Loading
Find your next favorite book
Become a member today and read free for 30 daysStart your free 30 daysBook Information
Ramona the Pest
By Beverly Cleary and Jacqueline Rogers
Book Actions
Start ReadingRatings:
Rating: 4.5 out of 5 stars4.5/5 (182 ratings)
Length: 147 pages2 hours
- Publisher:
- HarperCollins
- Released:
- Oct 6, 2009
- ISBN:
- 9780061972362
- Format:
- Book
Description
Newbery Medal-winning author Beverly Cleary expertly depicts the trials and triumphs of growing up through a relatable heroine who isn't afraid to be exactly who she is.
Ramona Quimby is excited to start kindergarten. No longer does she have to watch her older sister, Beezus, ride the bus to school with all the big kids. She's finally old enough to take the bus too!
Then she gets into trouble for pulling her classmate's boingy curls during recess. Even worse, her crush rejects her in front of everyone. Beezus says Ramona needs to quit being a pest, but how can she stop if she never was trying to be one in the first place?
Book Actions
Start ReadingBook Information
Ramona the Pest
By Beverly Cleary and Jacqueline Rogers
Ratings:
Rating: 4.5 out of 5 stars4.5/5 (182 ratings)
Length: 147 pages2 hours
Description
Newbery Medal-winning author Beverly Cleary expertly depicts the trials and triumphs of growing up through a relatable heroine who isn't afraid to be exactly who she is.
Ramona Quimby is excited to start kindergarten. No longer does she have to watch her older sister, Beezus, ride the bus to school with all the big kids. She's finally old enough to take the bus too!
Then she gets into trouble for pulling her classmate's boingy curls during recess. Even worse, her crush rejects her in front of everyone. Beezus says Ramona needs to quit being a pest, but how can she stop if she never was trying to be one in the first place?
- Publisher:
- HarperCollins
- Released:
- Oct 6, 2009
- ISBN:
- 9780061972362
- Format:
- Book
About the author
Beverly Cleary is one of America's most beloved authors. As a child, she struggled with reading and writing. But by third grade, after spending much time in her public library in Portland, Oregon, she found her skills had greatly improved. Before long, her school librarian was saying that she should write children's books when she grew up.
Instead she became a librarian. When a young boy asked her, "Where are the books about kids like us?" she remembered her teacher's encouragement and was inspired to write the books she'd longed to read but couldn't find when she was younger. She based her funny stories on her own neighborhood experiences and the sort of children she knew. And so, the Klickitat Street gang was born!
Mrs. Cleary's books have earned her many prestigious awards, including the American Library Association's Laura Ingalls Wilder Award, presented to her in recognition of her lasting contribution to children's literature. Dear Mr. Henshaw won the Newbery Medal, and Ramona Quimby, Age 8 and Ramona and Her Father have been named Newbery Honor Books. Her characters, including Beezus and Ramona Quimby, Henry Huggins, and Ralph, the motorcycle-riding mouse, have delighted children for generations.
Related to Ramona the Pest
Book Preview
Ramona the Pest - Beverly Cleary
PUBLISHER
1
RAMONA’S GREAT DAY
"I am not a pest," Ramona Quimby told her big sister Beezus.
Then stop acting like a pest,
said Beezus, whose real name was Beatrice. She was standing by the front window waiting for her friend Mary Jane to walk to school with her.
I’m not acting like a pest. I’m singing and skipping,
said Ramona, who had only recently learned to skip with both feet. Ramona did not think she was a pest. No matter what others said, she never thought she was a pest. The people who called her a pest were always bigger and so they could be unfair.
Ramona went on with her singing and skipping. This is a great day, a great day, a great day!
she sang, and to Ramona, who was feeling grown up in a dress instead of play clothes, this was a great day, the greatest day of her whole life. No longer would she have to sit on her tricycle watching Beezus and Henry Huggins and the rest of the boys and girls in the neighborhood go off to school. Today she was going to school, too. Today she was going to learn to read and write and do all the things that would help her catch up with Beezus.
"Come on, Mama! urged Ramona, pausing in her singing and skipping.
We don’t want to be late for school."
