First of all, when reading this book, keep in mind it's a children's classic, originally written in 1955. Times were different.

I did have a few issues with the book - most of which was the way Ramona was treated. First of all, everyone talked down to her. Yes, she's a little kid, but I don't believe in talking down to kids. Sure, simplify things so they can understand, but you don't need to talk down to a child. It's insulting to everyone, and kids pick up on that crap faster than you'd think. Second of all, Ramona's a brat. Some of the things she did was funny, but mostly she was just a brat, and deserved some punishment other than "go to your room". Again, times were different, but geez... let's be real.

Poor uptight Beezus is the real star of the show, though she gets second billing in the book because let's face it, the series ends up being all about Ramona. Beezus is such a hoot, and she handles Ramona so much better than the mother does.

Lastly - this is really just a cute first book to a beloved series. Yup, I read them all repeatedly as a kid. It was definitely not one of my favorite kid's series, but one I did read over and over again. Because, let's face it, I lived in a very small town, and there was only so many kid's/preteen books available in the 80's to read, so even the series I wasn't crazy about I'd reread every year or so. I mean, I devoured books.