Title Page

Beverly Cleary

I L L U S T R AT E D B Y

Tracy Dockray

viii

Contents

1. Trouble in the Park 1

2. Mrs. Quimby’s Secret 19

3. The Hole in the House 35

4. The First Day of School 48

5. Owl Trouble

64

6. Parents’ Night

84

7. Alone in the Dark 107

8. Ramona Says a Bad Word 128

9. Mr. Quimby’s Spunky Gal 150

About the Author

Other Books by Beverly Cleary

Credits

Cover

Copyright

About the Publisher

viii

1

Trouble in the Park

Ramona Quimby, brave and fearless, was

half running, half skipping to keep up

with her big sister Beatrice on their way

home from the park. She had never seen her

sister’s cheeks so flushed with anger as they were this August afternoon. Ramona was

sticky from heat and grubby from landing in

the sawdust at the foot of the slides, but she was proud of herself. When Mrs. Quimby

1

had sent the girls to the park for an hour, because she had an errand to do—an

important errand, she hinted—she told

Beezus, as Beatrice was called, to look after Ramona.

And what had happened? For the first

time in her six years Ramona had looked

after Beezus, who was supposed to be the

responsible one. Bossy was a better word, Ramona sometimes thought. But not today.

Ramona had stepped forward and defended

her sister for a change.

“Beezus,” said Ramona, panting, “slow

down.”

Beezus, clutching her library book in her

sweaty hand, paid no attention.The clang of

rings, the steady pop of tennis balls against asphalt, and the shouts of children grew

fainter as the girls approached their house

on Klickitat Street.

Ramona hoped their mother would be

2

home from her errand, whatever it was. She

couldn’t wait to tell what had happened and

how she had defended her big sister. Her

mother would be so proud, and so would

her father when he came home from work

and heard the story. “Good for you,

Ramona,” he would say. “That’s the old

3

fight!” Brave little Ramona.

Fortunately, the car was in the garage and

Mrs. Quimby was in the living room when

the girls burst into the house.“Why, Beezus,”

said their mother, when she saw the flushed

and sweaty faces of her daughters, one angry and one triumphant.

Beezus blinked to hold back the tears in

her eyes.

“Ramona, what happened to Beezus?”

Mrs. Quimby was alarmed.

“Don’t ever call me Beezus again!”

Beezus’s voice was fierce.

Mrs. Quimby looked at Ramona for the

explanation, and Ramona was eager to give

it. Usually Beezus was the one who

explained what had happened to Ramona,

how she had dropped her ice-cream cone

on the sidewalk and cried when Beezus

would not let her pick it up, or how she

tried, in spite of the rules, to go down a slide 4

headfirst and had landed on her face in the sawdust. Now Ramona was going to have a

turn. She took a deep breath and prepared