Ramona the Brave

Book Review

This is the Ramona book I remember reading the most when I was a child. When my kids were younger, they pulverized rocks they found in our yard into piles of dust, much like Ramona and Howie playing brick factory. A lot happens in this book. A new school year starts with a new teacher, a new bedroom, and an encounter with an unfamiliar dog.

What We Liked

Our favorite chapter was “Owl Trouble.” Ramona’s frenemy, Susan, copies her owl design and is praised by the teacher for her wise owl. Ramona ends up throwing out her own owl so that she is not accused of being a copycat and destroying Susan’s in a fit of rage. Ramona ends with no owl for Parents’ Night.

My youngest boy felt that Ramona was right to destroy Susan’s copycat owl. He was genuinely outraged that Ramona’s ideas were stolen. We had to have a talk about two wrongs not making a right. I don’t think he was convinced in the matter.

Audiobook

We listened to the Ramona the Brave audiobook in the car mainly driving home from school, but have not been as diligent as usual with the weather warming up. As in the previous two Ramona Quimby books, this book charmingly read by Stockard Channing. The audiobook is 2 hrs 17min in length.

Movie Tie-In

There is a 2010 G-rated movie Ramona and Beezus that is based upon this book series. It is a cute movie, but does not follow the plot of this or any of the other books in the series.