Commentary on a Ramona book by Beverley Cleary

What Ramona book did you read?

Tell us what you though of it, and whether you liked it.  Should these books be on library shelves rather than in the Stack?

Commentary on Black Beauty by Anna Sewell

The book is an autobiography from the point of view of the titular horse, named Black Beauty. 

The first part of the book deals with Beauty's birth in a meadow, his time spent as a foal with his mother and the advice she gives him to behave well to be treated well. Then he is sold to the Squire Gordon who is a horse lover and cares very well for his animals. Here he meets the grooms John Manly and James Howard who are loving, neat and efficient. Beauty spends the better part of three years here and makes friends with the other horses: Ginger, Merrylegs and Sir Oliver. 

This idyllic life ends with the beginning of the second part where Beauty is sold, along with Ginger to Earlshall Park. The life is harder there and the painful bearing rein is used on the horses. A riding accident causes his knees to be ruined and he is sold as a job horse to a new master who cannot take the trouble of rearing a horse and sells him again. Next, Beauty is sold to a hardworking cab driver called Jerry. On the runs in the streets he meets his friend Ginger who is miserable due to the harsh treatment meted out to her and subsequently he watches her corpse being carted away a few months later. Jerry falls ill and Beauty is sold again. 

The horse then passes from one master to another, most of whom overwork and mistreat him till at last he is sold to the Blomefield family for whom his old groom Joe Green is working. Green recognizes Beauty and he lives out his last days in peace and happiness.

Commentary on The Little Princess by Frances Hodgson Burnett

The novel tells of the troubles of a wealthy young girl, Sara Crewe, who is sent to an oppressive London boarding school during her father’s campaign in India. Thanks to Capt. Crewe’s money, Sara is treated as a little princess until, one day, word comes of her father’s tragic death. Miss Minchin, the school’s greedy headmistress, wastes no time in putting the now-penniless Sara to work for her room and board. It is only through the friendship of two other girls, her own resolute nature, and some astonishing luck that Sara eventually finds her way back to happiness. (Summary from wikipedia.org)

More books to add to our list

Here is another recommended list of books - more ideas for us!

