Ramona's World

Last updated
Ramona's World
RamonasWorld.jpg
First edition
Author Beverly Cleary
Cover artist Alan Tiegreen
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish
Series Ramona
Genre Children's novel
Publisher William Morrow
Publication date
August 25, 1999
Media typePrint (Paperback)
Pages209 pp
ISBN 0-380-73272-6
OCLC 46365349
Preceded by Ramona Forever -1984 

Ramona's World is the eighth book in the Ramona Quimby series by Beverly Cleary. Ramona and her sister Beezus are growing up. Ramona is in the fourth grade now, and for the first time she has a best girl-friend, Daisy Kidd. At home she tries her best to be a good role model for her baby sister Roberta, but finds baby sitting harder than she expected. Published in 1999, Ramona's World was written fifteen years after its predecessor, Ramona Forever. It was the last published installment in the series, as well as the last book Cleary published before her death in 2021.

Contents

Plot

Ramona's world is changing. There's tiny baby Roberta at home, and as Ramona adjusts to being a big sister, she discovers that she likes teaching Roberta to do things such as sticking out her tongue. In fourth grade, she finally has a best friend, the new student Daisy Kidd (who is also new to the neighborhood). At school Ramona is frustrated with her teacher, Mrs. Meacham. Mrs. Meacham pushes her students to be proper spellers; spelling is a difficult subject for Ramona. Mrs. Meacham also intercepts a note that Ramona's friend Yard Ape wrote to Ramona; after that, Yard Ape is too embarrassed to play with her or even talk to her.

Beezus, a 14-year-old just entering high school, starts speaking French around the house, spending a lot of time on the phone talking about boys and asking her friends about who she should date, which makes her little sister mad. Ramona begins to feel forgotten as Beezus, while Mr. and Mrs. Quimby are always fussing over Roberta.

Beezus, in an act of rebellion, gets her ears pierced; her parents are amused and pleased that she is growing up. Beezus nervously attends a party at which boys were invited — as it turns out, the boys stayed outside the house the entire time and the girls hung out inside and everyone was happy.

Ramona and Daisy's dress-up play at Daisy's house ends in disaster when Ramona falls through the unfinished floor in the attic, dangling into the kitchen until Daisy's older brother Jeremy helps fish her out. Ramona is shocked that Daisy takes responsibility and Daisy's mother isn't upset. Later, she cares for the Kidds' cat when they go away on vacation for a week and she discovers that the responsibility of catsitting isn't as easy as it looks.

Ramona's rivalry with Susan, her nemesis since kindergarten, continues. Ramona is frustrated by Susan's perfect attitude. She reluctantly invites Susan to her "zeroteen" birthday party at the park at her mother's insistence. Susan brings an apple instead of eating the birthday cake, because of her mother's cautions about germs. After the other girls tease her and Mrs. Quimby comforts her, she finally decides to eat a slice of cake. Ramona discovers she feels sorry for Susan, whose mother expects her to always be perfect. Ramona gives the leftover cake to Yard Ape and his friends, who were also playing at the park, and she decides this is a perfect day - well, not perfect, but close enough.

Characters

The following characters appear in the novel:

Critical reaction

Reviewers' reactions to Cleary's books continues to be positive, as seen in Kirkus Reviews: "Ramona returns, and she’s as feisty as ever… Cleary picks up on all the details of fourth grade, from comparing hand calluses to the distribution of little plastic combs by the school photographer. This year Ramona is trying to improve her spelling, and Cleary is especially deft at limning the emotional nuances as Ramona fails and succeeds, goes from sad to happy, and from hurt to proud… Despite a brief mention of nose piercing, Cleary’s writing still reflects a secure middle-class family and untroubled school life, untouched by the classroom violence or the broken families of the 1990s. While her book doesn’t match what’s in the newspapers, it’s a timeless, serene alternative for children..." [1]

Last book of the series

Ramona's World is Beverly Cleary's last published book. Ramona remains frozen at age 10, while her sister, Beezus, is 14 and just entering high school. Concerning what Ramona might have been like when she hit puberty, Cleary was happy to leave her as is before her puberty stage, which she considers a nightmare. “I think writers need to know when to retire,” she said. [2]

In a 1995 interview, Cleary believes that Ramona will “be all right” when she grows up. "She'll do something creative. She liked to draw because her father liked to draw. Children often live out their parents' frustrations.” [3]

Following this book's release, Cleary retired from writing. After her husband Clarence died in 2004, Beverly spent her remaining years at an assisted living community. She passed away in 2021 at the age of 104.

Editions

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Beverly Cleary</span> American writer (1916–2021)

Beverly Atlee Cleary was an American writer of children's and young adult fiction. One of America's most successful authors, 91 million copies of her books have been sold worldwide since her first book was published in 1950. Some of her best known characters are Ramona Quimby and Beezus Quimby, Henry Huggins and his dog Ribsy, and Ralph S. Mouse.

<i>Ramona</i> (novel series) Novel series by Beverly Cleary

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".

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Ramona and Her Father is the fourth book in Beverly Cleary's popular Ramona Quimby series. In this humorous children's novel, Mr. Quimby loses his job and Ramona thinks up ways to earn money and help her family out. Published in 1977, Ramona and Her Father was a Newbery Honor Book.

<i>Ramona and Her Mother</i> 1978 novel by Beverly Cleary

Ramona and Her Mother by Beverly Cleary is the fifth book of the popular Ramona series. Mr. Quimby has found another job, though it is one he does not like very much. Ramona finds herself caught between being too young to stay home alone and too old to enjoy playing with pesky Willa Jean. She is trying to grow up, but sometimes it seems like her family is making it harder. Ramona and Her Mother won the 1981 National Book Award.

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<i>Ramona Forever</i> 1984 childrens novel by Beverly Cleary

Ramona Forever is a humorous children's novel written by Beverly Cleary. The seventh book in the Ramona Quimby series, it continues the story of Ramona, her older sister, Beezus, and their family. They are finally old enough to stay home together, and they work hard to get along. Mrs. Quimby is expecting a baby and Aunt Bea gets engaged in a book that sees Ramona coping with growing up. It was originally published in 1984.

Beatrice Ann "Beezus" Quimby is a character from the Henry Huggins and Ramona series of books by Beverly Cleary. She is the friend of Henry and Mary Jane and the older sister of Ramona and Roberta. Beezus earned her nickname from Ramona, who had a hard time saying "Beatrice" as a toddler. Beezus' real name comes from her Aunt Beatrice, her mother's sister, for whom Beezus has a deep admiration and whom she idolizes.

Ramona Geraldine Quimby is a fictional character in an eponymous series of novels by Beverly Cleary. She starts out in the Henry Huggins series as the pestering younger sister of Henry's new best friend Beatrice, called "Beezus" by Ramona and her family. She was then given a larger role in the novel Beezus and Ramona and became the protagonist of her own book in Ramona the Pest.

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<i>Henry and the Clubhouse</i> Novel by Beverly Cleary

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References

  1. ↑ "Ramona's World". Kirkus reviews. Retrieved 2012-04-30.
  2. ↑ Krug, Nora (April 3, 2016). "Beverly Cleary on turning 100: Kids today 'don't have the freedom' I had". Washington Post.
  3. ↑ "10 Facts About Beverly Cleary's Ramona Books". Mental Floss. Retrieved 25 April 2017.
  4. 1 2 Formats and Editions. OCLC   234316095.{{cite book}}: |work= ignored (help)
  5. ↑ "Editions". Ramona's World. Archived from the original on October 11, 2012. Retrieved April 30, 2012.
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