Momto4inSoCal Posted July 17, 2015 Share Posted July 17, 2015 I was thinking about this thread today when DD picked out Tom Sawyer as her next book to read. Talk about bad examples! I love the book though and I'm hoping my daughter enjoys her journey with Tom :) 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Julie Smith Posted July 17, 2015 Share Posted July 17, 2015 When my kids were younger I tired to read Romana out loud to them. They couldn't stand the book. They did love 5 little peppers. For awhile my boys didn't like anything written in the last 100 years. I think I might try a romana book with youngest as our next read together. I'm not sure how he will take it since he dislikes it when siblings are anything but perfectly nice to one another. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
................... Posted July 17, 2015 Share Posted July 17, 2015 By the way everyone should read Beverly Cleary's two autobiographies - they were wonderful and a great historical study on life for the middle class teen during the depression 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Amy M Posted July 17, 2015 Share Posted July 17, 2015 I loved them as a kid and thought Ramona was hilarious, and yes, sometimes naughty. Now as an adult, I do not censor them, nor other cleary books with th exception of Mitch and Amy and Dear Mr. Henshaw, the latter being too "realistic" to be helpful to anyone IMO. I reviewed Henshaw on my blog. My main conflict over these books as an adult is that I disagree with some of the parenting methods and thought the parents spoiled Ramona at times. I don't remember specifics, but I also remember being more uncomfortable with the tone of Ramona and Her Father. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MistyMountain Posted July 18, 2015 Share Posted July 18, 2015 My dd really liked the Ramona series. She read every book in order. It may not be classic literature but they are better then a lot of other similar chapter books. I do not like characters like Junie B Jones but I was ok with Ramona. I was glad that it got her into reading a whole series and that she was excited about what she was reading. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Farrar Posted July 18, 2015 Share Posted July 18, 2015 I loved them as a kid and thought Ramona was hilarious, and yes, sometimes naughty. Now as an adult, I do not censor them, nor other cleary books with th exception of Mitch and Amy and Dear Mr. Henshaw, the latter being too "realistic" to be helpful to anyone IMO. I reviewed Henshaw on my blog. My main conflict over these books as an adult is that I disagree with some of the parenting methods and thought the parents spoiled Ramona at times. I don't remember specifics, but I also remember being more uncomfortable with the tone of Ramona and Her Father. Ds loved Dear Mr. Henshaw. It's definitely got a different vibe. But I'm not sure what you mean about it being too realistic to be helpful. Kids who are children of divorce need to see themselves in books too. Kids who are lonely or can't rely on their parents deserve books that help them think through that. And kids who aren't in that situation should have the opportunity to learn sympathy and to have understanding of kids who aren't like them, to appreciate what they have. 6 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mommymilkies Posted July 18, 2015 Share Posted July 18, 2015 Of course! They are sweet books and still relevant after 60 years. Sibling rivalry and the challenges of getting along in life are appropriate topics for school-aged kids. :iagree: That said, my kids don't really like them and prefer books like The Penderwicks which still have some sibling rivalry. My kids never really got into the Beverly Cleary books. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
solascriptura Posted July 21, 2015 Share Posted July 21, 2015 I allow my kids to read these books freely. I loved them when I was a kid. It's true that there are some not so nice moments of sibling rivalry or mean words, but that's real life. My kids also liked the Moodys series written by Sarah Maxwell. However, the kids were a bit too saint like to be realistic. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bluegoat Posted July 21, 2015 Share Posted July 21, 2015 :iagree: That said, my kids don't really like them and prefer books like The Penderwicks which still have some sibling rivalry. My kids never really got into the Beverly Cleary books. I was a little disappointed in The Penderwick books. I would have expected to prefer them to the Ramona books - I tend to enjoy stories about more eccentric and perhaps romantic families and I think the stories were meant to be of that type, whereas the Ramona books are very much a realistic family. But I found them a little predictable and the characters a little flat, which isn't true of Ramona. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LizzyBee Posted July 21, 2015 Share Posted July 21, 2015 Yes! I loved these books, so I was happy when my youngest dd enjoyed them. I don't remember my older two being interested in them, though. My youngest is dyslexic with APD and a host of other initials. Not only was she reading at a Dr Seuss level at 9 yo, but she wouldn't listen to audiobooks either because her auditory issues meant that she got confused about what she heard and couldn't follow the storyline. I was trying not to panic, because it wasn't just that her reading level was so low; she was falling further and further behind in general knowledge about the world. She watched the Ramona movie at a friend's house and loved it, so I checked out every Ramona audiobook from the library. She listened to them over and over. It was an important stepping stone to reading for her, so that made me like them even more. :) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
