Alan Tiegreen Knihy

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 nobody in the Quimby household is in a very good mood. Ramona tries to cheer up the family as only Ramona can -- by rehearsing for life as a rich and famous star of television commercials, for instance -- but her best efforts only make things worse. Her sister, Beezus, calls her a, pest, her parents lose patience with her, and her teacher claims she's forgotten her- manners. But when her father admits he wouldn't trade her for a million dollars, Ramona knows everything is going to work out fine in the end.

Everything depends on Ramona. Ramona's job is to be nice to fussy Mrs. Kemp, who watches her while her mother works. If Mrs. Quimby didn't work, Mr. Quimby couldn't return to college. On top of all that, third grade isn't turning out as Ramona expected, even though she enjoys her class's new reading program, D.E.A.R. Danny the Yard Ape teases her, and, on one horrible day, she throws up--at school. Being eight isn't easy, but it's never dull. --back cover

In this touching and funny story, the ebullient Ramona, feeling brave and grown-up, enters first grade. Quickly she finds that her new teacher, Mrs. Griggs, appears perplexed by pupils who like to be different. Since Ramona cannot help being different, clearly the two are incompatible. Nevertheless, Ramona can be counted on to keep things lively. Enraged when Susan copies her wise old owl prepared for Parents' Night and receives praise for it, Ramona rebels. Overcome by guilt and no longer brave, she tries mightily thereafter to please her teacher, but still Mrs. Griggs infuriatingly reports home that Ramona lacks self-control. Only because she is a girl with spunk, to use her father's word, does Ramona's courage return, earning her at last an uneasy truce with the teacher. Beverly Cleary draws here a portrait of a little girl discovering with astonishment that the way others see her is not always the way she sees herself. In the contrast lie moments of emerging self-knowledge for Ramona and of delicious hilarity for the reader.

Halloween is here. Parties, costumes, pumpkins. The Pee Wee Scouts listen to Mrs. Peters, their troop leader, tell them all about the holiday plans. First, a trip to Mr. Riley's pumpkin farm. Next, carving the pumpkins with a safe tool. Then, the big Halloween party! Molly Duff is so excited about the fun and the food and games that the Pee Wees will play. She even plans her own special good deed. But when Mrs. Peters tells the Pee Wees where the Halloween party will be, Molly almost cries. Oh, no! Not there. Bad news for Molly means grumpy pumpkins everywhere.

Quick! What color was Miss Mary Mack wearing when she went upstairs to make her bed? And what did Miss Lucy name her baby boy? Discover the answers to these questions inside, along with more than one hundred fabulous handclaps and street rhymes. From "I'm a Pretty Little Dutch Girl" to "A, My Name Is Alice," every one of them is as much fun to read as it is to sing, chant, or recite.

A collection of play rhymes intended to be accompanied by finger play and other physical activities.