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Republication of this classic title, featuring new art and cover, celebrates the August 1999 release of the first Ramona book in 15 years, "Ramona's World." In this perennial bestseller, Beezus and Ramona learn about the challenges of sisterly love.
Beezus and Ramona is told from Beezus' point of view. It was written by Beverly Cleary and illustrated Tracy Dockray.
In this book Ramona and her imagination really come into their own. Starting with a fairly mild encounter with the librarian, which is harder on Beezus than anyone else, Ramona goes from strength to strength, winding up by inviting her entire kindergarten class to a part at her home without mentioning it to her mother. The riot that ensues is probably the most hilarious episode in this extremely funny book, which proves that Mrs. Cleary's imagination is almost as lively as Ramona's.
Beezus often feels guilty because she knows she is supposed to love Ramona, but has a hard time with that. While she tries to read to her and care for her, Beezus often gets mad about the things Ramona does. Frustrated, Beezus asks their mother if she was like Ramona when she was younger. Their mother replies that yes, and she was different in some ways, such as being quieter. This pleases Beezus, who dislikes Ramona's tendency to be very noisy. Then Mrs. Quimby explains how she and her sister, Beezus and Ramona's Aunt Beatrice, were also very different as children. Beezus begins to think about her mom and aunt, and how much they love each other, and realizes that Ramona is not such a bad little sister after all.
