Ramona's World

August 23, 1999
Cleary's first Ramona novel in 15 years opens as this strong-willed heroine enters fourth grade, determined to find herself a best friend. A new girl at school named Daisy fits the bill perfectly and costars in two of the novel's liveliest scenes: she and Ramona vacuum Daisy's cat, and while the two play a game of make-believe in the attic, Ramona's legs break through the floor and dangle over the dining room table. Though the precocious nine-year-old is on relatively firm ground at school ("By the fourth grade she had learned to put up with teachers"), Ramona resents the emphasis that this year's teacher places on correct spelling, tries to tolerate the seemingly perfect Susan and--very realistically--alternately feuds and flirts with classmate Danny (whom she calls Yard Ape because he "acted like an ape on the playground"). On the home front, Ramona stews over her mother's preoccupation with a new baby and rolls her eyes at how sister Beezus (now a high-schooler) tends to integrate her newly acquired French vocabulary into conversation. A couple minor subplots seem dated (e.g., Beezus takes dancing lessons from her father in preparation for her first boy-girl party, to which she wears a blouse with ruffles), but most of Ramona's triumphs and traumas are timeless and convincingly portrayed. "I am a potential grown-up," declares this spunky protagonist on her 10th birthday, proudly trotting out one of her challenge words in spelling. Fans will hope that Cleary has many more growing pains and pleasures in store for Ramona before this potential is realized. 100,000 first printing. Ages 8-up.

August 1, 1999
Gr 2-4-Picking up where Ramona Forever (Morrow, 1984) left off, Cleary gives her readers a much-awaited gem with this consistent and expressive look into the world of this beloved character. Here, eager readers find out just how well Ramona adjusts to being a big sister and a fourth grader. Irrepressible as always, she does not fail to satisfy with her antics. Beezus is in high school-getting her ears pierced, baby-sitting, and going to parties with boys-while baby Roberta is, well, busy being a baby. Ramona makes a best friend, falls through an attic ceiling, is a responsible baby-sitter, and struggles with spelling. Once again, Tiegreen provides well-chosen and well-placed black-and-white line drawings throughout. The story concludes with Ramona's 10th birthday, or "zeroteenth" as she is pleased to note. The close-ended chapters relate different episodes in the child's life, a format well suited for reading aloud. Write on Ms. Cleary!-Christy Norris Blanchette, Valley Cottage Library, NY

Copyright 1999 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

January 1, 2000
Although it's been fifteen years since "Ramona Forever", only two months have passed for the heroine herself, now armed for fourth grade with news of her new baby sister, Roberta. Cleary here seems intent upon making Ramona (and Beezus) more typical than individualized, and while fans may welcome this Ramona redux, it's disappointing to see how innocuous she's become.

(Copyright 2000 by The Horn Book, Incorporated, Boston. All rights reserved.)