Henry's father promises to take him salmon fishing if he can keep Ribsy out of trouble for the next month. But that's no easy task, especially when Ramona gets into the act.
They don’t arrest dogs for theft?!
A nice capper to the story, though it felt to me that Ramona won against Mrs. Griggs because her teacher was tired.
Guts is the bad word? Ha!
Ramona broods at home with a baby sitter while her parents learn about the Owl Incident. Ramona spends the first night in her new room.
“Oh, I see,” said Mrs. Kemp, a remark Ramona knew grown-ups made when they were not interested in conversation with children.
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… although fathers, Ramona knew, did not spend as much time as mothers thinking up ways to improve their children.
Sadly probably true, but awfully sexist nonetheless.
Added on Thursday, March 1, 2018 morning
Ramona lay in bed with her thoughts as jumbled as a bag of jacks.
What a great little simile here.
Added on Thursday, March 1, 2018 morning
Ramona doesn’t sleep at night and gets cranky and tired. A chapter with a lot of inner turmoil about a first grader.
The comment about Ramona being brave comes from this relatively lackluster chapter in which Ramona gets upset with her apparent choice of being called a tattletale or allowing Susan to be a terrible copycat. I can attest that the picture of a six year old making a growl-ly face and panther hands is true to life.
That wicked Howie and his need to stick to a hyper-strict version of the facts. If only we had more in government like him.
I really love the idea of playing Brick Factory!
The girls bicker and are at each other’s throats until mom comes home to say they’re expanding the house and adding on an extra room. Ramona gets it first.
Today’s word of the day: varlet!
Somehow this isn’t as entertaining as prior incarnations of Ramona, perhaps because it was written a few decades later? There’s still a kernel of Ramona, but something seems off.
Jesus, Beezus!
Again, some unnecessary anti-girl statements that really weren’t necessary. While somewhat funny, not quite as funny a chapter as Cleary’s usual work.
I am really struck by the dated anti-girl rhetoric in the story. The “you can’t take a girl anywhere” business is just a bit much in a more modern reading of this. While otherwise generally entertaining, I’m not sure I could recommend this to young boys or girls anymore without a touch of a rewrite to improve the gender equality in the piece.
I don’t mind that there’s a pointed difference in boy’s and girls’ bikes so much, but the ad hominem attack on Beezus “What could you expect when you went to an auction with a girl?” is just a bridge too far.
In the days of home newspaper delivery this is just awesome. A dog so good at fetching newspapers, he collects them from the entire neighborhood! What a good belly laugh at the childishness of it all.
Henry could have done far better here, but apparently his business acumen and concept of economics was just dreadful. Still in all, an entertaining chapter where everything that could go wrong in selling found bubblegum does. As always, Ramona steals the show for laughs with the gum in her hair.
The chapter title really gives it all away, so you see it all coming from a mile away, and yet somehow it’s still funny. I love how close the Grumbie’s last name is to the cognate word grumble.
