& Ernestine Gilbreth CareyĬan’t We Talk About Something More Pleasant?, Roz ChastĬheaper by the Dozen, Frank B. Laura LaVelle is an attorney and writer who lives in Connecticut, in a 100-year-old house, along with her husband, two daughters, and two cockatiels.Ī Journal of the Plague Year, Daniel DefoeĪ Wandering Eye: Travels with My Phone, Miguel Flores-Viannaīelles on Their Toes, Frank B. RATING (one to five whistles, with five being the best): 3 1/2 Whistles Beverly Cleary lived up until last year, age 104–may her charming, subtly humorous books continue to entertain and inspire children (and adults) for many more years. It’s a book that stands the test of time the characters are psychologically accurate and feel relevant, even almost seven decades later. Fortunately, she does improve in the sequels, although she could never be described as an easy personality.) (Frankly, I wouldn’t either–the kid is pretty exasperating. Beezus in turn struggles with guilt as she realizes that she doesn’t always love her little sister. Worst of all is when she wrecked not one, but two birthday cakes for Beezus. There’s not much of a plot–each chapter is episodic, as Ramona wreaks havoc at art class, destroys a library book, has an unauthorized party, and so on.

It’s pretty easy, here at least, to relate to the responsible, sensible, worried Beezus. This is the only book of the series told from Beezus’ point of view–the subsequent novels focus on her younger sister, Ramona, as she grows up. Most strikingly, children are just not generally allowed nearly as much freedom as they were then–Beezus (age nine) takes her younger sister (age four) to the library with no adult accompaniment, and leaves her to her own devices in a park while she goes to her art class.īut many things haven’t changed–older siblings are supposed to be responsible, younger siblings can be incredibly annoying, and family relationships can be difficult. Some things have changed since 1955–gender roles have become much more flexible. I hadn’t read it since my own childhood, but it was fun to revisit the Quimbys (along with Henry Huggins and his dog, Ribsy). As we had the whole Ramona series in a boxed set, we started with the first one, Beezus and Ramona. I don’t mind them, particularly, but they’re not my favorite, so I thought I’d introduce her to some older books about a difficult girl.

My younger daughter is a big fan of the Junie B.

Author of ramona and beezus