Ramona Forever

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Ramona Forever
RamonaForever.jpg
First edition
Author Beverly Cleary
Illustrator Alan Tiegreen (first edition)
Tracy Dockray (second edition)
Jacqueline Rogers (third edition)
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish
Series Ramona
Genre Children's novel
Publisher William Morrow
Publication date
1984
Media typePrint (Hardback and Paperback)
Preceded by Ramona Quimby, Age 8 (1981) 
Followed by Ramona's World (1999) 

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.

Contents

Plot summary

The book takes place some months after the events of Ramona Quimby, Age 8 . Ramona is curious to meet her friend Howie's uncle, Uncle Hobart, who has just returned from Saudi Arabia. She meets him one day after school at the Kemps' house, but when he teases her about being Howie's girlfriend, she quickly decides she dislikes him. Hobart gives Howie a unicycle, and Howie's younger sister Willa Jean an accordion. Willa Jean breaks the accordion before Ramona has the chance to stop her, but Mrs. Kemp, their grandmother, punishes Ramona anyway. Hurt and angry, Ramona tells her parents that she no longer wants to go to the Kemps' house after school, and that Mrs. Kemp singles her out. When Beezus agrees that Mrs. Kemp dislikes them both, the sisters convince their parents to let them stay home after school for one week to see how it goes.

At first, all goes well, but when Beezus won't let Ramona go out and ride Howie's bike, Ramona gets mad and calls her "Pizzaface". Even though Ramona meant it as a play on "Pieface", Beezus thinks this is about her acne, and refuses to help Ramona after she scrapes her knee. The next day, they find their cat, Picky-Picky, dead in the basement. They bury Picky-Picky, hold a funeral for him, and forgive each other for the fight. When their parents return home, they decide the sisters are responsible enough to take care of themselves; they then announce that Mrs. Quimby is pregnant, leaving Beezus thrilled and Ramona with mixed feelings.

Summer rolls around. Mr. Quimby is almost finished with college and hopes to get a teaching job in the area, but when the only job he's offered turns out to be in rural Oregon (which would force the family to move), he instead finds work managing one of the Shop-Rite supermarkets in Portland. Meanwhile, Ramona's Aunt Beatrice and Uncle Hobart get engaged. At first, they don't plan to have a wedding, but when Beezus insists, the group plans a wedding in only two weeks. When the wedding arrives, the wedding ring is stitched too tightly onto the pillow, and goes flying when Howie's father yanks on it; Ramona sees the ring on the heel of Aunt Beatrice's shoe, retrieves it and saves the wedding.

Not long after the wedding, Mrs. Quimby gives birth to her youngest daughter, Roberta Day Quimby. While Beezus is able to visit their mother and Roberta, Ramona is a few years too young to visit the maternity ward. Later, though, when Mrs. Quimby returns from the hospital, Ramona finally meets Roberta. On the car ride home, she realizes that no matter how big or challenging the coming changes are, she's "winning at growing up".

Critical reception

Kirkus Reviews gave the book a starred review, for "books of remarkable merit", saying, "It's a measure of Cleary's talent and acumen that the Quimbys are as credible in the mid-1980s as they were in the mid-1950s." [1]

Characters

Adaptations, editions

Ramona and Beezus : a movie starring Joey King as Ramona and Selena Gomez as Beezus. It was released on July 23, 2010. [2] Although it jumps from book to book, the plot mainly focuses on this book.

Audio Formats: The book is available in cassette, CD and eAudiobok from Random House/Listening Library; VHs tape from Atlantis Films/Ramona Productions; [3]

Print/English: Braille available from Dell, large print books through Dell, and e-Books through HarperCollins; [3]

Print/Worldwide: As of 2010, 109 editions of the book had been published in 9 languages. [4]

See also

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".

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Beatrice (given name)</span> Name list

Beatrice is a female given name. The English variant is derived from the French Béatrice, which came from the Latin Beatrix, which means "blessed one".

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Henry Huggins</span> Fictional character

Henry Huggins is a character appearing in a series of children's literature novels by Beverly Cleary, illustrated by Louis Darling, and first appearing in Henry Huggins. He is a young boy living on Klickitat Street in Portland, Oregon. In the novels, he is in elementary school. The novels take place in the 1950s, which is when Cleary wrote most of the books. The books describe adventures that he experiences in his neighborhood and his interactions with other neighborhood children. He has a dog named Ribsy and a part-time job doing a paper route in North Portland.

