Ramona Quimby, Age 8

When I think of my favorite childhood story, Ramona Quimby, Age 8 by Beverly Cleary comes to mind. I remember being eight years old and thinking how much I had in common with the main character, Ramona! This story is about a spunky eight year old and her day to day life with her family and peers at school. The predicaments Ramona got herself into were always amusing to read about as a child. I connected with Ramona in many ways, but mainly with her relationship with her older sister, Beezus. At the time, I was that pesky little sister who always wanted to hang out with her sister and her neighborhood friends.

This was the first chapter book series I read growing up. My elementary school used the "Accelerated Reader" program where students would earn points after reading a book and taking a short computer quiz about the book. I remember feeling so excited to learn other stories by Beverly Cleary were also on the list of books to read within this program, and I continued reading stories by her including Socks, Ralph S. Mouse, and Dear Mr. Henshaw. All of Cleary's books are fabulous for young readers! To this day, I still own a copy of Ramona Quimby, Age 8.