aprilleigh Posted July 21, 2015 Share Posted July 21, 2015 We haven't read those specific books (yet, DS has already asked for more Ramona), but we did recently read Ramona Quimby, Age 8. Yes, Ramona behaves badly on occasion, as do many of the other children, but this is what children are really like. In the end they are kids feeling their way through family and social interactions and learning from their mistakes. What's not to like? For what it's worth, the one we just read is a required book for the Mensa Excellence in Reading Program (K-3 list). I would have let DS read it anyway, of course, but it's not optional if you want to participate in this program. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Farrar Posted July 21, 2015 Share Posted July 21, 2015 I was a little disappointed in The Penderwick books. I would have expected to prefer them to the Ramona books - I tend to enjoy stories about more eccentric and perhaps romantic families and I think the stories were meant to be of that type, whereas the Ramona books are very much a realistic family. But I found them a little predictable and the characters a little flat, which isn't true of Ramona. Aw. I love the Penderwicks and don't really find them flat. The last book had us all in tears. Batty was so sad! 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tammyw Posted July 22, 2015 Share Posted July 22, 2015 Aw. I love the Penderwicks and don't really find them flat. The last book had us all in tears. Batty was so sad! I love the Penderwicks and the Ramona books both in totally different ways. Both of these series give me the warm fuzzies :) 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tanaqui Posted July 22, 2015 Share Posted July 22, 2015 I love the Penderwicks and the Ramona books both in totally different ways. Both of these series give me the warm fuzzies :) If you like those two series, you might well like Clementine, The Year of the Dog, and/or One Crazy Summer. Edit: And The Exiles, and of course, anything by Streatfeild. (Yes, that is how you spell her name.) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tanaqui Posted July 22, 2015 Share Posted July 22, 2015 Hound dies before the beginning of the most recent Penderwicks book. Nobody we know dies in the second Calpurnia book, but her cousin comes after the hurricane at Galveston. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brit29 Posted July 22, 2015 Share Posted July 22, 2015 The Quimby family is a part of our family. DD read the whole series the year she turned 6, and several times since. We made a trip to Portland to visit the Beverely Cleary statues. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LucyStoner Posted July 22, 2015 Share Posted July 22, 2015 I think the Ramona books *are* classics of modern children's literature. These books are mostly for kids under 8 or so (my current Ramona fan is all of 6 and 1/2) and my older son could read one in an hour or so. I don't quite undersand the idea that reading these means there's less time for "the classics". 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
UCF612 Posted August 4, 2015 Share Posted August 4, 2015 Yes, we enjoyed them! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mamaraby Posted August 4, 2015 Share Posted August 4, 2015 I am too scared to buy the new Calpurnia Tate book in case the grandfather dies.There's a second Calpurnia Tate book? Going to have to see if the library has it. If it helps any, Hound dies off camera so to speak. He passed away between the books. The newest one focuses on Batty and her adjusting to the way life changes. Sad, but not traumatic per se. Inspired by this thread, my dds and I are working our way through the Ramona series. They have so many great things to talk about while we listen to the books. Stockard Channing has a different cadence to her narration than the folks we usually listen to, but it's still be been super enjoyable. Lots of great memories this summer thanks to Ramona. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AmandaVT Posted August 4, 2015 Share Posted August 4, 2015 DS loves Henry Huggins - he's on the 3rd book in the series and has already asked me to buy the next one for him. Once he finished these, he says he wants to read Ramona next. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AppleGreen Posted August 4, 2015 Share Posted August 4, 2015 I refused to buy the last book, because I heard Hound died. I am too scared to buy the new Calpurnia Tate book in case the grandfather dies. It was bad enough the trauma ds and I went through listening to the most recent Incorrigible Children. Actually, Hound is already gone when the final installment begins. You don't have to suffer through poor Hound passing. I was balling in parts of the final Penderwicks. I think it was my favorite of the series. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AppleGreen Posted August 4, 2015 Share Posted August 4, 2015 We *LOVE* Beverly Cleary. Every one of my children has adored them to varying degrees. We have read through them multiple times over the years. We just did most of the Ramonas and Henrys last fall because my littlest was really into them. They have also listened to all of the CDs. I think Beverly Cleary is brilliant. She captured the struggles and joys of childhood in a beautiful, timeless manner. When my 9 year old was working on the monkey bars and getting calluses, we talked about Ramona's calluses. We randomly sing, "I'm going to have a parrrtee" because it makes us laugh, and it is so Ramona. My kids played their own version of "brick factory" (but called something else) in years past. Timeless, I tell you. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kiwik Posted August 4, 2015 Share Posted August 4, 2015 WHAT?! I love the Ramona books. I grew up reading them over and over and over again. She is called Ramona the Pest; do you really think your child is going to copy her 'bad' behavior? I cannot imagine that a young reader is going to think oh, I want to pull boing-boing curls like Ramona... Ramona gets in trouble for pulling the hair. I think these stories are such a great way to show that kids make mistakes, good kids make mistakes, good kids feel jealousy, anger, and want to fit in. (remember when she cracks an egg on her head because she wants to be cool and the egg was not hard boiled?!) I think these stories have so much to offer in term of conversation. I always felt like my older sister was perfect (just like Beezus), and I struggled with my jealousy- knowing it was wrong. It was so great to read Ramona and know that was normal. Ramona perfectly captured what it felt like to be a kid. I did give and ask someone if i.could 'boing' one of their curls once. I was very much an adult at the time though. I always like Beezus's assessments of her teachers too. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JenC3 Posted August 4, 2015 Share Posted August 4, 2015 Yes, I made DD read these before she was allowed to see the movie when it came out. It was her first movie! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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