A creative third grader Ramona enters into her first few weeks of school with a unique and fresh perspective. Her race and her color are never described so much young girls can relate to her and her struggles. Some of these struggles involve public embarrassment. She cracks a raw egg on her head or she throws up in the middle of arithmetic. Even though she went through that she overcame the embarrassment, which is really inspirational for any child to see. Her family struggles throughout the book with finances and fighting. Ramona learns from this that even though it is tough now, she can still smile and have fun. Ramona defies normal, she does not think inside the box. So when her teacher tells her to make a sales pitch about a book. Ramona makes it into a commercial about cats and involves her friends to help her. Children will hopefully take from this that they can go above and beyond and that is acceptable. Ramona's story is a quirky, fun, must read for any age.
Reviewed by Kimberly Bowman
ISBN: 0-440-47350-0