Cleary, Beverly

With her father returning to college and her mother working full time, Ramona muddles through the hard times at school and home and proves to be big enough for her family to depend on.

In a series of diary entries, Leigh tells how he comes to terms with his parents' divorce, acquires joint custody of an abandoned dog, and joins the track team at school.

Many of Emily's ideas never seem to work out the way she plans, until she decides her home town needs a library.

In a series of diary entries, Leigh tells how he comes to terms with his parents' divorce, acquires joint custody of an abandoned dog, and joins the track team at school.

Ramona at seven-years-old sometimes feels discriminated against by being the youngest in the family.

In his letters to his favorite author, 10-year-old Leigh reveals his problems in coping with his parents' divorce, being the new boy in school, and generally finding his own place in the world.

The family routine is upset during Ramona's year in second grade when her father unexpectedly loses his job.

Maggie resists learning cursive writing in the third grade, until she discovers that knowing how to read and write cursive promises to open up an entirely new world of knowledge for her.