<i>Ramona the Pest</i> 1968 novel by Beverly Cleary

Ramona the Pest, by Beverly Cleary, is the second book of the Ramona series and the first to focus on Ramona Quimby as the protagonist. This children's book chronicles the adventures of Ramona's first few months at kindergarten. The book's title is derived from the characterization of Ramona as a "pest" by many, including her older sister Beatrice, known as "Beezus." Ramona the Pest was first published in 1968 and featured illustrations by Louis Darling. Other illustrators have since updated Ramona the Pest, including Alan Tiegreen, Tracy Dockray, and Jacqueline Rogers.

<i>Ramona the Brave</i> Novel by Beverly Cleary

Ramona the Brave is a children's novel written by Beverly Cleary. It is the third book in the Ramona series, and follows Ramona Quimby and her classmates going into first grade. Ramona the Brave was first published in 1975, seven years after Ramona the Pest. It was originally illustrated by Alan Tiegreen.

<i>Ramona and Her Father</i> Novel by Beverly Cleary

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.

<i>Ramona Quimby, Age 8</i> 1981 novel by Beverly Cleary

Ramona Quimby, Age 8 (1981) is a novel by Beverly Cleary in the Ramona series. Ramona Quimby is in the third grade, now at a new school, and making some new friends. With Beezus in Jr. High and Mr. Quimby going back to college, Ramona feels the pressure with everyone counting on her to manage at school by herself and get along with Willa Jean after school every day. Ramona Quimby, Age 8 was named a Newbery Honor book in 1982.

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.

Susan Kushner is a fictional character in the Ramona series of novels by Beverly Cleary.

<i>Ramonas World</i> Novel by Beverly Cleary

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.

Tracy Dockray is an American artist. She illustrated the current HarperCollins editions of Beverly Cleary's children's novels.

<i>Ramona</i> (1988 TV series) Canadian television series (1988–1989)

Ramona is a Canadian children's television series which followed the life of eight-year-old title character Ramona Quimby. It was based on the Ramona book series by Beverly Cleary.

<i>Beezus and Ramona</i> Novel by Beverly Cleary

Beezus and Ramona is a 1955 children's novel written by Beverly Cleary. It is the first of Cleary's books to focus on Ramona Quimby and her sister Beatrice, known as Beezus. Beezus and Ramona is realistic fiction, written from nine-year-old Beezus's point of view, as she struggles to get along with her four-year-old sister. Eventually becoming the first book of the Ramona series, it was originally illustrated by Louis Darling; later editions were illustrated by Alan Tiegreen and then by Tracy Dockray.

<i>Ramona and Beezus</i> 2010 film by Elizabeth Allen

Ramona and Beezus is a 2010 American comedy-drama film based on the Ramona series of novels written by Beverly Cleary. It was directed by Elizabeth Allen, co-produced by Dune Entertainment, Di Novi Pictures, and Walden Media, written by Laurie Craig and Nick Pustay, and produced by Denise Di Novi and Alison Greenspan with music by Mark Mothersbaugh. The film stars Joey King and Selena Gomez. Though the film's title is derived from Beezus and Ramona, the first of Cleary's Ramona books, the plot is mostly based on the sequels Ramona Forever and Ramona's World.

Quimby is an English surname derived from a toponym such as Quenby. Notable people with the surname include:

<i>Henry and Beezus</i> Novel by Beverly Cleary

Henry and Beezus is the second book in the Henry Huggins series. This humorous children's novel was written by Beverly Cleary and published in 1952. Henry comes up with many ways to earn money for the new red bicycle he wants, but they all seem to end up with him in trouble. Finally his friend Beezus gives him an idea that actually works.

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

Henry and the Clubhouse, by Beverly Cleary, is the fifth book in Henry Huggins series. Now that he has the paper route he wanted so badly in the previous book, Henry and the Paper Route, Henry finds that it's harder than he expected. His earnings are going for the clubhouse he and his friends are building. One of the boys insists that it be a "Boys Only" club, and that causes trouble with Henry's friend Beezus Quimby and her little sister Ramona. Henry and the Clubhouse was published in 1962.

References

  1. "Ramona Forever". Kirkus Reviews. Retrieved May 6, 2012.
  2. "Home". foxmovies.com.
  3. 1 2 Formats and Editions. OCLC   10458724.{{cite book}}: |work= ignored (help)
  4. "Editions". Beverly Cleary. Retrieved April 29, 2012.