Ramona the Brave

Ramona Quimby is six years old and anxious to finish her boring summer, ready to leap headfirst into new adventures in first grade: “Ramona was sticky from heat and grubby from landing in the sawdust at the foot of the slides, but she was proud of herself” (11). The plucky, precocious protagonist opens the novel feeling brave and cavalier as she defends her sister Beezus against a group of rowdy boys on the playground but is quickly deflated by Beezus’s embarrassment over what she calls Ramona’s “sermon.” Throughout the novel, Ramona continuously finds herself in precarious situations in which she feels overwhelmed and emotionally unequipped to resolve. The adults in her life have given Ramona a lot of rules for how to exist in their family and society, and Ramona spends much of the narrative trying to sort out what matters. Through Ramona’s humorous perspective, Beverly Cleary explores issues that kids find important but adults may not, such as being laughed at or recognized for creativity. Cleary gives readers a portrait of a young girl trying to navigate her world authentically but who is also stubborn and just longs to be seen and heard.