Ramona's World

Evalina got Ramona's World for Christmas, because it was the only book in the series we hadn't yet read.  It is always a delight to read a "new" book in a favorite series.

The Story:  Ramona is entering the fourth grade.  She has a new baby sister, Roberta, and she is back to sharing a room with Beezus (so that the baby can have her old room).  She has a new best friend, Daisy, and calluses from swinging and playing on monkey bars and rings that any active fourth grader would be envious of.  She also has her challenges, like any other fourth grader - trying to prove that she is worthy of more responsibility, dealing with spelling, embarrassing moments, and a bad school picture.  In other words, this is a realistic story about a girl who is, in many ways, very much like Evalina.

The Good:  As always, I love how realistic and timeless the Ramona stories are.  They are quick reads, and funny.  Evalina had several laugh out loud moments.  The characters come alive on the page and you can picture any slightly quirky, exuberant 9 year old in Ramona's place... including when she becomes what she calls a teenager on her "zero-teenth" birthday.  Since my own girl has been planning her own 9th birthday party for months (and it is not until March...), I can relate (and so can she).


The Bad:  The only bad thing I can think of is that now we have read all the books in the Ramona series... sometimes Ramona does things that are not the best choices, but what 9 year old doesn't?


The Verdict:  Absolutely read.  It was the perfect reading level for Evalina, though she could have read it last year even without difficulty.  I cannot say enough about this series.  Quick and funny, I'm sure she'll revisit them in the future.