Don’t pester, Ramona,
said Mrs. Quimby. I’ll get you there in plenty of time.
"I’m not pestering," protested Ramona, who never meant to pester. She was not a slowpoke grown-up. She was a girl who could not wait. Life was so interesting she had to find out what happened next.
Then Mary Jane arrived. Mrs. Quimby, would it be all right if Beezus and I take Ramona to kindergarten?
she asked.
No!
said Ramona instantly. Mary Jane was one of those girls who always wanted to pretend she was a mother and who always wanted Ramona to be the baby. Nobody was going to catch Ramona being a baby on her first day of school.
Why not?
Mrs. Quimby asked Ramona. You could walk to school with Beezus and Mary Jane just like a big girl.
No, I couldn’t.
Ramona was not fooled for an instant. Mary Jane would talk in that silly voice she used when she was being a mother and take her by the hand and help her across the street, and everyone would think she really was a baby.
Please, Ramona,
coaxed Beezus. It would be lots of fun to take you in and introduce you to the kindergarten teacher.
No!
said Ramona, and stamped her foot. Beezus and Mary Jane might have fun, but she wouldn’t. Nobody but a genuine grown-up was going to take her to school. If she had to, she would make a great big noisy fuss, and when Ramona made a great big noisy fuss, she usually got her own way. Great big noisy fusses were often necessary when a girl was the youngest member of the family and the youngest person on her block.
All right, Ramona,
said Mrs. Quimby. Don’t make a great big noisy fuss. If that’s the way you feel about it, you don’t have to walk with the girls. I’ll take you.
Hurry, Mama,
said Ramona happily, as she watched Beezus and Mary Jane go out the door. But when Ramona finally got her mother out of the house, she was disappointed to see one of her mother’s friends, Mrs. Kemp, approaching with her son Howie and his little sister Willa Jean, who was riding in a stroller. Hurry, Mama,
urged Ramona, not wanting to wait for the Kemps. Because their mothers were friends, she and Howie were expected to get along with one another.
Hi, there!
Mrs. Kemp called out, so of course Ramona’s mother had to wait.
Howie stared at Ramona. He did not like having to get along with her any more than she liked having to get along with him.
Ramona stared back. Howie was a solid-looking boy with curly blond hair. (Such a waste on a boy,
his mother often remarked.) The legs of his new jeans were turned up, and he was wearing a new shirt with long sleeves. He did not look the least bit excited about starting kindergarten. That was the trouble with Howie, Ramona felt. He never got excited. Straight-haired Willa Jean, who was interesting to Ramona because she was so sloppy, blew out a mouthful of wet zwieback crumbs and laughed at her cleverness.
Today my baby leaves me,
remarked Mrs. Quimby with a smile, as the little group proceeded down Klickitat Street toward Glenwood School.
Ramona, who enjoyed being her mother’s baby, did not enjoy being called her mother’s baby, especially in front of Howie.
They grow up quickly,
observed Mrs. Kemp.
Ramona could not understand why grown-ups always talked about how quickly children grew up. Ramona thought growing up was the slowest thing there was, slower even than waiting for Christmas to come. She had been waiting years just to get to kindergarten, and the last half hour was the slowest part of all.
When the group reached the intersection nearest Glenwood School, Ramona was pleased to see that Beezus’s friend Henry Huggins was the traffic boy in charge of that particular corner. After Henry had led them across the street, Ramona ran off toward the kindergarten, which was a temporary wooden building with its own playground. Mothers and children were already entering the open door. Some of the children looked frightened, and one girl was crying.
We’re late!
cried Ramona. Hurry!
Howie was not a boy to be hurried. I don’t see any tricycles,
he said critically. I don’t see any dirt to dig in.
Ramona was scornful. This isn’t nursery school. Tricycles and dirt are for nursery school.
Her own tricycle was hidden in the garage, because it was too babyish for her now that she was going to school.
Some big first-grade boys ran past yelling, Kindergarten babies! Kindergarten babies!
"We are not babies!" Ramona yelled back, as she led her mother into the kindergarten. Once inside she stayed close to her. Everything was so strange, and there was so much to see: the little tables and chairs; the row of cupboards, each with a different picture on the door; the play stove; and the wooden blocks big enough to stand on.
