Ramona Forever by Beverly Cleary

The story of third-grader Ramona Quimby and her family weathering numerous changes beginning with the return of neighbor Howie Kemp's uncle, Hobart, death of a cat, job change for Mr Quimby, a wedding and ending with a new addition to the Quimby family.

This story was written from the limited omniscient view of Ramona and told in a linear chronological narrative order. Character versus character conflict and episodic plots were used throughout the book. These characteristics are simpler for children to understanding explaining in part the success of the Ramona's books. As the primary character, Ramona is well-rounded and the tone and language she uses is spot on.

It had been many years since I read a Ramona book and I thoroughly enjoyed this one. The author writes convincingly as a third-grader!

Cleary, B. (1984). Ramona forever. New York, NY: Harper Collins Publishers Inc.
ISBN: 0380709600
Illustrated by Alan Tiegreen