This was the first book I read as part of my Back in the Day Reading Challenge. I chose this book for a couple reasons
1. This was one of the first series that I loved reading as a kid.
2. This series helped me to find the Mouse and the Motorcycle series
3. I thought my children would like me to read these stories to them.
We started to read this book at night before bed. Aiden loved to listen about Ramona and all the problems she caused. I have vivid memories of thinking she was the greatest and how I wanted a friend like her. So when the book arrived from the library I was excited. Quickly I realized that I don’t have the same sentiments about Ramona now as I did as a kid. The key element here is my age. As a kid you can relate to Ramona and struggling with a sibling and just trying to find ways to stay entertained. As a parent/adult I kept thinking if my child acted this way I would not be anywhere near as patient as the mother. She is so calm throughout. She does not even get upset when Ramona invites 10 kids over for a party that the mother knew nothing about. I would blow up! She even counts to 10. I count to 3 with my kids and sometimes that is too much time.
All in all, Ramona was not quite as cool as I used to think. I realized why I liked it back when I was young. With each chapter being its own short story in the life of Ramona is makes it easy for younger kids like my own to listen and process. It is not a book where they must remember what we read a week ago. I will go ahead and read the rest because this book I don’t particularly remember like I do Ramona, Age 8 and some of the others. However, it was nice to travel down memory lane. I just purchased Hardy Boys book 1 and as soon as that comes in I will begin this voyage next.
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