Beezus and Ramona by Beverly Clearly, A: There are three Ramona books on the Top 100 Children’s Books list. This is not one of them, but it is the first book of the series. The main characters are Beatrice “Beezus” Quimby, age 9, and her little sister Ramona, age 4. Ramona’s a little bit of a trouble-maker, and the kind of trouble that she makes is often the kind that interferes with Beezus’s fun. Being younger, Ramona gets more attention, which is also hard on Beezus. I suppose this book must be pretty much required reading for girls with younger sisters, even if its message–“You’ll laugh about this when you’re older”–is unlikely to bring much comfort to youngsters dealing with troublesome siblings. Having never had a younger sibling myself, this book didn’t speak to me, but I thought it was cute. The cover of the books says, “Celebrate 60 years with Beverly Cleary.” The text, copyright 1955, is now approaching 70 years old. A lot about society has changed since its publication, but kids are still kids, and the book feels timeless rather than dated. Recommended.
Ramona the Pest by Beverly Cleary, A-: Ramona is now a kindergartner, and this story chronicles her age-appropriate misunderstandings and misadventures in a sweet and humorous way. Honestly, I enjoyed Beezus as a main character more (Ramona is very young and more difficult for an older reader such as myself to relate to), but at times I was reminded of my own childhood, both the good parts and the bad. Like Beezus and Ramona, this book has a timeless quality. Also recommended.