The teacher, who was new to Glenwood School, turned out to be so young and pretty she could not have been a grown-up very long. It was rumored she had never taught school before. Hello, Ramona. My name is Miss Binney,
she said, speaking each syllable distinctly as she pinned Ramona’s name to her dress. I am so glad you have come to kindergarten.
Then she took Ramona by the hand and led her to one of the little tables and chairs. Sit here for the present,
she said with a smile.
A present! thought Ramona, and knew at once she was going to like Miss Binney.
Good-bye, Ramona,
said Mrs. Quimby. Be a good girl.
As she watched her mother walk out the door, Ramona decided school was going to be even better than she had hoped. Nobody had told her she was going to get a present the very first day. What kind of present could it be, she wondered, trying to remember if Beezus had ever been given a present by her teacher.
Ramona listened carefully while Miss Binney showed Howie to a table, but all her teacher said was, Howie, I would like you to sit here.
Well! thought Ramona. Not everyone is going to get a present so Miss Binney must like me best. Ramona watched and listened as the other boys and girls arrived, but Miss Binney did not tell anyone else he was going to get a present if he sat in a certain chair. Ramona wondered if her present would be wrapped in fancy paper and tied with a ribbon like a birthday present. She hoped so.
As Ramona sat waiting for her present she watched the other children being introduced to Miss Binney by their mothers. She found two members of the morning kindergarten especially interesting. One was a boy named Davy, who was small, thin, and eager. He was the only boy in the class in short pants, and Ramona liked him at once. She liked him so much she decided she would like to kiss him.
The other interesting person was a big girl named Susan. Susan’s hair looked like the hair on the girls in the pictures of the old-fashioned stories Beezus liked to read. It was reddish-brown and hung in curls like springs that touched her shoulders and bounced as
You've reached the end of this preview. Sign up to read more!
Page 1 of 1
Reviews
Reviews
What people think about Ramona the Pest
4.5Rating: 4.5 out of 5 stars
182 ratings / 46 reviews
What did you think?
Rating: out of 5 stars
Reader reviews
fingerpost_1
Rating: 4 out of 5 stars(4/5)
Was this review helpful for you?
In the second book of the Ramona series, Ramona Quimby is far less obnoxious than in "Bezus and Ramona." That's definitely a good thing. Perhaps Mrs. Quimby learned a few good discipline techniques between the first and second volume.Ramona starts kindergarten, and things go well for a while, but inevitably something eventually goes wrong, and Ramona decides she is through with school. Her teacher doesn't love her anymore, so she's not going to return.
fingerpost_1
Rating: 4 out of 5 stars(4/5)
In the second book of the Ramona series, Ramona Quimby is far less obnoxious than in "Bezus and Ramona." That's definitely a good thing. Perhaps Mrs. Quimby learned a few good discipline techniques between the first and second volume.Ramona starts kindergarten, and things go well for a while, but inevitably something eventually goes wrong, and Ramona decides she is through with school. Her teacher doesn't love her anymore, so she's not going to return.
Was this review helpful for you?
eadavis83
Rating: 5 out of 5 stars(5/5)
Was this review helpful for you?
This book is great for children transitioning from picture books to chapter books. This book is a good book to keep in the classroom for the children to read at any time. I believe that the children will love this book. This is a very humorous book that will keep the children laughing. This book is a very easy book for the children to read.
eadavis83
Rating: 5 out of 5 stars(5/5)
This book is great for children transitioning from picture books to chapter books. This book is a good book to keep in the classroom for the children to read at any time. I believe that the children will love this book. This is a very humorous book that will keep the children laughing. This book is a very easy book for the children to read.
Was this review helpful for you?
nmhale_1
Rating: 4 out of 5 stars(4/5)
Was this review helpful for you?
