This was enjoyable for me to read as well as to listen to younger children read. Ramona is age appropriate for k-3 readers. It is a bit of a longer story but has enough spunk that it will keep your children’s attention

This was a very nostalgic book. I grew up reading the Ramona series, so I enjoyed this immensely! I would recommend this to anyone else who wanted a stroll down memory lane.

A childhood favorite of mine. It brought such joy to revisit my beloved Ramona world. It made me want to go back and re-read and devour my old dog-eared copies.

If you are a Ramona Quimby fan this is the book for you. It is a great book and of wonderful quality. It will take you through the art of this series and your favorite Ramona characters and world. It does a great job. If you are interested in illustration this is also a wonderful book to pick up. It goes into perfect detail for fans of the book as well as anyone interested in illustration. I recommend it.

I just loved this book. Each reader will enjoy seeing the Ramona they grew up reading. But I also loved reading about the other Ramonas. I really enjoyed the correspondence between Beverly Cleary and the various illustrators. This book will make a wonderful gift Enjoy

Who among us doesn’t love Romana Quimby? She was one of my favorite characters growing up. So reading an exploration of Romana Quimby’s art was especially delightful. It’s very nostalgic and something that kids and adults can still connect to.
I received this copy from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

Thank you to NetGalley and Chronicle Books for this ARC. I requested it for my daughter Grace, 12 y.o., she LOVED it. She read all Beverly Cleary's books last summer, so I knew it would fascinate her to see this. Well, despite being in the middle of another book, she sat right down and spent the entire afternoon reading it...she was absolutely enamored with it...she especially loved the way the text from the stories was interspersed with the illustrations. As someone who loves art and drawing, she was especially interested in the side by side comparison of the different versions of the books. We loved it so much, we've actually bought several copies of the hardcover book upon release to give as gifts. Thank you soooo much for publishing this, it's perfect for fans of Beverly Cleary's books, but also anyone interested in children's book illustrate design.

First of all, RIP Beverly Cleary, who created the lovable characters immortalized in these illustrations. And indeed, this book is no substitute for simply reading Ms. Cleary's books, in whatever edition you happen to find. But if you are particularly interested in illustration of children's books, this book will be a handy reference.

Thanks to the publishers and NetGalley for the opportunity to review a digital ARC in exchange for an unbiased review.

Delighted to feature this title in the big Holiday Gift Books Guide lists, of Books for Book Lovers, in Zoomer magazine's digital Books hub. See link for feature.

Beverly Cleary’s books were some of the first ones I read independently. The Art of Ramona Quimby brought back so many memories of these books. When the editions illustrated by Tracy Dockray came out, I did wonder if the updated, modern illustrations would work with the original book texts, many of which were written in the ‘50s and ‘60’s. I was unaware until I read this book that yet another edition of Cleary’s books had been released in 2013.. It seems to work; children are still grabbing these books in 2020!
The Art of Ramona Quimby focuses on the one character of Cleary’s that had books published about her from the 1950’s all the way in to the ‘90’s. The author did a marvelous job of taking readers through the decades with this beloved little girl. The letters of correspondence between Cleary and the first illustrator, Louis Darling, were a special added bonus. I would recommend this to anyone who has ever enjoyed Ramona’s adventures through the years.
I hope Anna Katz will someday write another book about the art of some of Cleary’s other characters!
Thank you, Netgalley, for providing me with a free copy of this outstanding book. I have a feeling that I’ll be buying a hard copy very soon!

Ramona Forever: THE ART OF RAMONA QUIMBY

I have to admit I’m a fan of Beverly Cleary, and the Ramona books in particular. So much so that I named my firstborn after that irrepressible young character!

So, this is definitely the book for me. But it will also appeal to other fans and people interested in the history of children’s books illustration and design. Beautifully produced, the coffee table-sized book explores the series’ illustrators, ranging from the original Louis Darling in the late 1960’s to Jacqueline Rogers in 2013.

My favourite part was the Foreword by Annie Barrows, author of the Ivy and Bean series. In “Bad Author/Good Witch: What I Learned from Ramona the Pest“, Barrows describes how reading Chapter Six, “The Baddest Witch in the World”, changed her approach to writing.

She discusses her daughter’s identification with Ramona’s roller coaster emotions. This includes where Ramona realises her teacher, and perhaps even her own mother, can’t identify her amongst all the other kids dressed up as witches. In “withdrawing herself from the equation”, Cleary writes with “serious unselfishness” (p 8). This is the lesson Barrows took from reading the Ramona books, a lesson that changed her life as a writer.

The series changed my life as a reader. I remember reaching for Ramona Quimby, Age 8 at my school library when I was seven or eight. I loved realistic stories about people. Short books, that ended too quickly, were disappointing. So I went for the thick, hardcover book with Alan Tiegreen’s orange cover. It had lots of white space and line drawings and was very appealing overall.

