Customer Reviews (4)

Great first chapter book!
This was the first chapter book I started reading to my five year old... I didn't know if she'd sit still for a book that wasn't picture-centric but she loved it and I loved it because I remember reading it as a kid myself!It was a wonderful way to jump-start her into chapter books.

Brock at Lake Tapps, "Graet Book"
This was a great book! I went to the book shelf to find a book and I found it. The Mouse and the Motorcycle by Beverly Cleary. I looked at it and I said to myself, "that looks like an ok book". I looked how many pages it was and it was 158 pages. Then I started reading it, and it was so good I could not wait for IR time every morning.
In the story The Mouse and the Motorcycle, Ralph is a mouse that lives in a knothole in a motel. A kid named Keith and his family was driving and they took a break and stopped at the motel. Keith was in room 215 and that was the same room as Ralph. The next day Ralph saw Keith playing with the motorcycle and asked to ride it. Keith got frightened and then said, "Yeah sure but be careful". One day Keith was out for breakfast and Ralph was riding the motorcycle and when he got off it he left it near a pile of sheets. The maid took the sheets and accidently took the motorcycle.Ralph had lost it! He lost the motorcycle.Keith was sick and he asked Ralph to go to the ground floor and try to find an aspirin.Ralph was looking around for the aspirin and about 10 minutes into his search he found the motorcycle.Ralph kept looking for an aspirin on the ground floor and after about 1 hour of searching he found the aspirin just before he was going to give up his search. After Ralph found the motorcycle Keith said, "Ralph you can keep the motorcycle".
Keith is sick in bed and he asks Ralph to go get him an aspirin and Ralph says "okay". But his mom is worried about him. Ralph was not worried about him. Ralph was not worried about going to the ground floor. He got down there and he was looking through every room and when he was in the lobby he found the motorcycle.He finally found the aspirin and gave it to Keith and he got better.
` Only trust people that you know really well.
A book that is similar to The Mouse and the Motorcycle is The Tale of Despereaux by Kate DiCamillo.
I recommend this book because it is a good and interesting book about a mouse that meets a kid named Keith.

Extremely charming, this book had me turning the pages
Story overview:

One day, in an old fashioned and unfrequented hotel, a family shows up. The mother is not the most thrilled about the idea of staying at this place, and keeps on insisting that there are probably mice living there, but there were no other options (they had driven for many hours and everything else was full). Her and her husband stay in room 216, but their son, Keith, is allowed to have his own room next door in #215.

The boy pokes his finder in a hole only to find, to his disappointment, that there's nothing in there. Little did he know that it was the entrance to the home of Ralph, a young and mischievous mouse who is always giving his mother reasons to worry; particularly on this day when he climbs up a phone cord to look for leftover crumbs.

Unfortunately for Ralf, the boy's mother is overly clean and there were no leftovers, however what he saw was something he desired even more than food: a motorcycle.

Ralf sits on the motorcycle and accidently rolls off the table, falling into a waste basket, where he is discovered by the boy, Keith, and they become good friends. The two have a lot of fun together until one day-due to Ralf's carelessness-the hotel finds evidence of mice and so Ralf and his family take refuge. Thankfully for the mice, Keith brings them enough food to eat, but one day the boy becomes ill and Ralf finds himself on a mission to help find him some medicine.

My thoughts:

Extremely charming, this book had me turning the pages. The fonts are big (at least in my edition), so it's easier for children to read, and the illustrations (though sometimes not quite accurate) do a good job of painting a visual picture to the words. As an adult, I still really enjoyed reading this again, and will probably go back and read a few more "Ralph S. Mouse" books before too long.

Things to consider:

Keep in mind that this book was written in 1965, and there are some really dated expressions and items, but being from the 60s, and for children, I think it safe to say that this can be read to just about any age. It seems to be targeted more towards boys at around five years old, but I can see girls easily enjoying it too. No cursing, no violence, no sexual situations. Just nice, clean and entertaining reading.