Cleary always delivers solid children's books, with a good message and believable characters and conflicts that are gripping but very domestic. When she writes about Ramona, though, her books really shine. Ramona is such an amazing little person. I like her earliest appearances, when she comes on the stage as a willful and stubborn young girl, who always understands what she is doing even when others think she is being unreasonable, and who is clever and creative and quite a handful.In this book, Ramona enters kindergarten. This is a big moment for Ramona, who wants to grow up as big as Beezus, and has been longing for this day for an eternity, or so it seems to her. Despite minor disappointments - like being forced to walk with Howie and Willa Jean each morning, or being told to wait here for the present, and not realizing that that doesn't mean she gets an actual present for waiting - nothing can dampen her enthusiasm. She loves her teacher, Miss Binney, and is excited for all of the grown-up things they are learning, like writing letters and her name. She has a few mishaps, but she always comes up with witty solutions. Her Halloween mask is scary, but Ramona is even more terrified when she thinks that no one recognizes her and she is completely anonymous. So Ramona makes a sign to name herself as she walks in the Halloween parade. She wants to kiss adorable Davy, but he won't let her. So Ramona chases him around the playground every morning. One day, though, Ramona doesn't know how to solve her problem. Miss Binney catches her pulling Susan's perfectly curled, bouncy hair, and disciplines her. Miss Binney asks Ramona if she can stop pulling Susan's hair. Ramona honestly responds that she can not, so Miss Binney asks her to stay at home until she can behave herself properly. Ramona is a kindergarten drop-out, as she calls herself. Despite pressure from her parents, her sister, and her friends, she refuses to return to school. Until a special letter arrives from Miss Binney, proving that her beloved teacher really does understand her, after all.Ramona is a great depiction of a five year old. She doesn't have the maturity or education to understand everything, but she thinks she does, and views adults with a blend of admiration and contempt. It is hilarious when she scorns the substitute teachers as unintelligent, since she doesn't recognize the letter Q, which Ramona has adorned with kitten ears and tails. She is more than just an irrational but endearing preschooler, now; she is a little girl, on her path to understanding and growing up with plenty of precious misunderstandings along the way. Above all, Ramona is honest and creative. Others may not always understand her, but she understands herself. I absolutely love Ramona, even though I can relate to her mom and think how exasperating it would be to raise Ramona. This is another wonderful Ramona books, that poignantly captures a child growing up in a middle class home with a caring family.
nmhale_1
Rating: 4 out of 5 stars(4/5)
Cleary always delivers solid children's books, with a good message and believable characters and conflicts that are gripping but very domestic. When she writes about Ramona, though, her books really shine. Ramona is such an amazing little person. I like her earliest appearances, when she comes on the stage as a willful and stubborn young girl, who always understands what she is doing even when others think she is being unreasonable, and who is clever and creative and quite a handful.In this book, Ramona enters kindergarten. This is a big moment for Ramona, who wants to grow up as big as Beezus, and has been longing for this day for an eternity, or so it seems to her. Despite minor disappointments - like being forced to walk with Howie and Willa Jean each morning, or being told to wait here for the present, and not realizing that that doesn't mean she gets an actual present for waiting - nothing can dampen her enthusiasm. She loves her teacher, Miss Binney, and is excited for all of the grown-up things they are learning, like writing letters and her name. She has a few mishaps, but she always comes up with witty solutions. Her Halloween mask is scary, but Ramona is even more terrified when she thinks that no one recognizes her and she is completely anonymous. So Ramona makes a sign to name herself as she walks in the Halloween parade. She wants to kiss adorable Davy, but he won't let her. So Ramona chases him around the playground every morning. One day, though, Ramona doesn't know how to solve her problem. Miss Binney catches her pulling Susan's perfectly curled, bouncy hair, and disciplines her. Miss Binney asks Ramona if she can stop pulling Susan's hair. Ramona honestly responds that she can not, so Miss Binney asks her to stay at home until she can behave herself properly. Ramona is a kindergarten drop-out, as she calls herself. Despite pressure from her parents, her sister, and her friends, she refuses to return to school. Until a special letter arrives from Miss Binney, proving that her beloved teacher really does understand her, after all.Ramona is a great depiction of a five year old. She doesn't have the maturity or education to understand everything, but she thinks she does, and views adults with a blend of admiration and contempt. It is hilarious when she scorns the substitute teachers as unintelligent, since she doesn't recognize the letter Q, which Ramona has adorned with kitten ears and tails. She is more than just an irrational but endearing preschooler, now; she is a little girl, on her path to understanding and growing up with plenty of precious misunderstandings along the way. Above all, Ramona is honest and creative. Others may not always understand her, but she understands herself. I absolutely love Ramona, even though I can relate to her mom and think how exasperating it would be to raise Ramona. This is another wonderful Ramona books, that poignantly captures a child growing up in a middle class home with a caring family.
