Customer Reviews

Ramona the Pest

5 star:		(69)
4 star:		(15)
3 star:		(5)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

From my long past days of teaching elementary school, I remember that Beverly Cleary's books were the general favourite of those in my classes. I recently acquired sets for my niece and nephew, and this book in particular had both of them laughing aloud - not a small feat when kids are, respectively, 12 and 6, and the former is not without a marked similarity to Ramona in some respects. I myself nearly choked at "sit here for the present," and the Mike Mulligan dilemma.

Besides a vivid and delightful writing style, Beverly's books undoubtedly have a wide appeal because the incidents described are comparable to what children would have in their own lives or in those of others they know. The characters seem like close friends ... or, at the very least, friends one wishes one had.

I wasn't very fond of Ramona when I was little. As a bit of a nerd from the very beginning, I just couldn't relate to Ramona's exuberance that always got her into trouble, and I more or less thought of her as a bad girl. But I still carried memories of the book with me into adulthood -- especially Ramona's enchanting way of writing "Q."

Fast-forward to parenting a spirited daughter. I re-read the book and decided that I absolutely had to share it with my daughter. I now see Ramona in a whole new light; as the author herself states, Ramona never (well, rarely) really means to be naughty. Most adults just don't understand her -- the way she cannot resist the temptation to boing a beautiful curl, her need for shiny new girls' boots and the glory of stamping through the mud the first day she wears them, her need to know that her teacher loves her.

My five-year-old was indeed caught up in Ramona's story, frequently asking me to read another chapter when I had finished one. Ramona became so real to her that she covered her ears when it was clear that Ramona was headed for trouble -- she couldn't bear to listen to the consequences. I may have been too much of a goody-goody to fully appreciate the book earlier, but I certainly enjoy it now and am glad that my daughter enjoys it, too.

I am in second-grade. My teacher read this book to us in class, and I liked it so much I read it myself. It's about a little girl who is always doing everything wrong. A lot of parts are funny. One funny part was when Ramona stuck her tongue out at her neighbor because she asked if her tongue was glued to her mouth because she wasn't speaking. She has an older sister Beezus who is sometimes a big tattle-tale. Anyway, I really liked the book and now I am reading "Ramona and her Mother." Madeleine, age 8.

Ramona, the Pest is a book about Ramona Quimby, and herkindergarten adventures. Ramona doesn't understand why her sister,Beezus, always calls her a pest. Her thoughts are that sometimes there is a need to be a little bit louder and more noisier than others because that is what it takes for little people to be noticed sometimes. She loves everything about kindergarten. She loves her teacher Miss Binney, boinging Susan's long red curls, chasing Davy on the playground for a kiss, being the naptime wake-up fairy, and seat work where she practices making her Q's into cats. Ramona also gets excited about being the "baddest witch" at the Halloween Parade, wearing her new boots in the mud, and loosing her first tooth. She plans to dropout of kindergarten when her stubborn behavior makes Miss Binney send her home until she can promise to be good. Don't miss this delightful story's ending. I liked this book because it was humorous, and was told in a believable manner. The things children think we say and how they perceive them are shown in the "dawnzer song." This is one of my son's favorite books, now I see why. I think the author captured the stubborn, independent, and somewhat impulsive behavior of a kindergarten age child. I am sure kids would enjoy listening to this book, and probably many could relate to Ramona's feelings of wanting to be a big girl. I think boys will identify to the story with characters like Henry, Howie and Davy. I can't wait to read the other Ramona books by Beverly Cleary. Everyone will enjoy this book. You will be smiling and giggling while you discover why Ramona's friends call her a pest!

RAMONA THE PEST

Ramona is so excited about her first day of kindergarden. She meets her teacher, Miss.Binney, and she tells her to sit in a seat for the present. Ramona not knowing that much thinks she's going to get a present from her teacher. She tells everyone in the class that Miss.Binney is going to give her a present and no one else. The class goes outside and Ramona finally figures out that Miss.Binney just meant to sit in the seat for now. Ramona was a little upset about it but she moved on. Ramona gets in trouble for pulling Susan's hair and she gets in trouble and goes home and doesn't go back until Miss.Binney sends home a letter telling Ramona that she misses her and that she wants her to come back. She also enclosed her tooth that she lost the day that she went home from school. Ramona goes back to school and she's in the Halloween parade and that really makes her happy. She has a scary mask and a lot of other people have it to. Ramona is scared that no one will notice her so she made a sing saying, "Ramona the Greatest Witch''.



Ramona is a little girl with a big sister. She has brown short hair and she usually wears dresses and play cloths. She doesn't want to listen to what she's told all the time. She talks to people a lot and she's friendly but can get a temper sometimes. Ramona and I are alike because we both like to talk to other people and both lost our first tooth in kindergarden. We are different because she's in kindergarden and I'm in the 6th grade. Also she has an older sister and I have a younger brother.