James D. Maxon
[...]

Top-notch entertainment for my little boys
Beverly Cleary is the Queen of the Bookshelves in our house, because of the Ramona and Henry books.This is another wonderful, amazing, creative, and character-building story for your little ones.

The reading level is second-grade (at least), and the chapters are long.It is pure fun -- the boy and the mouse can understand one another, and they each come to the other's rescue.The mouse makes the boy's toy motorcycle "go" by making engine noises, of course.

We enjoy it for family read-aloud time.There are a few illustrations, one or two per chapter, and some 1960's-era vocabulary (modern moms don't give their little boys aspirin anymore, and there's a milkman, and a drugstore that doesn't open till 9:00 the following morning.No Walgreens back then!)So when I read it, I explain a little.I read "aspirin" as "pill" or "medicine".We have stayed in plenty of old hotels like the one in the story book, and it is charming to imagine Ralph on his motorcycle putt-putting along the dark hallways.

The story is boyishly appealing.Once your little ones can read well, Beverly Cleary is an excellent author, because she loves children, and her characters stay safe and develop nice personalities. ... Read more

Product Description

Por fin llega el tan esperado primer dia de clases de Ramona. Ahora podrá hacer las mismas cosas que su hermana Beezus y sus amigos.

Los lectores la acompañaran en sus alegrias y tristezas, en sus occurrencias y sus travesuras, sus miedos y sus fantasías. Compartirán la caída del primer diente, la primera vergüenza, las primeras letras...

Customer Reviews (2)

My daughter enjoyed it.
My daughter had read this book in English and really enjoyed the book. The book allowed her to practice her Spanish and enjoy a fun story she was already familiar with.

Remembering my youth
Ramona reminded me of myself when I was a little girl.She does things that most kids only think of doing because they are afraid to get into trouble.I love the reality aspect that Beverly Cleary brings to thestory.Not only does Ramona LA Chinche take me back in time, it allowsfuture generations of kids to see that they aren't the only ones to thinkup some of the crazy stunts that Ramona pulls off.This story is ahilarious page turner from the very beginning!I'd recommend it to anyschool teacher and, of course, all students.What a great read! ... Read more

Product Description

Fed up with his family, Ralph decides to hop on his motorcycle and head down the road to Happy Acres Camp. Unfortunately, life at camp is not all peanut butter and jelly sandwiches! A strict watchdog, a mouse-hungry cat, and a troubled boy named Garf keep Ralph on his toes and away from his precious motorcycle. Perhaps home is not such a bad place to be, if only Ralph can find a way to get there again!

Customer Reviews (3)

Ralph is a must have for your audio library
We have had this audio book for over four years.Our children repeatedly ask to hear this, and quite honestly we parents enjoy it too.Beverly Cleary has a child's heart and brings you into their world as well as the world of Ralph and his family.You will never look at a mouse the same way!

Runaway Ralph Rocks!
B.D. Wong reading "Runaway Ralph" by Beverly Cleary is a runaway hit!Wong reads three of Cleary's books and brings them to life.The "Ralph" series is clever and creative.My granddaughter is now 9, and we listen to these over and over.Neither she nor I tire of them.In fact, after listening to this audiobook last week, I asked her to think of an adventure Ralph could have next.We're currently working on that!When invited to a baby shower where books are requested, I've been giving one of Cleary's books from the "Ralph" series.We love them that much!

