long, her school librarian was saying that she should write children's books when she grew up. Instead she became a librarian. When a young boy asked her, "Where are the books about kids like us?" she remembered her teacher's encouragement and was inspired to write the books she'd longed to read but couldn't find when she was younger. She based her funny stories on her own neighborhood experiences and the sort of children she knew. And so, the Klickitat Street gang was born! Mrs. Cleary's books have earned her many prestigious awards, including the American Library Association's Laura Ingalls Wilder Award, presented to her in recognition of her lasting contribution to children's literature. Dear Mr. Henshaw won the Newbery Medal, and Ramona Quimby, Age 8 and Ramona and Her Father have been named Newbery Honor Books. Her characters, including Beezus and Ramona Quimby, Henry Huggins, and Ralph, the motorcycle-riding mouse, have delighted children for generations.

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Reviews for Ramona Quimby, Age 8

Rating: 4.277777777777778 out of 5 stars
4.5/5

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  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    Each Ramona book seems to be a little better than the previous one. Like others in the series, "Ramona Quimby, Age 8" is episodic, and therefore doesn't have any overall focus for the plot. Ramona is going to school alone for third grade, because Beezus is in Junior High now. Through the course of the book, she has difficulties with a boy in her class, her teacher, her sister, her parents, and of course, Willa Jean and her babysitting grandmother. Cleary's genius is making the reader, regardless of their age, understand the feelings of an eight-year-old. None of the problems Ramona faces are major events... but they are to her, and we understand that.Funny, sweet, and perhaps a bit nostalgic if you can remember what it was like to be eight yourself.
  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    Mr. Quimby has gone back to school to become a teacher, Beezus is starting junior high, and Ramona's going to a new primary school. All the while, Mrs. Quimby must go to work every day to keep the family afloat. With everyone facing collective changes, Ramona wants to be the kind of girl her family can depend on in Ramona Quimby, Age 8 by author Beverly Cleary.Not to say I didn't enjoy this book as a child (I got such a kick out of all the Ramona books), but I'm quite certain I enjoyed this one more, this time around.I can't get over how well the little-things-that-are-big-things are captured in Ramona's stories. Here, we have the joy of getting a brand new, smooth, pearly pink eraser to start off the school year. The anger when some wise guy classmate steals that eraser! The humiliation of getting sick in school. The warmth and coziness of a family car ride home on a rainy evening. The thrill and luxury of going out for dinner at Whopperburger!And the absolute best part of class at school: silent reading! How handy to then be able to pull out something as mature and important as "Sustained Silent Reading" after school, to avoid playing with that annoying little Willa Jean for too long. Even if... "One of these days Willa Jean was sure to catch on that [Ramona] was just reading a book, and Ramona wanted to postpone that time as long as possible."I laughed out loud several times, I was touched along the way, and I'm as hyped as ever to be revisiting this series.
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    This was my first Ramona book. I loved it. It is a timeless story. I identified with it on so many levels. It brought back memories and feelings from my chilhood but I also identified with it as a mother and as a teacher.I thought Ms. Cleary did such a wonderful job giving Ramona a voice that was so realistic. Like one of my other favorite literary characters, Clementine, Ramona will make you smile, but she can also bring a tear to your eye.
  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    This book is about Ramona and she thinks that being 8 is really a hard life. This is a great chapter book and is also a Newbery Honor book. That means it is a really good book if it receives that honor.
  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    I thought this book was pretty funny and really good. The thing I liked the most about this book was that I loved when they went out as a family without being crossed. I really enjoyed reading this book. I would also recommend this book to anyone even my little sister because this book is about how a family becomes closer to each other, how they get along, and I would think anyone would like a book about that.
  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    M and I both read this for our 2-person mother/daughter book club. :-) I was a big fan of the Ramona series when I was a kid.
  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    I remember buying this book from a Scholastic book fair at my school when I was in the third grade. This book is about Cleary's character of Ramona Quimby and her adventure through third grade. Her father goes back to school and has to stay with a neighbor after school while her mother is at work, she worries her teacher doesn't like her. There's a part where she tries to crack what she thinks is a hard-boiled on her head only to find it wasn't and literally ends up with egg on her face. I remember there's another part where she and her older sister Beezus have to make dinner for their parents so they just end up mixing things together in the kitchen like chicken and rice and yogurt and it's actually a hit. Ramona also has the stomach bug and throws up in front of her entire class. This was the part of the story that stayed with me the most because I too had a terrible stomach bug in the third grade just like Ramona and had to stay home from school. From then on this was the book to read when I was feeling sick. Ramona is not a perfect character, she doesn't behave like she's supposed to and marches to the beat of her drum. She's like any other kid and I think that makes her relatable.
  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    Perhaps the best Ramona book of them all. My favorite scene was when Ramona and Herbie want to play "ocean" and cover themselves in blue dye.
  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    Ramona you'll need a 15 minute class that teaches you the world.
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    Hilarious. Poor Ramona's year in third grade looks like it'll be ruined before it gets a chance to start, when a new boy on the school bus makes off with her lovely eraser. Things get worse as her new teacher thinks she's a nuisance, and her family feels the pressure of her dad going back to school.There is school and family drama galore, and an excellent book report, oh and a wonderful scene where Ramona and Beezus make dinner.I'd recommend this to someone in grade three, having to do a book report, or fighting with their sister.
  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    I loved this book growing up so I had to read it again. It's about Ramona Quimby's year in the third grade and all of the trials and tribulations she endures through this year. She starts her new class and right away doesn't like her teacher very much. She has squeaky shoes and accidentally cracks an egg on her head, then she throws up in class. She hears her teacher say she's a show off and a nuiscance and agonizes about this throughout the book. On top of all of this, she has to play nice with annoying WIlla Jean every day after school. Beezus is in junior high so she can't help Ramona out at school. Her father is now a student and her family is struggling with money. FInally, she puts together a great book report and her teacher loves it. She confronts Mrs. Whaley about what she overheard and Mrs. Whaley explains how she didn't understand correctly. Her family decides to go out for dinner and a nice older gentleman pays for their meal because he thinks they are such a great family. Ramona ends the book feeling lucky with what she has. This is another great one by Beverly Cleary. It's a great easy read for kids that's fun and very entertaining at the same time. I loved all of the Ramona books growing up and will be sure to pass them on to kids in my classroom.
