[ SECRET POST #3752 ]

[case]

⌈ Secret Post #3752 ⌋

Warning: Some secrets are NOT worksafe and may contain SPOILERS.

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Notes:

Secrets Left to Post: 01 pages, 16 secrets from Secret Submission Post #536.
Secrets Not Posted: [ 0 - broken links ], [ 0 - not!secrets ], [ 0 - not!fandom ], [ 0 - too big ], [ 0 - repeat ].
Current Secret Submissions Post: here.
Suggestions, comments, and concerns should go here.

Comments

[fscom]

07. https://i.imgur.com/GneoS8f.png

[(Anonymous)]

Oh god, same, OP. I'm not sure I've ever read another author who totally nails those moments of childhood bewilderment and embarrassment like Cleary does. But what gets to me are the parts about her family not having much money (where Ramona doesn't really understand it) and her parents fighting. It was all too real, and you still don't see books for young kids that are so realistic about those issues.

[(Anonymous)]

I read those books when I was a kid and I don't remember any of this.

[(Anonymous)]

Huh. Maybe I'm misremembering but wasn't there an incident where someone didn't switch on the crockpot and spoiled dinner? And they were eating pancakes for dinner, not necessarily because they were awesome (not that Ramona knew that) but because they were a cheap meal?

[(Anonymous)]

NAYRT

I remember that part so well! It really stuck with me because, up until then, all the books I'd read had parents who didn't fight. I remember Ramona feeling the same way I felt when my parents fought. Wasn't there also a chapter where the dad gifts Ramona and Beezus erasers and there's an acknowledgement that the family doesn't have much money to spare? I also remember them washing their hair in the sink to save money.

[(Anonymous)]

And didn't they eat the jack-o-lantern pumpkin even though Picky-picky had been nomming on it?

[el_regrs]

I remember several food-related scenes, so maybe that was one of them?

I also remember the parents challenging the girls to make dinner because they complained about eating tongue.

Oh, but money issues? I remember something about Mr. Quimby losing his job and buying the girls gummy bears, which they eat while listening to their parents talk about the situation.

Hahaha, all these memories coming at me after twenty-something years or so. Pardon me.

[(Anonymous)]

I remember reading about that crockpot incident when I was a kid! Which Ramona book is that in?

[(Anonymous)]

+1, I read these as a kid and totally didn't get that the parents were fighting (and the dad had to quit his dream job because he didn't make enough money) but I really empathised with the girls not getting things they wanted when other kids did.

[randomdrops]

I remember enjoying them as a kid, but I think if I tried to read them now it'd just be awkward or sad.

(As in my feelings while reading, not that reading kids books as an adult is sad....In re-reading I thought that seemed unclear. Now I'm just rambling.)

[(Anonymous)]

I don't know what happens in Romona Quimby, but I had a very similar reaction to Harriet the Spy. I appreciate your effort in working through the story and making this secret, and hope that life is much better for you.

[el_regrs]

wait wait wait

there's an audiobook of the Ramona Quimby stories and it's narrated by Stockard Channing?!

I NEED THIS NOW

OP

[(Anonymous)]

If you have a smartphone and your library has access to it, there's an app called hoopla that lets you borrow audiobooks (and ebooks, movies, comics, etc) which is where I got it. :) They have a limited amount of downloads per month so I got the full set rather than the individual titles.

[(Anonymous)]

There's that moment in Ramona the Pest when the neighbor lady asks "cat got your tongue?" and Ramona sticks her tongue out to show that the cat hasn't got it, and she gets in trouble. And as a kid of about 8, I had to shut the book and stop reading. What I wish I'd realized (and would have learned had I gone on reading) was that bad moments like this can be got through.

[(Anonymous)]

"cat got your tongue" is such a dumb expression that it deserves that response, frankly.

Happy Birthday Beverly Cleary

[(Anonymous)]

I don't know if case did this on purpose or if I asked him to and forgot about it but <3 U <3 anyway she's 101 today.

Re: Happy Birthday Beverly Cleary

[(Anonymous)]

SHE'S STILL ALIVE? holy moly that's impressive.

Re: Happy Birthday Beverly Cleary

[el_regrs]

Yup, there was some Today Show special on her last year -- I was surprised as well. Her writing was definitely one of the better parts of my childhood.

Re: Happy Birthday Beverly Cleary

[(Anonymous)]

I saw it was her birthday and couldn't believe how old she was. I hope she's having a great birthday!

[(Anonymous)]

I grew up poor and my parents used to fight a lot so apart from the general entertainment of the Ramona books, I remember feeling kind of validated by them because everything wasn't perfect and the characters had problems I could directly relate to

[(Anonymous)]

Same. Many of her experiences were similar to my own and it was oddly satisfying to read about a kid who didn't always get the cool toy at the end or whose family money woes were solved by a miracle. I'm glad they're still popular.

[(Anonymous)]

Same. I remember little scenes (Ramona wanting a burger she saw on TV that her parents couldn't afford, her parents getting into a big fight over a crockpot meal) that really resonated with me.

[(Anonymous)]

I loved these books as a kid! Cleary really was amazing at capturing childhood.

[alwaysbeenasmiler]

OH THE NOSTALGIA! I loved those books as a kid and I really need to listen to the audiobook!

I think the only other book that I loved more then the ramona series was Harriet the Spy-- now that was a book that narrated the inner monologue I had as a child

[lazchan]

Ramona was my girl and so many of her moments I could relate to. Even now, I look back at her family and her troubles... I had so many times where I was excited to read someone that did childhood so well. My clearest memories from Ramona books is them making chicken and them not wanting to touch the skin and my personal favorite is the egg-cracking incident in school and the Drop Everything and Read. D.E.A.R completely bowled me over because not very long after reading that book, my teacher did that concept! I about leaped out of my seat to tell the teacher that I knew what the letters stood for.

Ramona was hurt and scolded and misjudged by her teachers and I cannot think of any other authors who really understood that struggle.