Much ado about the Ramona series by Beverly Clearly

Much ado about the Ramona series by Beverly Clearly

When I first came to the US, I did not understand a single word of English. My traumatic school experience in Cuba had turned me into an isolated child. I arrived in the 4th grade, to Jack D. Gordon. To no avail, I refused to socialize with the other children. In my solitude, I discovered Ramona the Pest. This was the first book that I read of the Ramona series. I read them all up to the one where Ramona gets a baby sister. I read those books in Spanish. It came with little pictures too. Well, the book was originally written in English. It was so popular that it got translated into all world languages.



I identified myself a lot with Ramona. I always thought of myself as a little Pest. I really was not good at anything back then. My awakening to knowledge only came in the 9th grade. During those days, my whole world was inside those small pages. These books helped me pass the tedious time of primary school. Thus, while other kids studied history, science or ran PE, I isolated myself in these pages. In a strange way, I pretended for a few hours that I was this child.

Ramona's father was at least alive. He was a lot like my father. He putted up with a lot of Ramona's misbehavior. I remember that in the last book, her father was trying to quit smoking. He was a bit grumpy too. My mother was like that whenever she tried to quit smoking. Thus, Ramona had another thing in common with me. I really, really liked this book series. It was a rich rewarding experience. Mothers and Fathers read the Ramona books to your kids. If you are a kid reading this post, read the Ramona books. They are hilarious. This book helped alleviate the solitude and alienation I felt as a small child. All these books are 5 star worthy.