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Hosted by Books Are My Favourite and Best on the first Saturday of every month, this meme asks us to start with one title and create a chain of bookish connections to see where it takes us. This month, to commemorate Beverly Cleary’s death in March, we’re starting with Beezus and Ramona, the first in the Ramona books. I actually re-read this while we were based in Portland, Oregon, Ms. Cleary and Ramona’s hometown, with my husband’s job last year. I even wrote about a walking tour of their neighborhood, if you’d like to check that out. My chain takes us through classic and soon-to-be-classic children’s literature.
Beezus and Ramona (Beverly Cleary)–Beezus and Ramona are sisters. They have their squabbles, as most siblings do, but they love each other.
The Penderwicks (Jeanne Birdsall)–The Penderwicks are four sisters who are a bit gentler together than Beezus and Ramona. In the first book of this series, they make a new friend whose mom really doesn’t like them that much.
Anne of Green Gables (L. M. Montgomery)–Anne and Diana become best friends at their first meeting. Diana’s mom doesn’t care for Anne after an unfortunate mix-up but she eventually changes her mind.
The Evolution of Calpurnia Tate (Jacqueline Kelly)–Calpurnia’s grandfather is intimidating and dismissive at first but he ultimately relaxes with Calpurnia and becomes a mentor for his scientifically-minded granddaughter.
A Wrinkle in Time (Madeleine L’Engle)–Meg Murry is a lackluster student who is unsure of herself and feels like an oddball at school. But she’s actually a brilliant scientist and mathematician whose father is missing.
Artemis Fowl (Eoin Colfer)–Artemis Fowl’s father is missing too. In his absence, Artemis takes charge of the family’s criminal empire and discovers that fairies are real.
The Girl Who Circumnavigated Fairyland in a Ship of Her Own Making (Catherynne M. Valente)–September meets fairies too when she breezes off to fairyland while her dad is at war and her mom is working in a factory.
In a slight reach, I’ll connect back to the beginning by declaring that if Ramona found herself in fairyland, she would build her own ship and explore every corner as well. And the fairies would probably call her a pest!
Where do your connections take you? Link up at Books Are My Favourite and Best!
10 Comments
The only one of these I’ve read is Anne of Green Gables, but my children also enjoyed the Artemis Fowl books. And I love the idea of anyone called Calpurnia!
(As an aside, Portland is somewhere I have always wanted to visit, ever since, as a schoolgirl, I found a copy of James Beard’s Delights and Prejudices memoir in our local library. The world of his childhood was completely alien to me; I was probably only 12 or 13 at the time but I found it fascinating, so much so that I recently bought a second hand copy to reread. Now his recipes remind me of the Alice B Toklas cookbook – butter, eggs, cream, alcohol, truffles…. It’s amazing how long these people lived!)
I haven’t read any of James Beard’s work but Portland is definitely a foodie town! We were disappointed to be there during the pandemic, when there wasn’t much open. We’d consider going back when things are “normal.” Oregon is a beautiful state!
I love your last link back to the beginning for this one! I’ve recently starting reading Ramona’s World (#8 in the series) as my own tribute to Ms. Cleary and her impact on young-me. I hope to be able to spend some time in Portland (semi) soon so that I can check out that walking tour.
I hope you get to go to Portland! Do I remember correctly that you have family there? There are more exciting things to see than the Beverly Cleary walking tour, but it was so much fun to see places that fired up my imagination as a kid.
I have family in the Seattle area, but we have friends in the Portland area. Lots of reasons to visit the PNW… once travel is safe again. Hopefully soon.
This was like a walk down memory lane! Green Gables is of course a perennial favorite, but so also Wrinkle in Time. And I’m currently listing to the audiobook for Girl who circumnavigated… let’s see how that goes.
Despite being from the right generation to have done so, I haven’t even read Anne of Green Gables. I have a lot of catching up to do!
I don’t know the Cleary books, but I’m guessing you’re right that fairies would have found her to be a pest! Great chain!
Such good childhood memories here! Love the Calpurnia Tate cover!
Hi Jen! Your link might be a bit of a stretch, but you’ve reached it pretty marvelously and it makes perfect sense to me. I love it!
May you have a wonderful May!
Elza Reads