When Mr. Quimby loses his job, seven-year-old Ramona tries everything she can think of to cheer him up and help her worried family
Ramona to the rescue
Ramona Quimby is in second grade when her father unexpectedly loses his job. Money becomes tight, her mother goes to work full-time, and the house is suddenly full of worry and short tempers. Ramona wants to help. She dreams of earning a million dollars by appearing in television commercials, campaigns earnestly to get her father to give up smoking, and tries to bring back the fun she remembers, all while preparing to play a sheep in the neighbourhood holiday pageant.
Who will enjoy it
Children around seven to ten, families facing their own rough patches, and anyone who loves Ramona's stubborn, big-hearted energy.
What you will get
A warm, funny story about Ramona Quimby trying to cheer up her family after her father loses his job, and learning that love matters more than money.
Ramona and Her Father Facts: Pages, Genre and Setting
Genre
Children’s Books · Ramona Quimby · Family hard times · Funny and warm
Length
192 pages · ≈ 6 h
More about this book
Cleary takes a serious subject, a parent's unemployment, and tells it entirely from a child's point of view, with all the confusion, worry and misplaced schemes that brings. Ramona's plan to become a rich television star, complete with a crown of burrs stuck in her hair, is both hilarious and touching.
The relationship between Ramona and her father is the heart of the book. Mr. Quimby is patient, funny and sometimes short-tempered, a real and flawed parent, and the quiet moments they share, drawing pictures together or sharing a quiet talk, are some of the most affecting in the series. Ramona's anti-smoking campaign, with homemade signs left around the house, is a lovely comic thread.
The setting is the late nineteen seventies, and some details, such as the father's smoking and the family's money worries, may need a little explanation for young readers today. The episodic structure suits bedtime reading. It is one of the strongest Ramona books and a gentle way to talk with children about hard times. About 192 pages in the HarperCollins paperback; some listings say 208.
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