Customer Reviews

Beezus and Ramona

5 star:		(52)
4 star:		(10)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

I read my daughter Beverly Cleary's Ramona the Pest last year, when she was in kindergarten (because in that book Ramona is also a kindergartner) and she instantly pronounced it her favorite chapter book of all time.

We've since been reading all the Ramona books, but we skipped this one for awhile. It's the first in the series, and takes place when Ramona is four years old. I knew from reviews that if focused more on Ramona's older, more serious sister, Beezus, and wasn't a "real" Ramona Quimby book. I somehow thought it would not be as funny as the others.

I was wrong. Ramona is even more exuberant in this book than in any of the others we've read, and her antics are hilarious. Seeing everything through the eyes of her serious sister does not make it one bit less funny.

But this is not just a funny book. It deals gently and honestly with the difficulty Beezus has in loving her sometimes exasperating little sister. Beezus and Ramona is more than forty years old, but I donŐt think anyone has ever come close to Beverly Cleary's ability to capture and sympathize with children's feelings. Cleary brings everything around to a happy, but entirely believable ending in this warm, wise book.

My daughter says this is her second favorite Ramona book (after Ramona the Pest), but so far it's my very favorite.

I have two younger sisters and I know the kind of trouble they can cause and how exasperating they can be. When I first read this book, I was in third grade. I'm 22 now, and I have read the book at least 20 times since then. Beverly Cleary's book tend to contain such true-to-life values that they remain timeless.
Beezus is the older sister, the responsible and smart one. Ramona is the precocious little sister, creative but messy, cute but needy. Beezus struggles with being nice and trying to entertain Ramona and trying to be firm with her at the same time. There are some great little stories in this book about Ramona's misadventures including her unwavering love for a certain picture book, her locking Henry Huggins' dog in the bathroom, and her deciding that she wants to throw a party for herself without asking her mother. Things finally come to a head at Beezus' birthday party. When attention-starved Ramona gets a little too obnoxious, she shamefully admits that she just doesn't love her little sister all the time.
Herein lies the lesson: Beezus' mother explains that Beezus is not expected to love Ramona all the time, that Ramona will do things that get on her nerves sometimes. But there will also be good times when the two will get along, work together, or share a laugh. And those are the moments that count in the sisterly bond. I have stuck to this mantra when trying to deal with my own two younger sisters so I don't go completely insane.
This is a great book for little girls who have sisters so that one may understand the other's point of view. It helps you take a great look at your own sibling relationships, or it will at least show you that your own younger sister is not NEARLY as bratty as Ramona. :)

Even fifty years later there is no stop to the love of this book, and everyone who has read it can relate to it. In this, you might sympathize with Beezus over the trials and tribulations of little Ramona, act like a pest (as Grown-ups called her) like Ramona, and enjoy the ups and downs of having a little sister. When I was twelve, I was fortunate enough to fly across the country with my family just so we could see the "Ramona Setting" in Portland, Oregon. In tow with all the Beverly Cleary books (although in these days, there were not much) I had, I checked out all of the important points in the books. If you ever go to Portland, OR, take a look at Kickalat Street - it's great!

Beezus and Ramona is a character driven chapter book that focuses on Beatrice (nicknamed "Beezus") Quimby, the 9-year-old sister of 4-year-old Ramona Quimby. The book is essentially a series of vignettes depicting the relationship between the two sisters, in which Ramona's mischief features prominently. The book is different from the other books in the Ramona series in that Beezus is the protagonist instead of Ramona. Thus, the book is essentially a portrait of a young sibling relationship--especially its challenges--from the perspective of an older sibling.

Since this chapter book is character- and relationship-driven, the plot is minimal. However, the vignettes do develop the central theme of Beezus's struggle to feel love for her sister. Beezus--the quintessential conscientious bookish first-born child, concerned about doing things right--worries over her periodic anger and resentment toward Ramona--the classic misbehaving baby of the family who always seems to get her way and wreck things for her sister.

Throughout the book, Cleary subtly paints an alternative picture of sisterhood in the happy relationship between Beezus's mother and her sister Beatrice (the aunt after whom Beezus was named). Beezus adores her Aunt Beatrice--she's a young, pretty, jovial schoolteacher that drives a yellow convertible; what's not to love?

The book culminates with Beezus's 10th birthday dinner, which Aunt Beatrice attends. A dinner conversation between Mrs. Quimby and Aunt Beatrice, in which they recall (with laughter) the sibling rivalry of their youth, helps Beezus re-envision her relationship with the exasperating Ramona. Beezus realizes that she doesn't always have to feel love toward her little sister, and she gains hope for a happier sister-relationship when they both get older. After all, if Aunt Beatrice was once a frustrating little sister, then there must be hope for Ramona too!

