Ramona Quimby, Age 8
Encyclopedia
Ramona Quimby, Age 8 is a juvenile fiction
novel
written by Beverly Cleary
. It is the sixth installment in the Ramona Quimby series. It was illustrated by Alan Tiegreen and was first published in 1981. The current edition was illustrated by Tracy Dockray
. It is a 1982 Newbery Honor award winner. It has also been published in Houghton Mifflin
books.
In the first chapter Ramona is shocked to learn Mr. Quimby is back in school. On the bus Ramona meets a Boy named Danny who she called a yard ape .Once Ramona arrives at school, she instantly clicks with her teacher, Mrs. Whaley ("a whale with a 'y' for a tail"), and starts signing her name, "Ramona Quimby, Age 8". But of course, as is normal for Ramona, things don't always go as planned. One day, she takes a hard-boiled egg to school for lunch. When she whacks it against her head to remove the shell as per a third-grade trend, she realizes it wasn't hard boiled and gets raw egg in her hair. She later overhears Mrs. Whaley talking about the incident in the staff room, commenting "What a nuisance". Ramona is shocked and upset that her teacher thinks of her like this. In another chapter, Ramona and Beezus claim not to like tongue
because of "those yucky little, small, and tiny bumps
". As punishment for their comments, Mr. and Mrs. Quimby state that their two daughters should prepare the evening meal. The next day, Beezus and Ramona behave themselves in the hope that their parents will forget about their punishment. Unfortunately, Mr. and Mrs. Quimby remember and instruct the sisters to cook dinner. They prepare chicken thighs, rice
and cornbread
. However, they substitute other ingredients, because they run out of the right ones: They use Cream of Wheat
in the cornbread with the cornmeal and banana yogurt and chili powder in the chicken. They also make a mess of the kitchen. Their parents pretend to like the dinner. In another chapter, Ramona contracts stomach flu
and she does the "most terrible, horrible, dreadful, awful thing" — she throws up in front of everybody in class.
After Ramona recovers, she has hangups about a book report she is assigned to do, and comes up with a clever way to present it, she makes cat masks and tell her friends to act like cats. Mrs. Whaley congratulates her warmly. Ramona confronts her teacher about the way she called her a nuisance. Mrs. Whaley replies that she meant it was a nuisance for the school secretary to have to wash the egg out of Ramona's hair. In the final chapter, the Quimbys are in a generally bad mood on a rainy Sunday, hardly a novelty in Oregon
, complete with Beezus being upset over not being able to spend the night at her friend Mary Jane's house because of coming home exhausted and angry, Ramona being forced to clean up her room , and Mr. Quimby getting annoyed with his art assignment. So, to cheer everyone up, their father decides they should go out to dinner for the first time in months to Whopperburger. There, the whole family realizes that a man, who had strangely asked Ramona if she's been nice to her mother, has paid for their meal, and they go home happy.
Children's literature
Children's literature is for readers and listeners up to about age twelve; it is often defined in four different ways: books written by children, books written for children, books chosen by children, or books chosen for children. It is often illustrated. The term is used in senses which sometimes...
novel
Novel
A novel is a book of long narrative in literary prose. The genre has historical roots both in the fields of the medieval and early modern romance and in the tradition of the novella. The latter supplied the present generic term in the late 18th century....
written by Beverly Cleary
Beverly Cleary
Beverly Cleary is an American author. Educated at colleges in California and Washington, she worked as a librarian before writing children's books. Cleary has written more than 30 books for young adults and children. Some of her best-known characters are Henry Huggins, Ribsy, Beatrice Quimby, her...
. It is the sixth installment in the Ramona Quimby series. It was illustrated by Alan Tiegreen and was first published in 1981. The current edition was illustrated by Tracy Dockray
Tracy Dockray
Tracy Dockray is a US artist. She illustrated the current Harper Collins editions of Beverly Cleary's children's novels.-Bibliography:* Beezus and Ramona* Ramona the Pest* Ramona the Brave* Ramona and Her Father* Ramona and Her Mother...
. It is a 1982 Newbery Honor award winner. It has also been published in Houghton Mifflin
Houghton Mifflin
Houghton Mifflin Harcourt is an educational and trade publisher in the United States. Headquartered in Boston's Back Bay, it publishes textbooks, instructional technology materials, assessments, reference works, and fiction and non-fiction for both young readers and adults.-History:The company was...
books.