And I never looked back. Now, more than thirty years later, these books are still favourites and I have loved sharing them with my daughter. For me, Ramona will truly live forever.

Speaking of which, the beloved author, Beverly Cleary, is still alive at the time of writing this, aged 104! Every year on her birthday, 12 April, American schools run the Drop Everything and Read (DEAR) initiative. It encourages 30 minutes of reading and was named after the Sustained Silent Reading technique used in Ramona’s classroom. SSR was always my favourite part of the day at school in rural Australia in the 1980’s. And, true to form, Ramona worked out how to use it to great effect, as an excuse to avoid talking to pesky little Willa Jean!

My fascination with all things Ramona Quimby happened many, many years ago and I’ve been lucky enough to pass that on to my daughter. When I saw this book on NetGalley, I knew I had to jump at the chance to review. The covers brought back so many memories and I was able to show my daughter the differences between the ones I hoarded as a child and the ones she had. While reliving my childhood with this book, the memories came flooding back, especially my attempts to be like Ramona and trying to get my parents to quit smoking. Ramona and Her Father was my clear favorite, I went through more than 1 copy.
I mean, who wasn’t a fan of all things Ramona when they were young. She got to say and do things we couldn’t, with hilarious results. But the stories weren’t all sweetness and light. There were lessons to be learned in each one, the parent’s loss of a job, the dangers of smoking, loving others without liking them all the time, friendships, bullies, etc. These books are written so that generations can enjoy them, with topics that resonate through the ages.
Thank you so much for giving me all these memories I’d forgotten. Thank you for giving us one book with all the covers and allowing so many people to remember a better time in their lives. It’s also another fascinating book that we can pass on to future generations.
**I received an ARC of this story from the publisher and NetGalley and this is my honest and voluntary review.

Drawing Ramona Quimby
The five artists who illustrated Beverly Cleary’s childhood classics
Michele Harris
Michele.harris@erickson.com

To say that beloved children’s author Beverly Cleary has made an indelible impression on generations of readers around the world is an understatement. She has written over 40 titles, sold over 91 million copies and won too many awards and honors to count (including the prestigious Newbery Award.)

“Beverly Cleary’s impact as a children’s writer cannot be overestimated,” says Catherine M. Mercer in her book, Twentieth-Century Children’s Writers. “Her extraordinary talent in creating memorable young characters whose exuberant spirit and zest for life attract young and old readers alike.”

Cleary’s readers are typically between the ages of 8 and 12. They are just starting to read chapter books independently so for them, each page read represents an achievement but that doesn’t mean they are too sophisticated to appreciate an illustration every now and then.

Five different artists have illustrated the Ramona books over the years.

Author Anna Katz has culled the work of each illustrator into a new book, The Art of Ramona Quimby (Chronicle Books). Katz explores the art and style of Louis Darling, Alan Tiegreen, Joanne Scribner, Tracy Dockray, and Jacqueline Rogers.

“Going through, I realized that each illustrator brings something different and they are all so good,” says Katz. “They bring the stories to life in really cool ways. Louis Darling, drawing in the ’50s and ’60s had a sort of comic book look. The outfits are retro. The ladies wear day gloves and hats and elaborate dresses that you just don’t see anymore. Tracy Dockray is more cartoonish. Each illustrator brought something new to the stories.”

Drawing Ramona

The eight books that make up the Ramona series were written between 1950 and 1999. Although Cleary took great pains to write books that were universal and timeless, life in 1950 looks nothing like life in the 21st century.

“It is the changing of the art that allows each new generation of children to see themselves and their lives represented on the pages of Cleary’s books,” says Katz.

Baby boomers who read the Ramona series in the ’50s and ’60s will recognize the work of Louis Darling. He illustrated Cleary’s early work including Henry Higgins (1950) and the first two Ramona books; Beezus and Ramona (1955) and Ramona the Pest (1968).

Over the course of their 15-year working relationship, Cleary and Darling met in person only once. They corresponded by mail and some of their letters are included in Katz’s book. In one of them, Cleary gives Darling a highly detailed description of Ramona’s classroom and offers him advice on what kindergarten girls wore. (Dresses with belts were out because “mean old boys yank them.”)

In 1975, Alan Tiegreen was hired to create cover art for the next six Ramona books. His style was casual; more like a sketch than a final product.

As a child of the 1980s, Katz says the Ramona books of her youth were illustrated by Tiegreen art and those are the Ramona images that spark feelings of nostalgia for her.

Joanne Scribner’s illustrations were a bit different. She used paint, ink, pencil, and sometimes actual scraps of cloth. Scribner is a legend among illustrators and her style has been compared to that of Norman Rockwell.