The subjective appeal of Beezus and Ramona lies chiefly in the humor of Ramona's antics. From the reader's perspective, Ramona's clever mischief is hilarious. For example, once when Beezus is looking after Ramona while their mother is out, Beezus finds Ramona sitting in the basement by a big box of apples, eating one bite out of each apple and then tossing it aside. When her big sister orders her to stop at once, Ramona coolly explains, "But the first bite tastes best..." (104). Then, to try to evade trouble with her sister, Ramona claims that she just wants to "share" the apples with her sister. Sharing is good, right? Classic! This chapter book is filled with similarly sharp, hilarious episodes that reflect Cleary's acute insight into young children.

The book's theme of sibling relationships will also be appealing to children with siblings--especially those with younger siblings, and especially girls. Virtually any child with a younger sibling could probably relate to and identify with Beezus in some way, and so would be interested to find out how Beezus manages to get along with her difficult little sister.

Finally, the feature of the book that makes the sibling relationship so compelling is Cleary's excellent character development. Cleary nails the youngest sibling character with Ramona: just the right combination of funny, mischievous, demanding, manipulative, and exasperating. She has a real knack for the funny logic of a 4-year-old. Ramona is surely a forerunner of contemporary characters like Junie B. Jones (e.g., see Junie B. Jones's First Boxed Set Ever! (Books 1-4)).

Cleary also develops Beezus to a tee. For example, after the encouraging birthday conversation between Mrs. Quimby and Aunt Beatrice (during the course of which Ramona was sent to her room yet again for being disobedient), Cleary describes an interaction between Beezus and her mother thus: " `Mother,' whispered Beezus, happier than she had felt in a long time, `I hope Ramona comes back before we have my birthday cake` " (p. 180). Here we see a realistically softened Beezus, who has new resources with which she can both appreciate and cope with her little sister.

The developmental value of this chapter book lies chiefly in its potential to help children deal with difficult younger siblings. Not only is it helpful that Cleary suggests that anger and exasperation are normal parts of young sibling relationships; her portrayal of Beezus's (albeit limited) patience with Ramona is also a lovely model for struggling older siblings. For example, Beezus often attends to her younger sister of her own accord, reading her favorite book to her, or taking her to the library. Cleary also helpfully shows that Beezus really admires certain qualities in her sister (e.g., her imagination), and thus encourages older siblings to see the positive side of their sometimes annoying younger siblings. Thus, Beezus is an exemplary big sister that children can both identify with and model themselves after.

The book's portrayal of family life is also developmentally valuable. Although the Quimbys are a traditional and somewhat quaint nuclear family (the book was written in the 1950s; what do you expect?), their family dynamics are healthy and functional, which is a breath of fresh air. Mrs. Quimby is a kind, gentle woman who parents with patience and equity, attentive to the special needs of both girls in their particular sibling roles and personalities. On the whole, then, Cleary's portrayal of family life is a charming, helpful example.

Finally, Beezus and Ramona is written at a level that will encourage the reading abilities of intermediate readers. It is an excellent book for children who are ready to graduate from easy chapter books, and could be enjoyable as a read-aloud for kids as young as six.

In sum, I highly recommend Beezus and Ramona.

This was one of my very first chapter books, given to me in the first grade, and it left such a lasting impression on me. I literally read it to pieces throughout my elementary school years, and even had two little dolls that I re-named Beezus and Ramona, who I used to act out many of the stories.

Each hilarious chapter about another mess Ramona causes for her big sister Beezus (my favorite was Ramona's first trip to the library, and her disastrous attempt to claim a beloved book for her very own) can stand on it's own. But connecting the different segments is a more complex running plotline about Beezus' horrible secret - sometimes she gets so mad at her little sister that she doesn't love her at all! Oh, the horror! :-)

After suffering through one embarrassing misadventure after another at the hands of her infuriating sister, Beezus finally confesses to her mother and her favorite aunt about the "wicked" thoughts she's had about Ramona. Expecting them to be shocked, she is stunned when both burst out laughing and begin reminiscing about their own childhood, when they had some not so loving moments themselves. Yes, even Mother and Aunt Beatrice, who are now the best of friends, experienced sibling rivalry. It's a tremendous relief to Beezus to learn that it's okay not to get along with Ramona all the time, and she realizes that along with the annoying times, she and her sister share plenty of affectionate moments as well.

Originally published in the 1950s, some things are obviously rather dated, but as a child of the 1970's I could completely relate to these two little girls. I am sure kids today can also, especially if they have younger sisters!