The Ultimate Backseat Bookshelf: 100 Must-Reads For Kids 9-14

1. Watership Down, by Richard Adams
2. The Wolves of Willoughby Chase, by Joan Aiken
3. Little Women, by Louisa May Alcott
4. The Chronicles of Prydain series, by Lloyd Alexander
5. The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian, by Sherman Alexie
6. The Strange Case of Origami Yoda series, by Tom Angleberger
7. The One and Only Ivan, by Katherine Applegate
8. Mr. Popper's Penguins, by Richard and Florence Atwater
9. Poppy, by Avi
10. Tuck Everlasting, by Natalie Babbitt
11. Peter Pan, by J.M. Barrie
12. Oz series, by Frank Baum
13. The House With a Clock in its Walls, by John Bellairs
14. Are You There, God? It's Me, Margaret, by Judy Blume
15. Tales of a Fourth Grade Nothing, by Judy Blume
16. Caddie Woodlawn, by Carol Ryrie Brink
17. The Secret Garden, by Frances Hodgson Burnett
18. Ender's Game, by Orson Scott Card
19. Alice's Adventures in Wonderland, by Lewis Carroll
20. The House on Mango Street, by Sandra Cisneros
21. Ramona series, by Beverly Cleary
22. The Dark is Rising series, by Susan Cooper
23. Walk Two Moons, by Sharon Creech
24. The Watsons Go To Birmingham-1963, by Christopher Paul Curtis
25. Catherine, Called Birdy, by Karen Cushman
26. D'Aulaires' Book of Greek Myths, by Ingri and Edgar Parin d'Aulaire
27. James and the Giant Peach, by Roald Dahl
28. Danny the Champion of the World, by Roald Dahl
29. Matilda, by Roald Dahl
30. The Little Prince, by Antoine de Saint-Exupéry
31. Because of Winn-Dixie, by Kate DiCamillo
32. The City of Ember, by Jeanne DuPrau
33. Half Magic, by Edward Eager
34. The Last of the Really Great Whangdoodles, by Julie Edwards
35. The Saturdays, by Elizabeth Enright
36. The Birchbark House, by Louise Erdrich
37. The Hundred Dresses, by Eleanor Estes
38. House of the Scorpion, by Nancy Farmer
39. Harriet the Spy, by Louise Fitzhugh
40. The Lincolns, by Candice Fleming
41. The Diary of Anne Frank, by Anne Frank
42. Eleanor Roosevelt, by Russell Freedman
43. The Graveyard Book, by Neil Gaiman
44. Julie of the Wolves, by Jean CraigheadGeorge
45. My Side of the Mountain, by Jean CraigheadGeorge
46. Misty of Chincoteague, by Marguerite Henry
47. Bunnicula, by James Howe
48. Redwall series, by Brian Jacques
49. The Phantom Tollbooth, by Norton Juster
50. Diary of a Wimpy Kid series, by Jeff Kinney
51. The Mixed-Up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankwiler, by E.L. Konigsburg
52. A Wrinkle in Time series, by Madeleine L'Engle
53. Inside Out and Back Again, by Thanhha Lai
54. The Earthsea Cycle series, by Ursula K. Le Guin
55. To Kill A Mockingbird, by Harper Lee
56. Ella Enchanted, by Gail Carson Levine
57. The Chronicles of Narnia series, by C.S. Lewis
58. Where the Mountain Meets the Moon, by Grace Lin
59. Number the Stars, by Lois Lowry
60. The Giver, by Lois Lowry
61. Sarah, Plain and Tall, by Patricia MacLachlan
62. The Complete Tales of Winnie-the-Pooh, by A.A. Milne
63. Anne of Green Gables series, by Lucy Maud Montgomery
64. The Borrowers, by Mary Norton
65. Mrs. Frisby and the Rats of NIMH, by Robert C. O'Brien
66. Island of the Blue Dolphins, by Scott O'Dell
67. Wonder, by R.J. Palacio
68. Bridge to Terabithia, by Katherine Paterson
69. Hatchet, by Gary Paulsen
70. A Long Way From Chicago series, by Richard Peck
71. The Twenty-One Balloons, by William Pène du Bois
72. The Wee Free Men, by Terry Pratchett
73. His Dark Materials series, by Phillip Pullman
74. Where The Red Fern Grows, by Wilson Rawls
75. Percy Jackson & the Olympians series, by Rick Riordan
76. Harry Potter series, by J. K. Rowling
77. Esperanza Rising, by Pam Munoz Ryan
78. Holes, by Louis Sachar
79. Okay For Now, by Gary Schmidt
80. The Cricket in Times Square, by George Selden
81. The Invention of Hugo Cabret, by Brian Selznick
82. Bomb, by Steven Sheinkin
83. A Tree Grows In Brooklyn, by Betty Smith
84. The Bone Series, by Jeff Smith
85. A Series of Unfortunate Events books, by Lemony Snicket
86. The Witch of Blackbird Pond, by Elizabeth George Speare
87. Maniac Magee, by Jerry Spinelli
88. When You Reach Me, by Rebecca Stead
89. The Egypt Game, by Zilpha Keatley Snyder
90. The Arrival, by Shaun Tan
91. The Annotated Classic Fairy Tales, by Maria Tatar
92. Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry, by Mildred D. Taylor
93. All-of-a-Kind Family, by Sydney Taylor
94. The Hobbit, by J.R.R. Tolkien
95. Mary Poppins, by P.L. Travers
96. Charlotte's Web, by E.B. White
97. The Sword in the Stone, by Terence Hanbury White
98. Little House on the Prairie series, by Laura Ingalls Wilder
99. One Crazy Summer, by Rita Williams-Garcia
100. American Born Chinese, by Gene Luen Yang

