Ramona Quimby: A Different Kind of Heroine The second grader became a third grader who got raw egg in her hair in front of the entire school cafeteria. The kindergartner became a second grader who squeezed out a whole tube of toothpaste to see what would happen–and vent her confusing emotions. The preschooler who shoved her doll into the oven in a game of Hansel and Gretel became a kindergartner who constantly pulled a classmate’s hair and chased and kissed another on the playground. Ramona aged and matured somewhat in each book, but her tendency to get into scrapes matured with her. In the years and decades following Beezus and Ramona, young readers were treated to more Ramona books. She would wipe finger paint on the cat, take one bite out of every apple in a family-size box and leave the rest, or invite her entire preschool class over without telling anyone. Ramona was the kind of girl who would blow into her straw “as hard as she could ‘to see what would happen,'” thus spraying lemonade everywhere. In complete contrast, four-year-old Ramona was loud, rowdy, a budding tomboy, and creative in arguably inappropriate ways. At the time, Beezus was a sensible nine-year-old, quiet, demure, bookish, and in many ways an ideal girl of her era. Ramona Quimby first appeared as a deuterotagonist to her older sister Beatrice (Beezus) in Beezus and Ramona, first published circa 1955. However, perhaps no Cleary character is as memorable and beloved as Ramona Quimby.

Readers might recognize names like Henry Huggins, Ellen Tebbits, Ralph S. The prolific and beloved children’s author gave us several memorable characters and series. On March 25, 2021, the world lost Beverly Cleary.

Ramona quimby