I really enjoyed this book because it was funny and I was able to sit down and enjoy it and get into it. My favorite part was when Ramona lost her tooth and went home. I think it was kinda funny the way she just left and didn't come back for like a week. I would recommend thins book to a friend because this book is very funny and it makes you laugh.

This is the book which has the most memorable scene of all of Mrs. Cleary's books as far as I'm concerned. While in kindergarten, Ramona thought her older sister should know the word, dawnzer. Her sister laughed when she realized that Ramona was referring to "Oh, say can you see by the dawn's early light." I had a lot of problems understanding what I heard when I was a child. I think a lot of us have had moments like the dawnzer scene and like many other scenes in Mrs. Cleary's books. I've read all of her books to my children. This is my favorite.

I think this is the best of the series, and I read it from the library, then bought it. I now have the WHOLE Ramona series TWICE!!! Once in paperback, and once in hardback.

I think the whole Ramona series is GREAT! It starts with Beezus And Ramona. Write me for any details. It's best to read them in order!!

In the second book of the Ramona series, author Cleary clearly is still full to bursting with ideas about the details of a young girl's life, and she takes us through Ramona's early kindergarten experiences.

I'm really starting to see that Cleary's trademark in this series is the ability to put us inside the mind of a five year old girl, and even those of us who have forgotten what it's like to be a child can appreciate the powerful emotions at stake in things like Show and Tell, halloween costumes, and a first tooth falling out.

Ramona the Pest is a solid entry in this series, and will be an enjoyable read for children everywhere, who will relate to the nuances of life that Ramona experiences, and then be able to apply her experiences to their own lives.

Life in the Quimby household is still more like the Cleavers than the family next door, but children will still be able to benefit from a fresh look at interactions with one's peers and teachers.

Very well done.

I'll begin with a confession. I never read the Ramona books as a child. Certainly I'd heard about them (I had a couple friends who wanted to "Boing" my own curls more than once) but I never found a chance or an opportunity to read them in any depth until I reached the ripe old age of 25. Reading them now, I'm sorry I wasn't introduced to them from the start. In this classic story Ramona is a fully realized character. She is a little girl in full bloom. She has good qualities and she has bad qualities, but through it all she seems incredibly "real". Seeing things from Ramona's point of view gives you a better understanding of some of the problems she has in her daily life. Kids will be able to relate to Ramona when she feels she's being teased and wants to feel sorry for herself. Her anger is always understandable, and the fact that the grownups in the book are not always perfect (probably a fairly radical notion in 1968 children's literature) will appeal to all readers. This book instantly reminded me of a book that I did read as a child, "Tales of a Fourth Grade Nothing", by Judy Blume. Some of Ramona's less charming qualities (such as her obsessive compulsive desire to "Boing" her classmates hair) will possibly remind reads of Joey Pigza as well (though the leap from Ramona to Joey is a very large one). This is an ideal book to read aloud to children in class or other group situations and the original illustrations by Louis Darling (if you can locate an edition containing them) are delightful.

When I picked up Ramona the Pest, I wondered if Ramona was really a pest or if she was simply misunderstood . I found this book to be a thoroughly enjoyable realistic fiction novel. This "Ramona" book reminds me of another one in the series called Ramona Age Eight.

Most of the action takes place at the Quimby's household and at Ramona's elementary school. Cleary really describes her characters well. I felt like I could pick Ramona out in a crowd and know exactly what to say to her. She made me feel like I was just hanging out with a new friend.
It is Ramona's first year of Kindergarten. There is a conflict between Miss Binney and Ramona. On the first morning of Kindergarten, Miss Binney tells Ramona to sit in her seat for the present. Ramona takes her literally and she sits in her seat for a very long time because she is waiting for a present. Finally, Miss Binney tells Ramona that the kind of present she is describing means, for a period of time. Later that day, Ramona finally gets up and goes outside to play "Gray Duck". When it is Ramona's turn to run, she gets distracted on the way back to her spot. She doesn't mean to cause a problem, but she just has to pull
one of her classmate, Susan's luscious curls. Susan lets out a huge wail and Ramona has to sit on the bad girl bench.

I think a fourth or fifth grader would enjoy reading this book. It would also be a great novel to read to younger children because they could so easily relate to Ramona's problems. Out of five stars, I would award this book all five. If you can handle some drama, temper tantrums and a whole lot of humor, Ramona the Pest would be a great choice I had so much fun reading this wonderful book, I could go on and on retelling the funny events. But if I did that, you might not have as much fun being surprised by all that Ramona has to offer. Read Ramona the Pest for yourself. You will love it!!!!