Ramona the Brave

“The clang of rings, the steady pop of tennis ball against the asphalt, and the shouts of children grew fainter as the girls approached.”

Cleary uses onomatopoeia to convey the sounds of children on the playground. Using sensory language, she drops her readers right into a child's world with all its sights and sounds. The din of the playground is emblematic of Ramona’s personality: loud and energetic.

“Ramona was used to being considered a little pest, and she knew she sometimes was a pest, but this was something different. She felt as if she were standing aside looking at herself.”

The mention of Ramona as a pest references the previous book in the Ramona the Pest series. The passage reflects Ramona’s growth as she transforms from a preschooler to a school-aged child. She is more self-reflective and recognizes the changes in herself.

“The two sisters exchanged a look of complete understanding. They both knew this was the sort of advice easy for adults to give but difficult for children to follow.”

Though Ramona and her sister Beezus are different from each other, they find a moment of solidarity in recognizing the futility of their mother’s suggestion to just ignore the bullies. Mrs. Quimby has forgotten how hard it is to be a child and deal with peer teasing and bullying. Though Ramona is several years younger than Beezus, she’s experienced enough to have common ground with Beezus in this area.