Griffin Reads – Ramona and Her Father

Title: Ramona and Her Father

Author: Beverly Cleary

Genre: Middle Grade Classic, Family Drama, Realism

Summary:

Life in the Quimby household is turned upside down when seven-year-old Ramona’s father unexpectedly loses his job at a broadcast company. As her mother takes on full-time work and her father copes with the stress of unemployment, Ramona decides it is up to her to fix things. Her plans range from starring in a commercial to win a million dollars to mounting a full-scale campaign to force her father to stop smoking. Through school plays, Christmas pageants, and family friction, Ramona navigates the unpredictable realities of a household under financial strain.

Content Guide:

• Themes of economic hardship, job loss, and domestic stress
• Conflict over adult cigarette smoking and health concerns
• Minor sibling rivalry and childhood emotional outbursts
• No violence, harsh language, or mature content

My Thoughts:

Longtime readers of my reviews will know that my three daughters and I have been exploring new stories to read now that they’ve graduated to chapter books for our bedtime stories. I’d never read any of the Ramona books before, but this series has proven an ongoing favorite in our household.

Beverly Cleary had an extraordinary talent for treating the internal lives of children with absolute seriousness. Reading this out loud, I’m struck by moments that feel almost painfully authentic to my own childhood, and it’s clear from my daughters’ reactions that they are relating to these stories in real-time. Honestly, you should read all the books in the series in order. They’re short and build directly on each other, but I’m focusing on this one specifically because it’s my personal favorite.

Ramona and Her Father has been described as one of Cleary’s finest achievements, and I totally agree with that. Cleary has managed to do something rare and delicate: capturing the exact weight of adult anxiety filtering down into the mind of a child who lacks the vocabulary to fully process it. Cleary doesn’t sugarcoat the tension in the Quimby home. Mr. Quimby’s frustration and depression over being out of work are palpable, as is his irritability when trying to quit smoking. Yet, the book never descends into gloom as Cleary grounds the story in quiet, authentic warmth, all told from Ramona’s sincere, authentic perspective.

Perhaps some of the cultural references are dated, but frankly, that made little difference to our family. Rather than focusing on those sort of minor details, they were caught up in the family’s story, and it gave us some important opportunities to discuss topics like finances, addiction, anxiety, and stress in a way that felt natural to them. This isn’t exclusive to this installment either. We’ve moved on in the series, and our storytimes have become a beautiful combination of shared laughter, open discussion, and empathetic tears.

These are not books to be read casually. They are fun but not silly, deep but not preachy. They demand engagement from both children and adults. If you are looking for stories that will evoke the kind of real-world openness and warmth from people like Mr. Rogers or Jim Henson, then Beverly Cleary’s Ramona books are essential bedtime reading for your family.