Tracy Dockray took on Ramona in 2006. She wanted to make the books more inclusive, so she added flat gray shading to her images to represent different skin-tones.

Jacqueline Rogers, the latest artist to illustrate the Ramona gang says, “It’s so interesting to me to see how a classic series like this morphs through time,” says Rogers in the book’s afterward.”

Rogers says she wanted her “ink style to somehow follow Ramona’s personality: sometimes scratchy, using a vibrant line with a variety of thick and thin, loose and full of energy. I used a brush with India ink—a messy choice, but a perfect match.”

The Art of Ramona Quimby

Katz says her biggest challenge was deciding which image to include in the book.

“It was really hard to choose,” she says. “There were so many, and I really wanted to include them all. A big part of my culling process was finding illustrations of the same or similar scenes from different artists and that allowed me to compare different artwork.”

In the end, she selected the images that reflect Ramona’s character or show the comical aspect of a scene. “Things that made the story come to life,” she says.

“My hope is that this book will show how every illustrated version of the Ramona Quimby series is beautiful and illuminating in its own way, and that the ongoing pairing of art with story has allowed the series to endure through decades of significant change in the United States and around

As for Cleary, she retired after publishing Ramona Quimby Age 8 in 1999. She is currently living in Carmel, Calif. She is 104.

This was such a nostalgia rush! It’s not until I read the excerpts and looked at all the illustrations that I realized that I had forgotten how much I loved the Ramona Quimby books as a young reader. I don’t think I would consider myself a reader (i.e. book lover) at that age so knowing that this series meant so much to me at that time, says a lot about the magic that is Beverly Cleary's Ramona.
Adding to that magic are the illustrations that, as proven by this book, are what help keep it timeless and relatable to readers of every generation. It’s so wonderful seeing and comparing how the looks and styles (both fashion and illustration) have changed over the years since Ramona made her first appearance in 1955.
This would be a good addition to any art lovers shelf, but it’s the perfect one for all Ramona fans.

I grew up on the Ramona and Beezus books. Reading this book and going thru the illustrations with my young adult son was like a blast from the past. It was very enjoyable reminiscing! I grew up with a particular illustrator while my son, who is 30 years younger, grew up with a different illustrator. It was fun browsing and reading the book and pointing out to each other what each remembers about Ramona, her friends and family, from the book! This is a wonderful collectible book for Ramona and Beezus fans. Very beautifully illustrated. A time capsule and treasure trove of illustrations and story lines for readers of any age.

A really neat compendium of the iconic art featured in Beverly Cleary's Ramona Quimby books. This book is extensive and features the artwork from the books over the decades from different artists. This would be a great gift for a Ramona lover or reference for a library.

Thank you NetGalley and Chronicle Books for providing this ARC.

Beverly Cleary captured the rebel inside every little girl when she first captured Ramona on a page. No one could replace Beverly. However, the illustrators did change throughout the years. Louis Darling, Alan Tiegreen, Joanne Scribner, Tracy Dockray, and Jacqueline Rogers all had a hand in creating the Art of Ramona Quimby.

Each of the Ramona stories are told mostly through the artwork itself. All five artists are involved in showing each story. It is easy to compare each artist’s style. I spent my time trying to determine which style I liked the most. I still don’t have an answer. Each style has its own charms.

For fans of the Ramona books, this is an unforgettable read. You get to see the stories again through the various artists’ eyes. There are also short biographies of Beverly and the five artists. Included in the appendix are letters between Louis and Beverly while he was creating the artwork. There are color reproductions of Tracy’s portfolio she used to secure the commission. The artwork is in various styles but none use the heavily-shaded pen and ink style she used in the books themselves.

The Art of Ramona Quimby is a beautiful gift for the Ramona fan in your life. 4.5 stars rounded up to 5 stars!

Thanks to Chronicle Books and NetGalley for a copy in exchange for my honest review.

( received complimentary e-book in exchange for review )

Growing up as a child in the 1970s, I read thru every Ramona book I could find. This book was a refreshing blast back to the past. As an adult, it was wonderful reconnecting with the characters, and getting to know and appreciate them all over again. While this review was based on an e-book copy, when the hardcover edition is released in September 2020, I would not be at all surprised to find it in my home library, which some occasional spotlight days on my coffee table for all to enjoy.

This book has been put together very well with a thought to graphic design and inclusion of the different illustrations of the books in their time periods...in particular, the illustrations used in the 1980s were what I remember and brought back memories. It’s funny how seeing them can transport me back to my early school days. Great book and will recommend to friends and teacher who loves Ramona.

I received an e-ARC of this from the publisher through Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

The artwork and accompanying text in this book is truly lovely, and a must read for any Ramona fan.