Ramona Quimby: My Literary Best Friend

Most of us are a little bit Ramona Quimby inside.

This week I was delighted to learn author Beverly Cleary celebrated her 100th birthday. According to this Washington Post interview, Cleary commented she was commemorating her 100th in a “low-key” manner, “with a celebratory slice of carrot cake, she says, ‘because I like it.'”

Growing-up, Ramona Quimby was the perfect literary best friend. She did well-meaning things that made adults upset. She was curious and sometimes did silly things for attention. So did I.

My Ramona books were hand-me-downs from my cousins. They were illustrated with awkward, earnest sketches. I prefer these to the new ones, but I’m probably biased. I read them over and over again, rotating them with my other favorite books about adventurous little girls: Matilda, Betsy, Tacy & Tib, Laura Ingalls Wilder, and Pippi Longstocking. Ramona was my favorite, though. I could identify with her the most. The things she did made perfect sense. Get pissed at mom and dad? Squeeze an entire tube of toothpaste into the sink. Love your new pajamas? Wear them underneath your clothes at school and get so hot that you have a physical meltdown. Can’t say I ever did these things, but, as a child, I totally understood her reasoning.

Ramona wanted to fit in and so did I. There’s this one scene in Ramona Quimby Age 8 (here’s the cover I grew-up with) where Ramona cracks a raw egg on her head in the school cafeteria. Why an egg? All of the popular kids at school had been bringing hard-boiled eggs for lunch and cracking them open on one’s head was just the cool thing to do. Unfortunately, Ramona’s mom forgot to cook this particular egg. Egg in hair, she ends up in the school nurse’s office to get her hair cleaned and overhears her teacher call her a nuisance. This makes her feel crushed.

When I was the same age, I thought it would be really fun to participate in a classroom bubble gum blowing contest. It was a silly contest, but I was determined to win. While my classmates gave a valiant effort, I persevered until I blew a monster bubble the size of my face. Inevitably it popped. I may have won the contest but couldn’t remove the ghost of my victory bubble from my face. A nice teacher sat me down in the corner of the classroom where she tried to remove the bubble gum with hand lotion. It sort of worked and I felt very embarrassed. This seemed like something Ramona would do and so I felt a little better.

A lot has changed in Beverly Cleary’s 100 years. Children’s lives seem really scheduled-out and they have lots of homework. Chalkboards became white boards which became smart boards. What hasn’t changed, though, are the struggles one experiences growing-up, beginning in childhood and extending into adulthood. It wasn’t easy then, and it isn’t easy now.

Ramona taught me that it’s normal to feel misunderstood, embarrassed, awkward, and left-out. And now, looking back, Ramona’s parents taught me that it’s OK for adults to feel tired after work, cross with their significant other, and have a difficult time coping with tough job stuff. Big life lessons packed in small books with humor and heart.

Cheers and gratitude to Beverly Cleary for creating a literary best friend who “got” us. 

7 Comments

  1. Katie

    I love Ramona!!! The movie that came out about 5 years ago was really good!!

    • Jeni

      How did I miss it? Hoping it’s on Netflix. . .

  2. Val - Corn, Beans, Pigs and Kids

    When I saw that Beverly Cleary turned 100 years old I couldn’t help but think back to all the stories of Ramona Quimby too. It really is amazing how many real issues she was able to share and tell in these children books. I will always remember one night growing up at supper we had tongue (just like Ramona and her family did after times got tough). I asked my parents if we were poor because Ramona and her family had tongue when they didn’t have very much money. We then at the supper table had a real conversation about farming (during the 80s farm crisis) and how things were tight, but that we’d be okay.

    • Jeni

      Thanks for sharing this story Val! It’s amazing how many young women she reached through those books.

  3. Beth Ann Chiles

    I love Beverly Cleary as well and loved reading your thoughts about Ramona and how you felt like her at times. I think almost every little girl who read those books could identify as well with those situations. I never felt like I fit in and that was difficult at times but encouraging books like these helped a lot. Thank you for sharing such a great perspective. Loved Val’s comment as well.

  4. Betsy

    I adore Ramona as well! What a brilliant series. My favorite was when she took a bite out of each apple in the bushel, “because the first bite tastes best.” I quickly copied her after finding a bunch of apples in the fridge. I figured my mom would be cool with it because Ramona’s mom made applesauce. I was wrong. NOT COOL. Isn’t it amazing how these literary figures stick with us throughout life??

    • Jeni

      You actually did this!!!

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