9-year old Beezus has a big problem- her little sister. She knows a lot of people with four-year old sisters, but none of them are nearly as much trouble as Ramona. She is always being an annoyance. She constantly wants her favorite book read to her, and Beezus gets stuck reading it to her. She rides her tricycle around the house and crashes into the table where Beezus and Henry are playing checkers. Then she gets into trouble and sent to her room, then decides to punish Henry's dog Ribsy by locking him in the bathroom. She ruins Beezus's birthday cake- twice!

Beezus decides she does not love her little sister. Not one bit. What kind of awful person doesn't love her own sister? She knows that sisters should get along, like her mother and Aunt Beatrice. But then she learns that all sisters fight and do not always love each other- even her mother and Aunt Beatrice.

Even though this book is at a quite easy reading level, I would recommend it even to adults because it is a humorous but wise book- Cleary knew how four-year old sisters thought when she wrote this.

Beverly Cleary is an amazing author and the whole Ramona series is great. This book deals alot with the trials and tribulations of being the older sister. As the younger sister, I was always quick to jump to Ramona's defence, but the older I got, and the more often I read this book, the more I came to see Beezus's point of view. Cleary captures the emotions of the sibling harmony and dis-harmony fantastically. The book is a laugh a minute, and no matter what age you are, you won't be able to put it down.

Since the movie was coming out I decided to read this to my children (10&5) even though my 10 yr old is a boy he could identify really well with Beezus and there are lots of times Ramona did exact things my 5 yr old has done we had to laugh we just finished this book the other night and I immediately got back on amazon to order the rest of the Ramona books I can't wait till they arrive so we can start on Ramona the pest!

BEEZUS & RAMONA

Beatrice "Beezus" Quimby is often at sword's points with her 4-year-old sister, Ramona. The fourth grader has a full plate with homework, peers and watching her delightfully high spirited sister, Ramona.

Ramona is a delightful, strong character and not a tiresome "girly-girl" cliche. She is daring and fearless and has a mind of her own. I could always relate to Ramona and she was one of the very first female characters I really loved.

Ramona loves books about construction equipment, despite Beezus' sexist misperception that "girls aren't supposed to be interested in machinery;" loves all kinds of machinery, insists that her name is written with a series of scribbled i's and t's because she saw Beezus writing her name "Beatrice" in script and liked the way the i's and t's looked; she had wonderfully original expressions such as her eyes were "brown and white," she throws a party without permission and she has the police escort her home on one occasion.

My favorite part was when Ramona accidentally ruined Beezus' birthday cake. She placed a rubber doll in Beezus' cake while it was still in the oven. Her explanation? She was pretending to be the witch in "Hansel & Gretel." I laughed until I cried at that part. It was hilarious!

Luckily, the girls' Aunt Beatrice saves the day by buying Beezus a birthday cake. She regales the girls with stories about how she was a "Ramona" to their mother, her older sister.

This is truly a classic that I still love. Ramona was my first favorite fictional female protagonist. She was bright and high spirited and I could relate to that. I still love Ramona.

RAMONA THE PEST

Whirlwind Ramona barrels into kindergarten, just as this delightul, irrepressible high spirited child has barreled into the hearts of her readers. I have loved this book since I was a child.

Ramona is a delightful, strong character and not a tiresome "girly-girl" cliche. She is daring and fearless and has a mind of her own. I could always relate to Ramona and she was one of the very first female characters I really loved. She also has high reasoning abilities; when told to leave for school "at a quarter past 8," she waits until 8:25 because "a quarter is .25c." That shows high intelligence.

Ramona, now 5, is a "big kid" now. She and her friend Howie Kemp are in kindergarten and they love their teacher, Ms. Binney. Ramona is still wonderfully expressive, and very funny. She names her doll Chevrolet, she lends Howie her battered stuffed bunny for show and tell, she pulls her nemesis Susan's long ringlets to see them "SPROING!" I love the part where Ramona draws a house with a smoky chimney because the "chimney is stopped up with Santa Claus." I laughed so hard at that part!

Ramona's hair pulling has gotten her into big trouble. A parent conference is scheduled and Ramona has been suspended. Luckily for all, Ramona's kindergarten status has been reinstated and the lovable, Dutch-bobbed moppet is once again bringing many smiles to faces of all ages. I still love this one. It is very funny.

I loved Beezus and Ramona. Beezus' nature is very much like mine. She is sensible, innocent and kind but the only thing is I do not have a troublesome little sister like Ramona [thank God]. The book made me laugh about the naughty things little Ramona does, like spoiling the game of checkers Beezus and Henry Huggins [Beezus' friend] were playing, locking Henry's dog Risby in the bathroom, eating bits of all the juicy apples in the attic, spoiling two cakes specially made for Beezus' birthday and many more things. I was planning to ask my mother for a little sister but this book saved both me and my mom from a lot of trouble. Thank you Beverly Cleary.