Module 1: Ramona Quimby, Age 8

Book Summary

Ramona Quimby is an eight-year-old from a close-knit, loving family. Dad has gone back to college and is working part-time while Mom works full-time, and the entire family has to scrape together to make it work. Ramona must do her part by going to the Kemp's after school because her parents have no money for child care. There she is forced to do the bidding of a much younger, spoiled child - the granddaughter of the sitter - so that the arrangement can continue and the parents can save money. In addition, Ramona has some very embarrassing moments at school that lead to a terrible misunderstanding: Ramona thinks her teacher doesn't like her. By the end of the book, everything is lovingly resolved and Ramona has grown from her experiences.

APA Reference of Book

Cleary, B. (1981). Ramona Quimby, age 8. New York, NY: Harper Collins.


Impressions

This book is simply yet entertainingly and humorously written using language that 3rd and 4th-grade readers could easily access. The main character, Ramona, is easy to identify with and the book is filled with serious real-life struggles with which many 3rd and 4th-grade students can relate. All of the characters are fully written with both good and bad qualities, rendering them believable. Ramona's family struggles and her place in them will ring familiar to young readers, but not in a predictable way. Tension is created as Ramona works through her emotional reactions and misunderstandings, and who she becomes leads to a satisfying ending. At times lingering over emotional themes and at time lightning-paced, this book will keep students interested through to the end as they discover how Ramona learns to cope with her new position in life. 

Professional Review 

Cleary has brought her "nice sticking-together family" into the 1980s. She's taken the best from the 60s and 70s - she's freer now (viz., neighbor Willa jean Kemp's playmate Bruce "doesn't wee-wee in the sandbox") and more feelings-centered. and, she's done it without sacrificing any of the decency or laughter that makes the Quimbys a favorite happy family. As if answering critics of her "perfect" family, Cleary puts the Quimbys under real pressure and lets the strains show. the elder Quimbys are trying to make do on one-and-a-half paychecks (when they were struggling on two) so that Mr. Q. can go to college. Straight-arrow Beezus is turning into a temperamental teen. Ramona and bratty Willa Jean are taken care of after school by doting Grandmother Kemp; and Ramona has to put up with other things that are unfair, embarrassing of both, like cracking a raw "hard-boiled" egg (her mother's mistake) on her forehead at school, or throwing up in class. But Ramona hangs in there and earns the highest honor, being "big enough for her family to depend on." No doubt about it, Ramona Quimby, Age 8 gets better with every year.

Pollack, P.D. (1981, August). Ramona Quimby, age 8. [Review of the book Ramona     
       Quimby, age 8, by P.D. Pollack]. School Library Journal, 27(10), 54.    
       Retrieved from www.slj.com

Library Uses

This book would be great for literature circles in the library. Many writing activities could be built around the themes presented. It would also be terrific for behavior-related library groups. Sometimes kids struggle because there is no one to talk to about the life lessons they must learn. The events experienced by Ramona - bully on the bus, the teacher doesn't like me, and other embarrassing situations - would all be great discussion starters.