  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    This was a very nostalgic re-read. Some of the details are a little dated, such as Ramona playing with the buttons on a cigarette machine at the Whopperburger, but the basic story is still good. Ramona's problems seem trivial to adults, but Cleary reminds the reader that those problems seem huge when you're a kid.
  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    This book is about the daily up's and down's of a young child's life. The story focuses on Ramona's journey where she is eventually lead that no matter how hectic growing up is, your family is always there. This is a great family book that focuses on the importance of family while also encouraging young people to read through Ramona's love of reading.
  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    Q5P5Ramona books are classics. The key to Ramona and her family's lasting power is that they are constantly in situations that transcend time- uncomfortable, awkward school days, families having hard financial times, moody sisters, kids who have to stay with other families after school. Cleary writes children so incredibly, I can remember the exact feelings she describes Ramona having as an 8 year old.
  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    This was a fun book to revisit. Ramona Quimby is a young girl who gets into all sorts of antics and troubles with her friends and by herself. It is a very early chapter book, and I remember reading these books every night with my father when I was younger. Great memories, great book; a classic.
  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    "You should have sad still, " said Ramona, a child that is 8 years old. Her father is studying to be an art teacher and is trying to draw his own foot. Ramona thinks she is a nucisnce after she accidentally cracked an egg on her head at at school. Her sister, that is a junior in high school, often picks on her.  
  • Rating: 3 out of 5 stars
    3/5
    This was the first chapter book I read in elementary school.
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    These books are such fun read alouds for 2nd and 3rd graders. The kids can relate to the realistic characters and the plots that are developed in the books.
  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    A quirky little girl who wants to be grown up gives those kids someone to relate too. She helps her sister and tries to keep herself out of trouble, her curiosity sometimes hindering that! Great read!
  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    Kearsten says: Ramona has a troubling year in the third grade: her dad is in school, forcing the family to rely completely on her mother's small salary, Ramona gets off on the wrong foot with her teacher and one of her classmates, and she gets sick at the WORST time.Funny, charming and just a teeny bit sad, I enjoyed rereading one of my childhood favorites with my 7 yr-old-daughter. I look forward to rereading the rest of Ramona's stories!
  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    Ramona has a troubling year in the third grade: her dad is in school, forcing the family to rely completely on her mother's small salary, Ramona gets off on the wrong foot with her teacher and one of her classmates, and she gets sick at the WORST time.Funny, charming and just a teeny bit sad, I enjoyed rereading one of my childhood favorites with my 7 yr-old-daughter. I look forward to rereading the rest of Ramona's stories!
  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    This is a story about 8 year old Ramona Quimby. Her father is returning to school to become a teacher as Ramona goes into the third grade. She feels very grown up and short with the other little kids in the neighborhood. One day Ramona cracks what she thinks is a hard boiled egg over her head and is sent to the nurse. She overhears her teacher call her a nuisance and becomes sad. Feeling sorry for herself and not wanting to be a nuisance she quietly goes about life until she gets sick in class. Ramona Quimby is simply wonderful. This is a great first reader. It's really about misunderstanding and being loved, which is what all children need and crave. The illustrations add fun to this very realistic portrayal of an 8 year old girl. This would even be a great read aloud book for girls.
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    Ramona is starting third grade, at a new school where she needs to ride a bus. Her sister is off to junior high, her father is switching part-time jobs and going to school to become a teacher, and her mom is still working full time. Changes everywhere for the Quimby family. Ramona is surprised by her new teacher, Ms. Whaley, who is informal and humorous but stern, but Ramona thinks she likes her. She also has a new nemesis in Davy, who she calls Yard Ape. He is challenging, and Ramona likes challenges. Not everything is perfect for Ramona. She really can't stand spending her afternoons with Willa Jean. She misses seeing her mom, and is worried about her dad's future. The worst blow, though, comes when she overhears her teacher calling her a nuisance. Ramona is devastated. Her hurt makes it hard for her her to forgive her mother for putting a raw egg in her lunch instead of the hard-boiled one she asked for, and the general discontent seems to be contagious, as it spills over her entire family.
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    Ramona is growing up, and part of growing up includes riding a bus to school and learning how to do her part to help the family...even if she doesn't like it. Third grade brings Ramona all sorts of new adventures, starting on the bus ride on the first day of a school when a Yard Ape type boy steals her new pink eraser! Things continue to happen to Ramona and it just doesn't seem fair. She has to play nicely with Willa Jean after school, a little girl who is always making mischief for which Ramona is blamed. Through it all Ramona approaches these situations with a perspective that is unique and decidedly classic Ramona. This delightful story takes the reader through the various trials and triumphs of an eight year old Ramona Quimby.
  • Rating: 3 out of 5 stars
    3/5
    In the book, "Ramona Quimby, Age 8" it is Ramona's first day in the third grade. She is very excited to ride the bus and she loves her teacher Mrs. Whaley. Ramona is having trouble on the bus and at school with a bully. Then her teacher Mrs. Whaley calls her a nuisance. So Ramona decides to ask her teacher about it and it out she was not calling Ramona a nuisance. When Ramona finds this out she decides she does love school again and she wants to come back again. I think that this book is a great addition to any teachers library!
  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    No RC. 5Q 5P. An adorable slice of life story about the trials and tribulations of being a precocious 8-year-old girl. With the exception of a few words and phrases that are out of mode, the story and writing never feel dated and kids will probably still find that they are able to relate to the events and characters. Gr. 2 and up.
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    Ramona is as quirky and lovable as ever in this book as she takes on the responsibility of turning eight and starting third grade. It is a humorous look at how the Quimbys pull through hard times and how Ramona gets a better sense of self through several mishaps at school. Stockard Channing is lovely to listen to and does an excellent job performing all the characters.
  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    It was so much fun and I love it. Amazing
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    Poor Ramona. She overhears her teacher call her a "nuisance" and then later throws up in class! Once again, Beverly Clearly amazes us with her astute, yet unforced, realization of the life of an unintentionally trouble-prone child.
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    Ramona's Dad goes back to college to become a teacher. She deals with a "Yard Ape" at school. Beezus longs for a fancy haircut and Ramona and her sister make dinner together for the first time. My 4-year-old and I are still loving these audiobooks!