Great book, narration is so-so.
I grew up reading this book over and over.Since it was one of my childhood favorites, I decided to purchase the audiobook for my children to listen to on a road trip.The book was as good as I remembered, but the narration is only so-so.The narrator does differentiate between when characters are speaking and when they are not, but I found his accents irritating and un-California like.The voice of Matt, the 60-year-old bellboy would be one example.Matt's voice was quite high pitched and squeaky, like I would expect the Ralph's to be.Others characters sounded like Fran Dresher from "The Nanny."All-in-all, I give it three stars because, while it disappointed me, it didn't disappoint the children.They have already listened to it again since coming home. ... Read more

Product Description
Six original stories based on the classic TV series. Photo cover of Wally and the Beav. ... Read more

Product Description
A simple biography of the prolific children's author, Beverly Cleary, whose prize-winning writing career spans fifty years. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

Simple English text
Meet Beverly Cleary is a lightweight introduction (24 pages) to the life of the author. For a more detailed account of her life for young readers, check out Cleary's own memoirs A Girl from Yamhill and My Own Two Feet. ... Read more

Product Description
This wonderful Ramona Box Set, by Beverly Cleary, contains four books: Ramona the Brave, Ramona the Pest, Beezus and Ramona, and Ramona Quimby, Age 8.

Customer Reviews (26)

Wonderful reading for children
We bought this for our 7yr old who loves to read chapter books. We had been having trouble finding suitable books for her to read as we are rather fussy about what our daughters are exposed to.
While there aren't too many pictures/drawings, our daughter thoroughly enjoys these books. Before giving them to her to read, we read them first and found them both educational and humorous! We can hear her laughing out at times when reading them. She reads them out for her younger sister who is also quite entertained by them.
Ramona is about a young girl with an older sister, and their parents. It describes their family life and presents real situations and guides and/or suggests to the reader a way as to how to handle such events. Very uplifting and good, clean reading. Even adults will enjoy this.

Ramona Boxed Set
I've loved Beverly Cleary since I was a young girl growing up in Long Island.There were certain books back in '76/'78 that the libraries certainly had in stock authored by Cleary, Blume, Byars and the like.I read them all.I 'think' it was the 2nd or 3rd grade that I got hold of my first book by Cleary and I know I enjoyed them then because I was insistent that my daughter read them before she got out of elementary school.She's a book worm as well.I read them again for the 2nd time at age 36 and I still laughed, cried and smiled.My daughter experienced the same emotions.I bought the boxed set for my daughter.She's read them and now they sit on her book shelf for her friends to swap.I'm now looking at purchasing them all over again for my niece who is in the 3rd grade and look forward to the smiles and the laughs during the up and coming holiday season.

Not just for girls
My six-year old boy is a huge Ramona fan. We've read about six of the Ramona books and I just ordered the four we haven't read yet. Even though right now we don't have new ones to read, he's making me re-read him ones we've already been through. They are his favorite books. And I can see why. Ramona is so real, with emotions, reactions and feelings that little kids can really relate to. Beverly Cleary is a masterful writer for children.

Should be on every young girl's shelf
All of the Ramona books are timeless classics that no little girl should miss. I read them over and over as a child, and still leaf through Cleary's treasures at the library!

Beverly Cleary is a truly quality author. Over thirty years later, I still fondly remember Cleary's characters: Ramona, Beezus, Otis Spofford and Ellen Tebbits.

Choose any one-or all of them-as a special gift for a daughter or beloved niece. They're a perfect way to begin a true love of reading!

A true gem...
These books will always have a place in my heart. I grew up soaking up every one of the Ramona books and would still be able to get lost in them at the age of 24. The Quimby family is so down-to-earth and the stories are always warming, funny and make you want to curl up and read the whole series in one sitting. ... Read more

Product Description
A biography of American author Beverly Cleary, who is best known for her books featuring Ramona Quimby, plus a chapter of creative writing tips. ... Read more

Product Description
Includes 15 Beverly Cleary Books:

1 - Beezus and Ramona
2 - Ramona the Pest
3 - Ramona the Brave
4 - Ramona and Her Father
5 - Ramona and Her Mother
6 - Ramona Quimby, Age 8
7 - Ramona's World
8 - Henry Huggins
9 - Henry and Beezus
10 - Henry and Ribsy
11 - Ribsy
12 - The Mouse and the Motorcycle
13 - Runaway Ralph
14 - Ralph S. Mouse
15 - Ellen Tebbits

