This is the only book in the series written from older sister Beezus' point of view. In it, Beezus is struggling with her feelings for her annoying younger sister. Her four-year-old sister Ramona exasperates her with her high spirits and wild imagination. Ramona scribbles all over a library book, gets Ribsy locked in the bathroom, and disrupts Beezus' art class. Finally Beezus realizes it is possible to love her sister, even when she doesn't always like her.
Ramona Quimby is the youngest of all the famous characters in Mrs. Cleary's wonderful Henry Huggins stories. She is also far and away the most deadly. Readers of the earlier books will remember that Ramona has always been a menace to Beezus, her older sister, to Henry, and to his dog Ribsy. It is not that Ramona deliberately sets out to make trouble for other people. She simply has more imagination than is healthy for any one person.
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.
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