Book preview

Ramona Quimby, Age 8 - Beverly Cleary

1

THE FIRST DAY OF SCHOOL

Ramona Quimby hoped her parents would forget to give her a little talking-to. She did not want anything to spoil this exciting day.

Ha-ha, I get to ride the bus to school all by myself, Ramona bragged to her big sister, Beatrice, at breakfast. Her stomach felt quivery with excitement at the day ahead, a day that would begin with a bus ride just the right length to make her feel a long way from home but not long enough—she hoped—to make her feel carsick. Ramona was going to ride the bus, because changes had been made in the schools in the Quimbys’ part of the city during the summer. Glenwood, the girls’ old school, had become an intermediate school, which meant Ramona had to go to Cedarhurst Primary School.

Ha-ha yourself. Beezus was too excited to be annoyed with her little sister. Today I start high school.

"Junior high school, corrected Ramona, who was not going to let her sister get away with acting older than she really was. Rosemont Junior High School is not the same as high school, and besides you have to walk."

Ramona had reached the age of demanding accuracy from everyone, even herself. All summer, whenever a grown-up asked what grade she was in, she felt as if she were fibbing when she answered, third, because she had not actually started the third grade. Still, she could not say she was in the second grade since she had finished that grade last June. Grown-ups did not understand that summers were free from grades.

Ha-ha to both of you, said Mr. Quimby, as he carried his breakfast dishes into the kitchen. You’re not the only ones going to school today. Yesterday had been his last day working at the checkout counter of the ShopRite Market. Today he was returning to college to become what he called a real, live school teacher. He was also going to work one day a week in the frozen-food warehouse of the chain of ShopRite Markets to help the family squeak by, as the grown-ups put it, until he finished his schooling.