... Read more

Product Description
When Beverly Cleary was a little girl, she struggled with reading. After finding out that books could be fun to read and stories could be fun to write, she grew up to write books on her own. Cleary never forgot what it was like to be a child who wanted something good to read. Her books are about children who have the same joys, fears, and frustrations that most of us have. She has won numerous awards, and for over fifty years, many children have enjoyed her books. Characters such as Ramona, Beezus, Henry Higgins, and Socks are known and loved by children all over the world. ... Read more

Product Description
The family routine is upset during Ramona's year in second grade when her father unexpectedly loses his job. In Spanish. ... Read more

Product Description

A little sister goes a long way.

Customer Reviews (2)

Lots of fun!
Since the movie was coming out I decided to read this to my children (10&5) even though my 10 yr old is a boy he could identify really well with Beezus and there are lots of times Ramona did exact things my 5 yr old has done we had to laugh we just finished this book the other night and I immediately got back on amazon to order the rest of the Ramona books I can't wait till they arrive so we can start on Ramona the pest!

Great book for children with difficult younger siblings
Beezus and Ramona is a character driven chapter book that focuses on Beatrice (nicknamed "Beezus") Quimby, the 9-year-old sister of 4-year-old Ramona Quimby.The book is essentially a series of vignettes depicting the relationship between the two sisters, in which Ramona's mischief features prominently.The book is different from the other books in the Ramona series in that Beezus is the protagonist instead of Ramona.Thus, the book is essentially a portrait of a young sibling relationship--especially its challenges--from the perspective of an older sibling.

Since this chapter book is character- and relationship-driven, the plot is minimal.However, the vignettes do develop the central theme of Beezus's struggle to feel love for her sister.Beezus--the quintessential conscientious bookish first-born child, concerned about doing things right--worries over her periodic anger and resentment toward Ramona--the classic misbehaving baby of the family who always seems to get her way and wreck things for her sister.

Throughout the book, Cleary subtly paints an alternative picture of sisterhood in the happy relationship between Beezus's mother and her sister Beatrice (the aunt after whom Beezus was named).Beezus adores her Aunt Beatrice--she's a young, pretty, jovial schoolteacher that drives a yellow convertible; what's not to love?

The book culminates with Beezus's 10th birthday dinner, which Aunt Beatrice attends.A dinner conversation between Mrs. Quimby and Aunt Beatrice, in which they recall (with laughter) the sibling rivalry of their youth, helps Beezus re-envision her relationship with the exasperating Ramona.Beezus realizes that she doesn't always have to feel love toward her little sister, and she gains hope for a happier sister-relationship when they both get older.After all, if Aunt Beatrice was once a frustrating little sister, then there must be hope for Ramona too!

The subjective appeal of Beezus and Ramona lies chiefly in the humor of Ramona's antics.From the reader's perspective, Ramona's clever mischief is hilarious.For example, once when Beezus is looking after Ramona while their mother is out, Beezus finds Ramona sitting in the basement by a big box of apples, eating one bite out of each apple and then tossing it aside.When her big sister orders her to stop at once, Ramona coolly explains, "But the first bite tastes best..." (104).Then, to try to evade trouble with her sister, Ramona claims that she just wants to "share" the apples with her sister.Sharing is good, right?Classic!This chapter book is filled with similarly sharp, hilarious episodes that reflect Cleary's acute insight into young children.

The book's theme of sibling relationships will also be appealing to children with siblings--especially those with younger siblings, and especially girls.Virtually any child with a younger sibling could probably relate to and identify with Beezus in some way, and so would be interested to find out how Beezus manages to get along with her difficult little sister.

Finally, the feature of the book that makes the sibling relationship so compelling is Cleary's excellent character development.Cleary nails the youngest sibling character with Ramona: just the right combination of funny, mischievous, demanding, manipulative, and exasperating.She has a real knack for the funny logic of a 4-year-old.Ramona is surely a forerunner of contemporary characters like Junie B. Jones (e.g., see Junie B. Jones's First Boxed Set Ever! (Books 1-4)).