Your Favorites: 100 Best-Ever Teen Novels

1. Harry Potter (series), by J.KRowling
2. The Hunger Games (series), by Suzanne Collins
3. To Kill a Mockingbird, by Harper Lee
4. The Fault in Our Stars, by John Green
5. The Hobbit, by J.R.RTolkien
6. The Catcher in the Rye, by J.DSalinger
7. The Lord of the Rings (series), by J.R.RTolkien
8. Fahrenheit 451, by Ray Bradbury
9. Looking for Alaska, by John Green
10. The Book Thief, by Markus Zusak
11. The Giver (series), by Lois Lowry
12. The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy (series), by Douglas Adams
13. The Outsiders, by S.EHinton
14. Anne of Green Gables (series), by Lucy Maud Montgomery
15. His Dark Materials (series), by Philip Pullman
16. The Perks of Being a Wallflower, by Stephen Chbosky
17. The Princess Bride, by William Goldman
18. Lord of the Flies, by William Golding
19. Divergent (series), by Veronica Roth
20. Paper Towns, by John Green
21. The Mortal Instruments (series), by Cassandra Clare
22. An Abundance of Katherines, by John Green
23. Flowers for Algernon, by Daniel Keyes
24. Thirteen Reasons Why, by Jay Asher
25. The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time, by Mark Haddon
26. Speak, by Laurie Halse Anderson
27. Twilight (series), by Stephenie Meyer
28. Uglies (series), by Scott Westerfeld
29. The Infernal Devices (series), by Cassandra Clare
30. Tuck Everlasting, by Natalie Babbitt
31. The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian, by Sherman Alexie
32. The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants (series), by Anne Brashares
33. The Call of the Wild, by Jack London
34. Will Grayson, Will Grayson, by John Green, David Levithan
35. Go Ask Alice, by Anonymous
36. Howl's Moving Castle, by Diana Wynne Jones
37. Stargirl, by Jerry Spinelli
38. A Separate Peace, by John Knowles
39. Vampire Academy (series), by Richelle Mead
40. Abhorsen Trilogy / Old Kingdom Trilogy (series), by Garth Nix
41. Dune, by Frank Herbert
42. Discworld / Tiffany Aching (series, by Terry Pratchett
43. My Sister's Keeper, by Jodi Picoult
44. The Dark is Rising (series), by Susan Cooper
45. Graceling (series), Kristin Cashore
46. Forever..., by Judy Blume
47. Earthsea (series), by Ursula KLe Guin
48. Inheritance Cycle (series), by Christopher Paolini
49. The Princess Diaries (series), by Meg Cabot
50. The Song of the Lioness (series), by Tamora Pierce
51. Treasure Island, by Robert Louis Stevenson
52. Delirium (series), by Lauren Oliver
53. Anna and the French Kiss, by Stephanie Perkins
54. Hush, Hush Saga (series), by Stephanie Perkins
55. Little Blue Envelopes, by Maureen Johnson
56. It's Kind of a Funny Story, by Ned Vizzini
57. The Gemma Doyle Trilogy (series), by Libba Bray
58. Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children, by Ransom Riggs
59. The House on Mango Street, by Sandra Cisneros
60. Something Wicked This Way Comes, by Ray Bradbury
61. The Chocolate War, by Robert Cormier
62. Just Listen, by Sarah Dessen
63. A Ring of Endless Light, by Madeleine L'Engle
64. The Truth About Forever, by Sarah Dessen
65. The Bartimaeus Trilogy (series), by Jonathan Stroud
66. Bloodlines (series), by Richelle Mead
67. Fallen (series), by Lauren Kate
68. House of Night (series), by P.CCast, Kristin Cast
69. I Capture the Castle, by Dodie Smith
70. Nick & Norah's Infinite Playlsit, by Rachel Cohn, David Levithan
71. Before I Fall, by Lauren Oliver
72. Unwind, by Neal Shusterman
73. The Last Unicorn, by Peter SBeagle
74. The Maze Runner Trilogy (series), by James Dashner
75. If I Stay, by Gayle Forman
76. The Blue Sword, by Robin McKinley
77. Crank (series), by Ellen Hopkins
78. Matched (series), by Allie Condie
79. Gallagher Girls (series), by Ally Carter
80. The Goose Girl, by Shannon Hale
81. Daughter of the Lioness / Tricksters (series), by Tamora Pierce
82. I Am the Messenger, by Markus Zusak
83. The Immortals (series), by Tamora Pierce
84. The Enchanted Forest Chronicles (series), by Patricia CWrede
85. Chaos Walking (series), by Patrick Ness
86. Circle of Magic (series), by Tamora Pierce
87. Daughter of Smoke & Bone, by Laini Taylor
88. Feed, by M.TAnderson
89. Weetzie Bat (series), by Francesca Lia Block
90. Along for the Ride, by Sarah Dessen
91. Confessions of Georgia Nicolson (series), by Louise Rennison
92. Leviathan (series), by Scott Westerfeld
93. The House of the Scorpion, by Scott Westerfeld
94. The Chronicles of Chrestomanci (series), by Diana Wynne Jones
95. The Lullaby, by Sarah Dessen
96. Gone (series), by Michael Grant
97. The Shiver Trilogy (series), by Maggie Stiefvater
98. The Hero and the Crown, by Robin McKinley
99. Wintergirls, by Laurie Halse Anderson
100. Betsy-Tacy Books (series), by Maud Hart Lovelace