Ha-ha to all of you if you don’t hurry up, said Mrs. Quimby, as she swished suds in the dishpan. She stood back from the sink so she would not spatter the white uniform she wore in the doctor’s office where she worked as a receptionist.

Daddy, will you have to do homework? Ramona wiped off her milk moustache and gathered up her dishes.

That’s right. Mr. Quimby flicked a dish towel at Ramona as she passed him. She giggled and dodged, happy because he was happy. Never again would he stand all day at a cash register, ringing up groceries for a long line of people who were always in a hurry.

Ramona slid her plate into the dishwater. And will Mother have to sign your progress reports?

Mrs. Quimby laughed. I hope so.

Beezus was last to bring her dishes into the kitchen. Daddy, what do you have to study to learn to be a teacher? she asked.

Ramona had been wondering the same thing. Her father knew how to read and do arithmetic. He also knew about Oregon pioneers and about two pints making one quart.

Mr. Quimby wiped a plate and stacked it in the cupboard. I’m taking an art course, because I want to teach art. And I’ll study child development—

Ramona interrupted. What’s child development?

How kids grow, answered her father.

Why does anyone have to go to school to study a thing like that? wondered Ramona. All her life she had been told that the way to grow was to eat good food, usually food she did not like, and get plenty of sleep, usually when she had more interesting things to do than go to bed.

Mrs. Quimby hung up the dishcloth, scooped up Picky-picky, the Quimbys’ old yellow cat, and dropped him at the top of the basement steps. Scat, all of you, she said, or you’ll be late for school.

After the family’s rush to brush teeth, Mr. Quimby said to his daughters, Hold out your hands, and into each waiting pair he dropped a new pink eraser. Just for luck, he said, not because I expect you to make mistakes.

Thank you, said the girls. Even a small present was appreciated, because presents of any kind had been scarce while the family tried to save money so Mr. Quimby could return to school. Ramona, who liked to draw as much as her father, especially treasured the new eraser, smooth, pearly pink, smelling softly of rubber, and just right for erasing pencil lines.

Mrs. Quimby handed each member of her family a lunch, two in paper bags and one in a lunch box for Ramona. Now, Ramona— she began.

Ramona sighed. Here it was, that little talking-to she always dreaded.

Please remember, said her mother, you really must be nice to Willa Jean.

Ramona made a face. I try, but it’s awfully hard.

Being nice to Willa Jean was the part of Ramona’s life that was not changing, the part she wished would change. Every day after school she had to go to her friend Howie Kemp’s house, where her parents paid Howie’s grandmother to look after her until one of them could come for her. Both of Howie’s parents, too, went off to work each day. She liked Howie, but after spending most of the summer, except for swimming lessons in the park, at the Kemps’ house, she was tired of having to play with four-year-old Willa Jean. She was also tired of apple juice and graham crackers for a snack every single day.

No matter what Willa Jean does, complained Ramona, her grandmother thinks it’s my fault because I’m bigger. Like the time Willa Jean wore her flippers when she ran under the sprinkler, pretending she was the mermaid on the tuna-fish can, and then left big wet footprints on the kitchen floor. Mrs. Kemp said I should have stopped her because Willa Jean didn’t know any better!

Mrs. Quimby gave Ramona a quick hug. I know it isn’t easy, but keep trying.

When Ramona sighed, her father hugged her and said, Remember, kid, we’re counting on you. Then he began to sing, We’ve got high hopes, try hopes, buy cherry pie-in-July hopes—

Ramona enjoyed her father’s making up new words for the song about the little old ant moving the rubber tree plant, and she liked being big enough to be counted on, but sometimes when she went to the Kemps’ she felt as if everything depended on her. If Howie’s grandmother did not look after her, her mother could not work full time. If her mother did not work full time, her father could not go to school. If her father did not go to school, he might have to go back to being a checker, the work that made him tired and cross.

Still, Ramona had too many interesting things to think about to let her responsibility worry her as she walked through the autumn sunshine toward her school bus stop, her new eraser in hand, new sandals on her feet, that quivery feeling of excitement in her stomach, and the song about high hopes running through her head.

She thought about her father’s new part-time job zipping around in a warehouse on a fork-lift truck, filling orders for orange juice, peas, fish sticks, and all the other frozen items the markets carried. He called himself Santa’s Little Helper, because the temperature of the warehouse was way below zero, and he would have to wear heavy padded clothing to keep from freezing. The job sounded like fun to Ramona. She wondered how she was going to feel about her father’s teaching art to other people’s children and decided not to think about that for a while.

Instead, Ramona thought about Beezus going off to another

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