Ramona the Pest (Ramona Quimby) (Paperback)

~ (Author), Tracy Dockray (Illustrator) "I AM not a pest" Ramona Quimby told her big sister Beezus..." (more)
Key Phrases: baddest witch, great big noisy fuss, mush pot, Miss Binney, Miss Mullen, Henry Huggins (more...)

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

The engaging tale of young Ramona Quimby's first days in kindergarten, Ramona the Pest takes a pint-sized perspective on the trials and delights of beginning school. Ramona can't wait to learn all the important things. But she's disappointed when her teacher can't fill in missing parts of story lines, such as how Mike Mulligan (of Mike Mulligan and His Steam Shovel) went to the bathroom while digging the basement of the town hall. Nonetheless, Ramona loves her teacher, and loves going to school in spite of the torments--having to wear hand-me-down boots, for example, or having to (sometimes) suppress the urge to pull on another girl's "boing-boing" curls. Ramona's energetic take on life appeals to children who have passed through this stage, or who are dealing with a kindergarten-age sibling who is exhibiting Ramona-ish tendencies. (Ages 7 to 12) --Richard Farr --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

Product Description

Ramona is off to kindergarten, and it's the greatest day of her life. So why is she sitting on the bench while the rest of the students play the game gray duck? Laughs and minor upsets abound in an enormously popular story starring the one and only Ramona Quimby!

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Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 4-8
  
• Paperback: 208 pages
• Publisher: HarperCollins (February 1, 1992)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0380709546
• ISBN-13: 978-0380709540
• Product Dimensions: 7.4 x 5.3 x 0.3 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.6 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (74 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #13,308 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

  Popular in these categories: (What's this?)

  #5 in	Books > Children's Books > Series > Humorous > Ramona
  #6 in	Books > Children's Books > Literature > Read-Aloud
  #8 in	Books > Children's Books > Authors & Illustrators, A-Z > ( C ) > Cleary, Beverly

• This is item 2 in The Ramona Series.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Both the 12- and the 6-year old were rolling in the aisles, September 29, 2000

By	Elizabeth G. Melillo "gloriana" - See all my reviews (TOP 1000 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)

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.

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Ramona the Pest is GREAT!, March 12, 2000

By A Customer

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.

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Now she'd be called a "spirited child", May 1, 2004

By	K. Norlander "kate0311" (MN USA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

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.