Cleary also develops Beezus to a tee.For example, after the encouraging birthday conversation between Mrs. Quimby and Aunt Beatrice (during the course of which Ramona was sent to her room yet again for being disobedient), Cleary describes an interaction between Beezus and her mother thus: " `Mother,' whispered Beezus, happier than she had felt in a long time, `I hope Ramona comes back before we have my birthday cake` " (p. 180).Here we see a realistically softened Beezus, who has new resources with which she can both appreciate and cope with her little sister.

The developmental value of this chapter book lies chiefly in its potential to help children deal with difficult younger siblings.Not only is it helpful that Cleary suggests that anger and exasperation are normal parts of young sibling relationships; her portrayal of Beezus's (albeit limited) patience with Ramona is also a lovely model for struggling older siblings.For example, Beezus often attends to her younger sister of her own accord, reading her favorite book to her, or taking her to the library.Cleary also helpfully shows that Beezus really admires certain qualities in her sister (e.g., her imagination), and thus encourages older siblings to see the positive side of their sometimes annoying younger siblings.Thus, Beezus is an exemplary big sister that children can both identify with and model themselves after.

The book's portrayal of family life is also developmentally valuable.Although the Quimbys are a traditional and somewhat quaint nuclear family (the book was written in the 1950s; what do you expect?), their family dynamics are healthy and functional, which is a breath of fresh air.Mrs. Quimby is a kind, gentle woman who parents with patience and equity, attentive to the special needs of both girls in their particular sibling roles and personalities.On the whole, then, Cleary's portrayal of family life is a charming, helpful example.

Finally, Beezus and Ramona is written at a level that will encourage the reading abilities of intermediate readers.It is an excellent book for children who are ready to graduate from easy chapter books, and could be enjoyable as a read-aloud for kids as young as six.

In sum, I highly recommend Beezus and Ramona. ... Read more

Product Description
"... Ralph finds himself trapped at the bottom of a wastepaper basket. It's Ralph's lucky day when along comes Keith, the owner of the toy motorcycle, who teaches Ralph how to ride properly, and then turns him loose to enjoy the biking adventure of his life. But adventure can be both fun and trouble...as Ralph and Keith soon find out! Beverly Cleary is one of America's most popular authors. Born in McMinnville, Oregon, she lived on a farm in Yamhill she was six and then moved to Portland. After college, she became the children's librarian in Yakima, Washington. Ramona and Her Father and Ramona Quimby, Age 8, both available on unabridge audio cassette from Listening Library, have been named Newbery Honor books. William Roberts spent eight years in British theater in a wide range of roles, and he also spent five years as actor/director in America with the Oregon Shakespeare Festival. He has an impressive BBC radio background, and has appeared in many recent motion pictures and television series. Also available in the Beverly Cleary Mouse trilogy on unabridged audio cassette from Listening are: Ralph S. Mouse and Runaway Ralph. Contents: Total Playing Time: 2 hrs. 25 mins. Side 1: Chapters 1-4 (beginning) (28:27). Side 2: Chapters 4 (concluded) -6 (beginning) (26:39). Side 3: Chapters 6 (concluded)-10 (beginning) (44:12). Side 4: Chapters 10 (concluded)-13 (46:20)." [from case cover] ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

cassette
purchased book on cassette, when I first played it, the tape got caught up in the plastic container and will not play ... Read more

Product Description
One of America's best-loved children's authors takes center stage in this fascinating resource book. Summaries of all Cleary's novels (including the popular Henry and Ramona books) are accompanied by a description of the author's real-life experiences as reflected in her books and a variety of extension activities (e.g., writing, word games, map activities, dramatic plays, puzzles). An extensive bibliography lists Cleary's own fiction and nonfiction publications, her childhood favorites, and books and journal articles about her. Photographs, maps, and drawings illustrate the settings of her books and of her own life. You will appreciate the numerous tips and project ideas. ... Read more