Ramona's family faces big changes, including a wedding, a new job, a loss and a surprise arrival, and she learns she can handle growing up
Big changes on Klickitat Street
Ramona Quimby is now in the third grade, and life is changing fast. Her parents decide that she and her older sister, Beezus, are old enough to stay home alone after school instead of going to the Kemps' house, where Ramona has never been happy. Her favorite aunt, Bea, is courting a cheerful, wealthy man who has returned from working overseas, and the Quimby household is buzzing with secrets that Ramona is determined to discover.
Who will enjoy it
Young readers who love Ramona, and families looking for a funny, gentle story about change, siblings and growing up.
What you will get
A warm and funny Ramona story about family changes, sibling loyalty and the bittersweet experience of growing a little older.
Ramona Forever Facts: Pages, Genre and Setting
Genre
Children’s Books · Family changes · Sisters · Growing up
Length
208 pages · ≈ 6 h
More about this book
Being home alone brings the sisters closer, but it also brings a sad moment when they must deal with the death of their old cat, Picky-picky, and bury him in the backyard. Their father, meanwhile, is searching for a teaching job, and the family faces the possibility of moving. There is also a wedding, with Ramona and Beezus in the bridal party, where not everything goes according to plan. And then there is the biggest secret of all.
Cleary had a rare gift for capturing exactly how children experience their world, and this book shows Ramona becoming more responsible and thoughtful without losing any of her spirit. The relationship between the sisters, so prickly in earlier books, grows into real affection, and the parents are portrayed with warmth and honesty as people with their own worries.
A few scenes are bittersweet, especially the loss of the cat, which may need a gentle conversation with younger readers. The book ends with a sense of joy and continuity. It makes a satisfying close to the series, though the separate Ramona's World followed years later. About 208 pages in the HarperCollins paperback.
Ramona Quimby, Age 8
Ramona the Pest
Beezus and Ramona
Ramona and Her Mother
Superfudge
Henry Huggins
Little Town on the Prairie
Ballet Shoes
Smile
Danny the Champion of the World
The Borrowers
El Deafo