Childhood Favorites: Ramona and Her Father by Beverly Cleary

 

Hello, Fellow Book Worms and Book Dragons,

   My elementary school years still remain some of my fondest memories. They shaped the reader that I am now. And I still see my elementary school friends occasionally to reminisce and recall our crazy times as pre-adolescents. When I was a kid visiting my elementary school library I was grabbing up as many Beverly Cleary books as I could. Nowadays I use my favorite children's books to add some light reading to my otherwise heavy thriller and suspense reading. Plus it is always fun to read a story rife with innocence and laughter. In honor of Father's Day, here is a book you can share with your child.

 

  Ramona and Her Father is the Newbery Award-Winning fourth book in the popular series by Beverly Cleary. Tracy Dockray also returns in this edition to illustrate some of the book's funnier moments with her fun and whimsical artwork. It is published by Harper Collins under their Harper Trophy imprint. Originally released in 1975, Cleary takes Ramona to second grade, giving our seven-year-old protagonist (or antagonist if you ask her sister, Beezus) a new set of troubles. When Mr. Quimby arrives home with the news that he has lost his job, the Quimby household must begin to cut back costs to survive on only Mrs. Quimby's income. Even the Quimby’s grumpy cat, Picky-Picky is grumpier having to eat discount Puss-puddy. But Beezus and Ramona have one question: If they need to cut back on costs, then how come Daddy gets to still buy cigarettes?

  But Mr. Quimby, a long-time smoker, disregards his daughters' worries about his health and the family finances. This sets the sisters into action to try to get their father to quit. Ramona makes signs and is very vocal in the fight to save her father’s life. No daddy of hers is going to have black lungs, she swears it! 

  This delightful book has won over a dozen awards and accolades for its realistic approach to the family dynamic. Even though this may be a children’s book; its pages are filled with the reality of unemployment, the effects of smoking on the human body, and the toll that cutting costs in a time of a shaky economy may have on a family of four.  Cleary’s delightful humor has Ramona getting into mischief, which offsets the book’s heavier moments. I loved Ramona’s homemade crown, noisy tin can stilts, and her encounter with the Three Wise Persons at her Christmas pageant. Beverly Cleary balances the good and bad moments in a child’s life expertly. 

  I read this book in part with the hilarious narration of actress Stockard Channing (Rizzo, Grease). Her voice range is impressive; from a seven-year-old girl to an elderly woman, she brings on the laughs. I cannot stress enough what an amazing fit she is for this series. I loved her work on the previous three Ramona books. She is a joy to listen to, and any children that listen to her narration will not be disappointed. 

  At the end of this book, I was pleasantly surprised how this story is just as relevant today as it was forty-three years ago. Beverly Cleary tells us that even when things go wrong we have to believe in a better tomorrow. Fighting for what we know is right can often end in positive results. I gave Ramona and Her Father five out of five stars. 

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 Because there is always time to read,

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