Unfortunately I no longer have the right program to download and read protected pdfs. Thank you for the opportunity to read and review this book.

My son loved this! What a wonderful journey through Beverly Cleary’s lifecand work! The book is worth it for any Cleary fan, or any home library.

I cannot believe myself that I literally gulped down this book in a matter of minutes!

Because I was so excited to actually getting to read this collection!!!
I wasn't even aware that this book was coming out.
For someone who loves Ramona Quimby (both the series and the movie adaptation for life!), this book is like Christmas and all things beautiful and amazing!

The characters are alive all over again and I just love loving them.

Thank you so much for bringing out this special sixty-five years of Illustrations from the author's beloved books!

I am so ready to gift this special edition to any girl child I know because they will be able to relate with her so much as I did. The book series is amazing. The characters are dynamic. I love everything about this series.

I love the introduction, the preface. It's detailed and informative. It's interesting and fun to read.

Ah, then the original illustrations!
And the legendary, unforgettable dialogues! (Someone please calm me down... Too much of nostalgic moments at once alert!)

This book is just the breath of fresh air I never knew I needed.

It's so well written, so well illustrated, so well crafted! This is a collectable for sure. I cannot wait for the finished copy.

Thank you #NetGalley for this copy.

The Ramona Quimby series were the first books I read while growing up. This book is full of nostalgia, it makes me wonder if I still have any of my books. The author did a great job giving tribute to the artists behind Ramona and Beverly Clearly for this amazing book series.

As a lover of the "Ramona Quimby" series growing up, I admittedly jumped at the chance to read the book, "The Art of Ramona Quimby." which is to be released in September 2020. I knew nothing about this new book itself and it simply didn't matter. Ramona was life growing up and the magic found within those books still lives deep in my heart to this day! There is a strong connection between the artwork and this feeling of nostalgia. This new book by Anna Katz focuses on the artwork found within those books and how these stories and illustrations "transcend time."

I loved that the beginning of the book gives the background of not only the famous author, Beverly Cleary but also gives biographies for the illustrators. After the introduction, the format follows along with the series by providing snippets of commentary on particular sections and the corresponding illustrations. I really enjoyed seeing the different variations from multiple artists. It was interesting to learn about the subtle details and changes that each person made and how it had been influenced. The graphics enhance that emotional connection that readers have with the beloved characters like Ramona, Beezus and Henry Huggins.

An extra note to anyone interested in reading this book: do not miss the appendices! There are copies of correspondences between Beverley Cleary and the various illustrators who worked on her books. The magic and importance of the Ramona stories really shines through these letters. This was my absolute favorite part of the book!

Overall, I would recommend this book to artists or those who are avid fans of the "Ramona Quimby" Series.

I remember Ramona Quimby and her family from both my own childhood and those of my children.  Because of so many happy memories, I was thrilled to receive this book from the publisher and NetGalley in return for an honest review.


The author of this title gives ample attention to the difficulty of writing a book that will engage and appeal to young readers.  Of course, she notes Beverly Cleary's skill in this regard. The author also reminds readers that the illustrations of Ms. Cleary's books were not static but evolved over the decades.  For us, this may mean that some sections of the book evoke more nostalgia than others. 


Joyously readers will spend time not only with Ramona but also Beezus, Henry Higgins, Ribsy and more.  In addition to the many illustrations, there are excerpts from the books.  If this makes you smile, you will definitely delight in this volume.


Many thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for this title in exchange for an honest review.

AMAZING.

I grew up on Ramona, and read her stories to my girl. The stories are timeless, and I love how this book explains how the illustrations evolved over time from Henry and Beezus to Ramona's World. Absolutely LOVED this book. I plan on getting a copy for our library to do an exhibit on Ramona for back to school time (if we can reopen by then!).

My mother and I both grew up reading stories of Ramona Quimby. They are heartwarming, beautiful, educational and fun, and will always have a special place in my heart.

As much as I wanted to love "The Art of Ramona Quimby," I have mixed feelings about this book. It has probably been 20 years since I ever lay my eyes on any of these stories, so I went into this book thinking it would be a sentimental refresher of what they were about. And while that did happen, as the pictures of colorful and familiar book covers put a smile on my face, I found the organization to be slightly confusing. I believe that when reading about the "authors," it should be immediately clear whether I'm reading about the authors of this very book, or rather the Ramona Quimby books. In addition, the recap of the chronology was written as plain text when it would have made more sense to spread it out graphically, with the cover, title and date displayed clearly. Then, the section called "A Note About Henry Huggins" is completely surprising because it wasn't mentioned in the chronological review.

Regardless, the pictures and stories were a delightful trip down the memory lane for me, and I wish the book was organized better to reflect its greatness.

I thoroughly enjoyed this charming book. I have been a fan of Beverly Cleary’s work since I was very, very young (many, many years ago), but since my own copies of her books are old, I’ve missed seeing the work of Cleary’s more recent illustrators. The format of the book, with quotes from the books and brief synopses of the scenes being pictured, was lots of fun to read. And it was also lots of fun to pore over the delightful pictures. Just a pure joy from cover to cover. I’d loved to see a similar volume devoted to Cleary’s other series.

Many thanks to NetGalley for providing an ARC copy for my review.

Quick confession -- I aged out of the Beverly Cleary books by 1970, so it has been a long time since I read them. Since Cleary was still writing into the 1990s, I missed the illustrators after Louis Darling, the original artist for Cleary's books.

The Art of Ramona zeroes in on the one character that seemed to take on a life of her own, Ramona Quimby. It examines how the five different artists approached the stories. Often, the same scenes were illustrated, so it's a chance to directly compare the artists' takes. Occasionally the artists come up with remarkably similar interpretations, but usually there are some intriguing differences. The book takes on the Ramona books individually and chronologically. It's a chance to remember the stories, or to catch up on the books you missed, all while focusing on the artwork as well as the antics of Ramona.

Along with lots of fabulous drawings to enjoy, there are essays by novelist Annie Barrows and Jacqueline Rogers, one of the artists, as well as some of the correspondence between Cleary and Louis Darling, the original illustrator. It's typical for the illustrator or cover artist and the book's author to never cross paths. Cleary and Darling only met once in twenty years of working on the same books, but they left several letters to each other, which are reproduced here.

I can imagine that Cleary fans will certainly love this large format book, but also those with an interest in graphic arts and illustration. This was a terrific way for an adult to enjoy kids' books once again!

(Look for this book to be published in September 2020. Thanks to NetGalley and Chronicle Books for a digital review copy.)

Thanks to Netgalley for providing me a free copy of this book in exchange for a honest review.

This is a great story with beautiful illustrations.I had a great time reading it