Ramona Quimby, Age 8

One of the most beloved children's book characters of all time, Ramona Quimby is deeply appealing to generations of children because she is so much like a real child: decidedly imperfect and infinitely lovable. While she's hilarious, inventive, and fun, Ramona, like children everywhere, wears her wildly shifting emotions like a badge, engages in temper tantrums and bad moods, and often asks tons of troublesome questions. Children can see glimmers of themselves as they experience the crazy range of both frustrating and happy times that make up Ramona's days. Now that she's eight years old, Ramona feels quite grown-up--she takes the bus to school all by herself; she enjoys verbally sparing with a boy in her class, Yard Ape; she helps her older sister, Beezus, whip up an "interesting" dinner; and she's trying hard to be nice to her friend Howie's pesky younger sister, Willa Jean, even though it's torture. Because she's been feeling so grown up, Ramona is particularly upset when she overhears her teacher calling her a "little showoff." Will she be known as "Ramona the Pest" all her life? The is the sixth book, and one of the most popular, in the bestselling Ramona series. Alan Tiegreen's classic B&W line drawings accompany the text. A 1982 Newbery Honor book.