Ramona the Brave is the third book in the series. I love it. It has some GREAT moments. "Trouble in the Park" Ramona can't understand why Beezus is angry with HER for standing up to the big, bad bullies at the park who were teasing her (Beezus). Ramona thought that she was loving her sister by speaking up, but, Beezus is too angry to explain. Readers also learn that Ramona and Howie LOVE to play BRICK FACTORY."Mrs. Quimby's Secret" Ramona and Beezus learn that they won't have to share a room together anymore. Their parents have decided to add a room to the house. Mrs. Quimby will WORK OUTSIDE THE HOME to help pay for it."The Hole in the House" This chapter has a perfect description of Brick Factory. They were no longer six-year-olds. They were the strongest people in the world. They were giants. When the driveway was thick with red dust, Ramona dragged out the hose and pretended that a terrible flood was washing away the Brick Factory in a stream of red mud. "Run, Howie! Run before it gets you!" screamed Ramona. She was mighty Ramona, brave and strong. Howie's sneakers left red footprints, but he did not really run away. He only ran to the next driveway and back. Then the two began the game all over again.(38)"The First Day of School" Ramona doesn't have the best first day experience. She wanted to love first grade as much as kindergarten. (Not that she always loved, loved kindergarten, mind you). She wanted to love her first grade teacher, Mrs. Griggs, as much as the wonderful Miss Binney. It doesn't happen. Sometimes teachers are like that, even Beezus can tell you that. Beezus LOVES her teacher. (Ramona ends up liking him too.)"Owl Trouble" Poor Ramona! Susan and Ramona have ISSUES over their owls at art time. I feel for Ramona in this situation."Parents' Night" The owl-drama continues. And Ramona writes the sweetest heart-felt note to her mom. COME HERE MOTHER. COME HERE TO ME. This chapter is just one reason why I love, love, love Cleary's writing. She KNOWS what it feels like to be a kid."Alone in the Dark" Ramona doesn't like her new room. She finds it VERY SCARY. Poor Ramona is FRUSTRATED during the day at school, not liking her teacher and some of her classmates, and she's SCARED to be alone in her room at night. So she's not sleeping all that great either. I believe she mentions how as long as she hears her Dad moving about and knows that he's awake somewhere, it's not too bad, but, then when everyone is asleep but her, it's overwhelming."Ramona Says A Bad Word" I LOVE, LOVE, LOVE, LOVE, LOVE this chapter. I do. Ramona's had a horrible time of it throughout the whole book, and, she's had enough of it. She breaks down. She lets loose. GUTS. GUTS. GUTS. GUTS. But why is everyone laughing at her?! She wasn't trying to be funny! She was doing some serious venting!!! Then Ramona felt her mother's hand on her back. "Ramona," she said gently, "what are we going to do with you?" With red eyes, a swollen face, and a streaming nose, Ramona sat up and glared at her mother. "Love me!" Her voice was fierce with hurt. Shocked at her own words, she buried her face in the pillow. She had no tears left. "Dear heart," said Mrs. Quimby. "We do love you." Ramona sat up and faced her mother, who looked tired, as if she had been through many scenes with Ramona and knew many more lay ahead. "You do not. You love Beezus." There. She had said it right out loud. For years she had wanted to tell her parents how she felt. (140-1)"Mr. Quimby's Spunky Gal" Ramona encounters a big, bad dog, loses a shoe, and gains a new friend. Ramona makes her own slipper--with a borrowed stapler from Beezus' teacher--and finally feels a little bit brave.