Was this review helpful for you?
mslangdon
Rating: 5 out of 5 stars(5/5)
Was this review helpful for you?
Part A/ClassicCleary, B. (1968). Ramona the pest. New York: Harper Collins.Pest—Ramona Quimby doesn’t think so. She is the youngest in her family and the youngest on her block, which makes it easy for everyone around to think that she is a pest. Ramona is starting school and will do anything to prove that she is not a “kindergarten baby,” while also trying to impress and win the heart of her teacher, Miss Binney. Always with good intentions, Ramona finds herself in sticky situations. Detailed illustrations throughout the chapters enhance the various parts of the story. Young readers will laugh out loud as they read Ramona the Pest. Children and adults alike can relate to Cleary’s depiction of Ramona, either because they know a five-year-old just like her, or they are a “Ramona.”Another book from this decade is Harriet the Spy by Louise Fitzhugh.
mslangdon
Rating: 5 out of 5 stars(5/5)
Part A/ClassicCleary, B. (1968). Ramona the pest. New York: Harper Collins.Pest—Ramona Quimby doesn’t think so. She is the youngest in her family and the youngest on her block, which makes it easy for everyone around to think that she is a pest. Ramona is starting school and will do anything to prove that she is not a “kindergarten baby,” while also trying to impress and win the heart of her teacher, Miss Binney. Always with good intentions, Ramona finds herself in sticky situations. Detailed illustrations throughout the chapters enhance the various parts of the story. Young readers will laugh out loud as they read Ramona the Pest. Children and adults alike can relate to Cleary’s depiction of Ramona, either because they know a five-year-old just like her, or they are a “Ramona.”Another book from this decade is Harriet the Spy by Louise Fitzhugh.
Was this review helpful for you?
mcelhra
Rating: 5 out of 5 stars(5/5)
Was this review helpful for you?
In Ramona the Pest, Ramona starts kindergarten. She loves school and her teacher but still manages to get herself in quite a bit of trouble.Beverly Cleary gets little kids. There is a scene where Ramona is throwing a tantrum in her room in which Ms. Cleary does a wonderful job of explaining the (irrational) thought process that is going on in Ramona’s mind during the tantrum. I think little kids will find comfort in knowing that they are not the only ones who feel out of control at times. She also understands that children can be very literal and this often leads to misunderstandings and embarrassment for them. This whole book serves to help young readers know that they are not the only ones overwhelmed by the world and new experiences.My six year old son and I loved this book and we’re looking forward to the next Ramona book in the series.
mcelhra
Rating: 5 out of 5 stars(5/5)
In Ramona the Pest, Ramona starts kindergarten. She loves school and her teacher but still manages to get herself in quite a bit of trouble.Beverly Cleary gets little kids. There is a scene where Ramona is throwing a tantrum in her room in which Ms. Cleary does a wonderful job of explaining the (irrational) thought process that is going on in Ramona’s mind during the tantrum. I think little kids will find comfort in knowing that they are not the only ones who feel out of control at times. She also understands that children can be very literal and this often leads to misunderstandings and embarrassment for them. This whole book serves to help young readers know that they are not the only ones overwhelmed by the world and new experiences.My six year old son and I loved this book and we’re looking forward to the next Ramona book in the series.
Was this review helpful for you?
ellsbethb
Rating: 3 out of 5 stars(3/5)
Was this review helpful for you?
It was fun to finally read a Ramona book and to get a good reminder of how 5 year olds see the world.
ellsbethb
Rating: 3 out of 5 stars(3/5)
It was fun to finally read a Ramona book and to get a good reminder of how 5 year olds see the world.
Was this review helpful for you?