The Complete 8-Book Ramona Collection: Beezus and Ramona, Ramona and Her Father, Ramona and Her Mother, Ramona Quimby, Age 8, Ramona Forever, Ramona the Brave, Ramona the Pest, Ramona's World

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Sibling Yin-Yang: Lively, excitable, and energetic Ramona's constant clashes with her level-headed, obedient, and polite older sister are a major source of strife. Sadist Teacher: Ramona's first-grade teacher Mrs. Griggs. It's not entirely clear whether she dislikes Ramona personally or is just an unfriendly person, but she does deliberately embarrass Ramona in front of the class a few times. Then again, Mrs. Griggs was also Beezus's first-grade teacher, and Beezus got along with her just fine; she says that Mrs. Griggs wasn't a very exciting teacher, but she wasn't mean either. Beezus also says, "I was the kind of child she liked. You know... neat and dependable." This seems to suggest that Ramona's problems with Mrs. Griggs are the result of a personality clash. That said, Mrs. Griggs has some 'nice' moments at the end when she sympathizes with Ramona losing her shoe after an encounter with a mean dog, and compliments the paper slipper she made as a substitute. Anxiety Dreams: In Ramona The Brave, Ramona is having trouble adjusting to the first grade. She's also sleeping in her own room for the first time, which makes her afraid of the dark. She tells her mother about a nightmare where something horrible is chasing her and she can't run. Beezus comments that she's had the same dream and that it's awful.

The series has been made into a short-lived TV show in Canada, simply called Ramona and starring a young Sarah Polley in the title role. This show emphasizes the light drama found in the books over the light humor, and is most heavily based on Ramona Quimby, Age 8, but with a few episodes drawing on Ramona and Her Mother and Ramona Forever too. The series, comprising ten episodes and aired over four months in 1988-89, first aired on CHCH, an independent TV station in Hamilton, Ontario, and then nationwide on CBC and in the U.S. on PBS. Lost Wedding Ring: In Ramona Forever, the wedding ring gets lost because it was stitched to the pillow it was carried on too tightly, and when the bride pulls it loose, it flies into the air and gets lost. Ramona eventually finds it on the heel of the bride's shoe. Some reprintings of Ramona and Her Mother showcase Ramona trying to hide the famous "toothpaste cake" from her mom — it's actually Beezus who finds it.Precocious Crush: Beezus gets one on her sixth-grade teacher. Ramona ends up meeting him when she has to borrow a stapler, immediately takes a liking to him because he treats her like a real person, and decides she'd probably have one on him too if she were in his class. In Ramona and Her Mother, Beezus wants to get her hair cut "like that girl who ice skates on TV." Since the book was published in 1979, this is probably a reference to Dorothy Hamill , whose "wedge" haircut became a popular fashion trend in the late '70s. Poke the Poodle: In Ramona the Brave, where she's 6, Ramona is so angry she threatens to say a bad word. So she shouts "GUTS!" at the top of her lungs again and again, and rather than get in trouble, she gets laughed at. Lawyer-Friendly Cameo: No names are named, but when Ramona quotes a funny man she saw on TV saying "The devil made me do it!" she's probably thinking about Flip Wilson. When Beezus wants her hair done like an ice skater on TV, she probably means Dorothy Hamil, who often had her hairdo copied at the time. Again, no name named. The sad story of the woman known as the 'real Ramona' ". Press Enterprise. July 30, 2020 . Retrieved March 9, 2022.

Brigandi, Phil; Robinson, John W. (Winter 1994). Crawford, Richard W. (ed.). "The Killing of Juan Diego: From Murder to Mythology". The Journal of San Diego History. 40 (1 & 2). In Southern California, shortly after the Mexican–American War, a Scottish-Native American orphan girl, Ramona, is raised by Señora Gonzaga Moreno, the sister of Ramona's deceased foster mother. Ramona is referred to as illegitimate in some summaries of the novel, but chapter 3 of the novel says that Ramona's parents were married by a priest in the San Gabriel Mission. Señora Moreno has raised Ramona as part of the family, giving her every luxury. Ramona's foster mother had requested this as her dying wish. Because Ramona has partial Native American heritage, Moreno reserves her love for her only child, Felipe Moreno, whom she adores. Señora Moreno identifies as Mexican of pure Spanish ancestry. She hates Americans since the United States annexation of California following its victory in the war. They have disputed her claim to her lands, and have divided her huge rancho. Susan Kushner: Ramona's former rival, who seemed perfect and was revealed to be boring. Ramona was very tempted to pull her reddish-brown curls in kindergarten to make them bounce.Early-Installment Weirdness: Beezus and Ramona is written from Beezus's point of view instead of Ramona's, and the narrator refers to the Quimby parents as "Father" and "Mother," when all the later books use "Mr. and Mrs. Quimby."