Plot summary
The novel opens with Ramona starting third grade and being excited about riding the school bus all by herself. At the same time, her older sister Beezus is enthusiastic about starting junior high, while their father begins taking college classes with a view to becoming a teacher, quitting his job as a supermarket checker that he acquired in the previous novel.In the first chapter Ramona is shocked to learn Mr. Quimby is back in school. On the bus Ramona meets a Boy named Danny who she called a yard ape .Once Ramona arrives at school, she instantly clicks with her teacher, Mrs. Whaley ("a whale with a 'y' for a tail"), and starts signing her name, "Ramona Quimby, Age 8". But of course, as is normal for Ramona, things don't always go as planned. One day, she takes a hard-boiled egg to school for lunch. When she whacks it against her head to remove the shell as per a third-grade trend, she realizes it wasn't hard boiled and gets raw egg in her hair. She later overhears Mrs. Whaley talking about the incident in the staff room, commenting "What a nuisance". Ramona is shocked and upset that her teacher thinks of her like this. In another chapter, Ramona and Beezus claim not to like tongue
Beef tongue
Beef tongue is the tongue of a cow. The human consumption of beef tongue dates back to the days of Paleolithic hunters, who preferred the fatty portions of the carcass including tongues, as well as organs, brains, feet, and marrow. Beef tongue is very high in fat, at almost 75% of its calories...
because of "those yucky little, small, and tiny bumps
Taste bud
Taste buds contain the receptors for taste. They are located around the small structures on the upper surface of the tongue, soft palate, upper esophagus and epiglottis, which are called papillae. These structures are involved in detecting the five elements of taste perception: salty, sour,...
". As punishment for their comments, Mr. and Mrs. Quimby state that their two daughters should prepare the evening meal. The next day, Beezus and Ramona behave themselves in the hope that their parents will forget about their punishment. Unfortunately, Mr. and Mrs. Quimby remember and instruct the sisters to cook dinner. They prepare chicken thighs, rice
Rice
Rice is the seed of the monocot plants Oryza sativa or Oryza glaberrima . As a cereal grain, it is the most important staple food for a large part of the world's human population, especially in East Asia, Southeast Asia, South Asia, the Middle East, and the West Indies...
and cornbread
Cornbread
Cornbread is a generic name for any number of quick breads containing cornmeal and leavened by baking powder.-History:Native Americans were using ground corn for food thousands of years before European explorers arrived in the New World...
. However, they substitute other ingredients, because they run out of the right ones: They use Cream of Wheat
Cream of Wheat
Cream of Wheat is a porridge-type breakfast food invented in 1893 by wheat millers in Grand Forks, North Dakota. The cereal is currently manufactured and sold by B&G Foods. Until 2007, it was the Nabisco brand made by Kraft Foods. It is similar in texture to grits, but made with farina instead...
in the cornbread with the cornmeal and banana yogurt and chili powder in the chicken. They also make a mess of the kitchen. Their parents pretend to like the dinner. In another chapter, Ramona contracts stomach flu
Gastroenteritis
Gastroenteritis is marked by severe inflammation of the gastrointestinal tract involving both the stomach and small intestine resulting in acute diarrhea and vomiting. It can be transferred by contact with contaminated food and water...
and she does the "most terrible, horrible, dreadful, awful thing" — she throws up in front of everybody in class.
After Ramona recovers, she has hangups about a book report she is assigned to do, and comes up with a clever way to present it, she makes cat masks and tell her friends to act like cats. Mrs. Whaley congratulates her warmly. Ramona confronts her teacher about the way she called her a nuisance. Mrs. Whaley replies that she meant it was a nuisance for the school secretary to have to wash the egg out of Ramona's hair. In the final chapter, the Quimbys are in a generally bad mood on a rainy Sunday, hardly a novelty in Oregon
Oregon
Oregon is a state in the Pacific Northwest region of the United States. It is located on the Pacific coast, with Washington to the north, California to the south, Nevada on the southeast and Idaho to the east. The Columbia and Snake rivers delineate much of Oregon's northern and eastern...
, complete with Beezus being upset over not being able to spend the night at her friend Mary Jane's house because of coming home exhausted and angry, Ramona being forced to clean up her room , and Mr. Quimby getting annoyed with his art assignment. So, to cheer everyone up, their father decides they should go out to dinner for the first time in months to Whopperburger. There, the whole family realizes that a man, who had strangely asked Ramona if she's been nice to her mother, has paid for their meal, and they go home happy.