Beverly Cleary

Ramona at 7 1/2 sometimes feels discriminated against by being the youngest in the family.

Ramona meets lots of interesting people in kindergarten class, like Davy whom she keeps trying to kiss and Susan whose springy curls seem to ask to be pulled.

Beatrice Quimby's biggest problem was her little sister, Ramona. Beatrice was very patient with Ramona, but eventually she got so exasperated that she decided she did not like Ramona at all.

For the well-meaning Henry Huggins, nothing ever works out quite as planned including getting the bike of his dreams. Luckily his pal Beezus Quimby is there to help! Henry's attempts at raising money for his bike fund keep falling flat. Selling bubble gum on the playground gets him in trouble with his teacher, and then Ribsy's nose for mischief almost ruins Henry s paper route. Even pesky little Ramona Quimby manages to get in the way of Henry's chance...

Ralph runs away looking for freedom but winds up a prisoner at a summer camp. The rousing notes of the bugle and the laughter and shouting increased the feeling of rebellion within Ralph. As the last strains of the bugle call hovered in the clear mountain air, Ralph made up his mind. He knew now what he was going to do. He was going to run away. Fed up with his timid mother and uncle and his squirmy little cousins, Ralph hops onto his toy motorcycle...

Just as Henry Huggins is complaining that nothing exciting ever happens, a friendly dog sits down beside him and looks pleadingly at his ice-cream cone. From that moment on, the two are inseparable. But when Ribsy's original owner appears, trying to reclaim his dog, Henry's faced with the possibility of losing his new best friend. Has Klickitat Street seen the last of rambunctious Ribsy?

"Henry Huggins's neighbors have had it with his dog Ribsy's reckless cat-chasing, food-stealing mischief. The Henry's dad makes a deal with him: if Ribsy can behave himself for two months, Henry can go with Mr. Huggins on the big fishing trip. Henry thinks this will be easy-but he didn't bargain for Ribsy's unstoppable nose for trouble!" --

Henry Huggins can't wait until he turns eleven years old, so he can have a paper route like his friend Scooter McCarthy. Will Ramona Quimby, making a real pest of herself, help Henry get the job he wants so much?

Maggie resists learning cursive writing in the third grade, until she discovers that knowing how to read and write cursive promises to open up an entirely new world of knowledge for her.

The further adventures and misadventures of Ramona Quimby feature the heroine as she copes with her family, friends, and turning eight.