Up until now, we've been reading Ramona books illustrated by Tracy Dockray. I really like her drawings because they do such a great job of conveying the emotions of each character - from elation to concern to anger. Illustrations definitely add to the story, helping Isabelle to put a greater context around the words being read.Since we're going through the series by borrowing books from the library, we read whatever editions are available. With this book, for the first time, we encountered a different illustrator - Alan Tiegreen. I thought Isabelle might not like the change, but she told me that in school, her teacher reads books illustrated by yet another person, who turned out to be Jacqueline Rogers. This is great! I personally prefer Tracy Dockray's pictures because Alan Tiegreen's drawings look, well, not so cute. :P But they do do an equally good job of bringing the story to life, and I love that Isabelle is seeing different interpretations of the same characters.In Ramona the Brave, Ramona is in first grade, just like Isabelle! Ramona begins to learn a few things about people and relationships - other people may sometimes behave in ways that belittle you, and some people (like teachers) may misinterpret situations in such a way as to misunderstand you completely. Poor Ramona! I really felt for her in this book. I think every person has some strong memory of being misunderstood as a child. Interestingly, while I focused on the emotions and the possible take-away lessons, Isabelle said her favorite thing about this book was the brick factory game that Ramona played with Howie. How typical! :) The parent tries to emphasize some worthy lesson, but the child really just wants to enjoy the story. :P
What do You think about Ramona The Brave (2000)?
Beverly Cleary has a real gift. Although her books span a period of decades, they all read as though they were written today. There's a few odd details in some of them, but mostly they rely on good storytelling and... well, very real-seeming children.This is the story of Ramona's first grade year. Her struggles sound authentically, well, first grade. She has to deal with a copycat neighbor... and then she has to deal with the fallout of acting without thinking. She doesn't think her teacher LIKES her (and we all know how important that is when you're six)! Her room is too dark and she's alone.It's a good book, very real. I especially love the final chapter, where poor Ramona lost her shoe on her way to school. She'd just spent the chapter BEFORE detailing that she KNEW her teacher didn't like her because she never got to lead the Pledge, and now... well... I almost couldn't read it to my nieces, we were all laughing so hard *knowing* she was going to be called on this time, with one shoe off and one shoe on.
—Connie
Ramona the Brave is an adorable book about a young girl named Ramona Quimby. Ramona is entering the first grade after the summer, most of which she spent playing brick factory with her friend Howie, a game they invented that entailed breaking bricks into dust. With first grade awaiting her, she faces many endeavors throughout school, particularly when the class had to do an art project, and a girl copied Ramona’s work and the teacher saw hers first and showed it off to the class. Infuriated Ramona then gets in trouble after going off and destroying the girls copied work. The next day, Ramona encounters a big dog that scares her and so Ramona throws her shoe at the dog, but it runs away with it. This also happens to be the day that Ramona was picked by the teacher to do lead the pledge of allegiance. Ramona stands up for the task, even though she is missing a shoe. The secretary tells Ramona that she is brave for doing that without one of her shoes, and that's how she gets her nickname, Ramona the Brave.This book could be used in a classroom by having the students free write about how they would feel if they were Ramona, and keep a journal in the viewpoint of Ramona as they read the book. Cleary, B., & Tiegreen, A. (1975). Ramona the brave. New York, NY: Morrow.
—Elizabeth Byers
This book is very significant for several reasons. First of all, the book shows how six year olds think, they want to be grown up and want to be a part of everything. Second of all, the book shows how a six year old handles situations and how different responses elicit different emotions. Thirdly, this book is funny and it related to me because I probably said some of the same things that Ramona said in the book. Ramona wants to sound and act grown-up, but she doesn’t to the adults around her. Beverly Clearly represents the six year old very well in her books so that it is relatable to her readers and also the adults that like reading children’s books. As a teacher, these books are great to see into the mind of how a first grader is coping with the world around her. Sometimes, I think about first graders has little kids, which they are, but they are not to be talked down to, they are little adults and we need to treat them as such. We see that in this book. This book is worth reading because a teacher can get inside of the mind of a six year old. Also, it is a fun and short read. I read this book in about two hours. It brought me back to what it was like to be a six-year-old and be in first grade. I don’t remember it well, but the themes in this book are universal and Clearly uses imagery very well so that I could smell and feel what Ramona was going through. It also brought me back to the time when I read these types of books. I remember vividly reading under tables and on my porch in the summers. It was a very nostalgic book for me as I went through this book. Every person can relate to how Ramona feels and how she relates to people, which is truly a wonderful experience when you open a book.
—Annie Wetherbee
