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Ellen Tebbits – Beverly Cleary

In “Ellen Tebbits,” Beverly Cleary brings us another little girl who’s very ordinary, who has the same hopes, fears and dreams that nearly every little girl does. The first chapter in the book is my very favorite. Ellen is off to ballet class, but she’s determined to get there first. She races up to the changing room, only to find Austine, the new girl, already there. Needing her privacy, Ellen slips into the janitor’s closet and there reveals to the reader what she hopes no one in her dance class will ever know – she is wearing long woolen underwear … Continue reading →

Beezus and Ramona – Beverly Cleary

When Beverly Cleary began writing her Henry Huggins series, she included neighborhood children as characters to be friends for Henry. Among those children was Beezus Quimby, a little girl just Henry’s age. Cleary later decided to do a series of books specifically about Beezus and her younger sister Ramona. “Beezus and Ramona” is the first book in that series. Beezus is nine years old, and she’s very mature and practical. This is in direct opposition to her four-year-old sister Ramona, who’s imaginative and energetic, and, at times, completely out of control. She disrupts Beezus’s sense of order and causes quite … Continue reading →

Henry Huggins – Beverly Cleary

“Henry Huggins” is Beverly Cleary’s first published novel, and it’s a delight. Henry is a precocious little boy who’s just a bit prone to getting into trouble, not that it’s his fault, but fate just keeps interfering with his plans, sometimes in laugh-out-loud funny ways. When we first meet Henry, he’s buying an ice cream cone after an afternoon of swimming at the YMCA. A hungry stray dog wanders up to him and starts licking its chops. Henry doesn’t want to share, but the dog looks starved, with all those ribs sticking out through its fur, so Henry gives up … Continue reading →

Meow Means Mischief – Ann Whitehead Nagda

In the intermediate book “Meow Means Mischief,” we meet Rana, a girl who has just moved to a new home with her little sister Tara and her parents. She’s insecure about her new school – the other children seem so confident and like they know what they’re doing all the time. Rana knows the move was good for her family – the house is bigger and they have room for the things they need, but she still feels like an outsider. One day Rana sees a cute little kitten outside the patio doors, and she falls in love with it. … Continue reading →