Well as they say, "Money can't buy happiness". Ramona thinks it can, well it can but it doesn't have to in this case. Mr. Quimby losing his job was tough on the whole family, especially Ramona. She couldn't do anything about it if she tried. Her father let her know they're trying to be a perfect family and surely enough this reflects back to my family. When my father lost to someone else for this "government" job, it was tough on me. I wanted to get a job, raise money, anything just to see my father happy. We aren't the perfect family and neither is Ramona's. That's why I can relate so much to her.

The book I read was Ramona and her Father. This book is about a girl a named Ramona and her father. Her dad was fired from his job, so that meant that he would get to spend more time with Ramona. She was happy about getting to spend time with her dad. But her dad smoked and she did not like that. It was bad enough that they weren't going to have much money since her dad wasn't working but then he was spending the money he did have on cigarettes. Ramona did everything she could to try to get her dad to stop, but he just wouldn't. But they did other things together that Ramona did like. They did things like draw big pictures and they got to spend a lot of time together. Ramona liked to be able to spend so much time with her dad but she didn't like the fact that he smoked.

The main character was Ramona. Her appearance is a little different than most peoples because she just seems a little weird at times. Her personality seems ok until her sister Beezus comes around, then Ramona always fights with her. Some of the traits that are the same with Ramona and I are that she always fights with her older sister and I always fight with my older brother. Also I like to spend time with my dad and so does she. Some of the things that are different between Ramona and I is that she is a lot younger than me. Her dad smokes and mine doesn't. She has an older sister and I have an older brother.

I liked this book because it reminded me a lot like me. My favorite part was when Ramona was trying to make her dad stop smoking and her and Beezus made cigarettes out of paper and wrote stuff on them and put it in their dad's cigarette box instead of his cigarettes. Yes, I would recommend this book to a friend.

Since no one seems to have left a review pertaining to the audio edition, I thought I'd add my 2 cents. Stockard Channing's reading of all the Ramona books is excellent. She puts a lot of emotion into her readings and gives what I consider an almost theatrical performance. It's been 10 years or so since I last listened to one of her readings, and I can still hear her voice in my head when I re-read the Ramona books. Definitely think about buying this set. They're perfect for long car trips or just sitting around the radio at home. :)

Wow! This book was amazing and spectacular. I loved it. Some of the parts were sad but it was happy at the end. It was about a little girl in second grade. She lives with her sister Beatrice, her mom, and her dad, and of course Picky-Picky, their cat. The funniest part was when Picky-Picky ate the jack-o-lantern. It was so funny. I love this book. You should read it. It is called Ramona And Her Father.

Cleary, B. ( 1975). Ramona and Her Father. New York: Avon Books, Inc.

Synopsis: Ramona is having an average, ordinary day. Ramona, her mother, her sister Beezus, and even her cat are in the kitchen. Ramona is waiting for her father to come home from work. She is writing her Christmas list months in advance and hoping that when her father comes home, they can go to her favorite restaurant since it was pay day. However, everything changes when her father comes home with the bad news that he lost his job. During this time, Ramona also goes on a crusade to help her father quit smoking. Ramona and her family show that although her family is having financial problems, they work together to remain strong for one another. The reading level is 5.1.

Evaluation: The main conflict is between Ramona and her father. At first, Ramona is happy to be able to spend more time with him since he lost his job, but notices changes in him. Now, he is more irritable and this is where the tension occurs. Ramona is also worried about her father's smoking habit and wants to help him quit. Ramona also struggles because she wants to make everything better for her family. Children can definitely relate to this when there is a family problem and they want to help. The dialogue and narration makes the story very realistic. The conflicts are also realistic. The problems that arise from the father losing his job also create realistic situations like the fact that the cat is even being effected by financial stress. The dialogue helps to lighten the seriousness of the conflicts. The dangers of smoking and losing a job are very serious, but the dialogue helps ease the severity. Ramona's character helps to make the story humorous. This is why children have enjoyed Ramona's adventures for so many years.