Determined to be brave, six-year-old Ramona Quimby has to deal with starting first grade, her mother's new job, and a teacher who does not understand how hard it is for Ramona to grow up. Reprint. SLJ. AB. PW.

Ramona feels quite grown-up taking the bus by herself, helping big sister Beezus make dinner, and trying hard to be nice to pesky Willa Jean after school. Turning eight years old and entering the first grade can do that to a girl. So ...

Henry Huggins's dog, Ribsy, is hopelessly lost in a huge shopping mall parking lot. It's raining hard, the pavement is slick, horns are honking, and drivers are shouting. When Ribsy thinks he has found the Hugginses' new station wagon...

'Boy!' said Ralph to himself, his whiskers quivering with excitement. 'Boy, oh boy!' Feeling that this was an important moment in his life, he took hold of the handgrips. They felt good and solid beneath his paws. Yes, this motorcycle...

At last, Henry Huggins's father has promised to take him fishing, on one condition. Henry's dog, Ribsy, has been in all sorts of trouble lately, from running off with the neighbor's barbecue roast to stealing a policeman's lunch. To g...

Socks is one happy cat....He lives with a nice young couple called Brickers who play with him, pet him, feed him treats, and always have a warm lap for him to sit in. Then a new baby joins the family Suddenly, the Brickers are sharing...

Ellen was eight years old and wore bands on her teeth. Her best friend had just moved away and she missed her. Still, as she walked to the Spofford School of the Dance one Saturday, she was almost glad she had no best friend. Best fri...

Henry Huggins can't wait until he turns eleven years old, so he can have a paper route like his friend Scooter McCarthy. Henry wants to prove to the route manager that he is responsible enough to handle the job right now. First he thi...

Henry Huggins feels that nothing very interesting ever happens to him. But from the moment a stray dog in the drugstore begs for a taste of his ice-cream cone and downs it in one gulp, everything is different. Henry names the dog Ribs...

'The rousing notes of the bugle and the laughter and shouting increased the feeling of rebellion within Ralph. As the last strains of the bugle call hovered in the clear mountain air, Ralph made up his mind. He knew now what he was go...

Dear Mr. Henshaw,I wish somebody would stop stealing the good stuff out of my lunchbag. I guess I wish a lot of other things, too. I wish someday Dad and Bandit would pull up in front in the rig ... Dad would yell out of the cab, 'Com...

It seems too good to be true. The most popular boy in school has asked Jane out -- and she's never even dated before. Stan is tall and good-looking, friendly and hard-working -- everything Jane ever dreamed of. But is she ready for th...

Beverly Cleary has given books to each member of the Quimby household except Mrs. Quimby. Now she gets her turn at last in a story that hits the high and low points of a working mother's life as seen from Ramona's seven-and-a-half-yea...

Ramona is back! New and old friends alike will rejoice in Beverly Cleary's latest book about spunky Ramona and the whole Quimby family.From the minute that Howie Kemp's 'rich' Uncle Hobart arrives from Saudi Arabia, things are off to ...

For Henry Huggins and his friends Robert and Murph, a clubhouse is a place where they can do as they please, without being bothered by girls. The sign that says NO GIRLS ALLOWED -- THIS MEANS YOU especially means Ramona Quimby. Lately...

Can imaginative Emily make her biggest dream come true?Spunky Emily Bartlett lives in an old farmhouse in Pitchfork, Oregon'at a time when automobiles are brand-new inventions and libraries are a luxury few small towns can afford. Her...

Double Trouble Mitch and Amy both think being twins is fun, but that doesn't stop them from squabbling. Amy is good at reading. Mitch is a math whiz. Amy likes to play pretend. Mitch would rather skateboard. They never want to watch ...

Having a little sister like four-year-old Ramona isn't always easy for Beezus Quimby. With a wild imagination, disregard for order, and an appetite for chaos, Ramona makes it hard for Beezus to be the responsible older sister she know...

First DateFifteen-year-old Jean is astonished when a handsome Johnny whirls her 'round the dance floor. She's never given much thought to boys before; now Johnny is all that's on her mind. Finally she finds the courage to invite him t...

Ramona is off to kindergarten, and it's the greatest day of her life. So why is she sitting on the bench while the rest of the students play the game gray duck? Laughs and minor upsets abound in an enormously popular story starring th...

All Henry Huggins wants is his very own bicycle, a shiny red one to ride up and down Klickitat Street. But no matter how Henry tries to raise money for the bike of his dreams -- from selling bubble gum to delivering newspapers -- he a...

'Look, Ryan,' he said. 'I'm in trouble and I don't have time to tell you about it. Just take me and my motorcycle with you, and don't ask questions.''To school?' Ryan was surprised.Ralph's pesky cousins are wrecking his motorcycle, an...

There was nothing Otis Spofford liked better than stirring up a little excitement, particularly at school. A less resourceful teacher than Mrs. Gitler would have found him pretty hard to take. But even Mrs. Gitler did not entirely rel...

Barbara can hardly believe her older sister is getting married. With all the excitement of wedding plans going on, Barbara can't help dreaming of the day she will be the bride. She can't wait to fall in love.But as the big day gets cl...

Ramona Quimby is sure fourth grade will be 'the best year of her life, so far.' She can show off her calluses from swinging on the rings in the park, sit across the aisle from the boy she calls Yard Ape, and enjoy her cheerful new tea...

What's all the fuss about? At first, Maggie is just being contrary when she tells her parents she doesn't need to learn cursive. Then her teacher, Mrs. Leeper, says Maggie's cursive is so untidy her name looks like 'Muggie,' and Maggi...

Ramona just wants everyone to be happy. If only her father would smile and joke again, her mother would look less worried, her sister would be cheerful, and Picky-picky would eat his cat-food. But Ramona's father has lost his job, and...

Falling in Love . . .Shelly fells as if she's living in a fantasyland. She's spending the school year in southern California, where flowers bloom in November, oranges grow on trees, and lawns are mowed in winter. When the star of the ...

Strider has a new habit. Whenever we stop, he places his paw on my foot. It isn't an accident because he always does it. I like to think he doesn't want to leave me. Can a stray dog change the life of a teenage boy? It looks as if Str...

There's simply nothing like growing up, as Theodore "Beaver" Cleaver discovers...the hard way. His older brother Wally is in a more advanced stage of growing pains -- causing Beaver lots of grief. When Wally suddenly gets busy trying ...