Ramona the Pest

Beatrice (known as “Beezus”) is Ramona’s older sister. Ramona watched Beezus go through school, and Ramona is always a few steps behind her in growing up. Beezus appears in Chapter 1, when Ramona is being a “pest” before her first day in school; she also appears in Chapter 4, when Ramona goes to the principal’s office. In Chapter 8, Beezus cannot help but laugh at Ramona’s idea that a “dawnzer” is a lamp. Beezus is friends with Henry Huggins, one of the traffic boys at Glenwood School. Her actions suggest that she’s not entirely supportive of Ramona, and that she finds her sister annoying and ridiculous.

Mrs. Quimby is Ramona’s mother. She is patient with Ramona, but she can also be stern. In Chapters 7 and 8, Mrs. Quimby does not force Ramona to attend kindergarten—Mrs. Quimby understands that Ramona must want to return on her own. Cleary doesn’t give any details about Mrs. Quimby’s physical appearance, though she is a consistent presence throughout the book.

Miss Binney is Ramona’s kindergarten teacher, who Ramona adores and admires very much. In fact, there is nothing Ramona wants more than to please Miss Binney and win her approval. In Chapter 1, Ramona describes as being “so young and pretty” that “she could not have been a grown-up very long” (9). In Chapter 7, Ramona is “filled” with “love for her teacher” (172). In Chapter 8, only when Ramona realizes that Miss Binney is not mad at her does Ramona decide that she is able to return to kindergarten—in fact, Ramona is ecstatic to learn that Miss Binney still loves her. Miss Binney’s conversation with Mrs. Quimby suggests that Miss Binney understands Ramona better than she realizes, saying the girl is bright and creative but seeks negative attention. Miss Binney can’t, however, allow children to be harming one another, and asking Ramona to leave until she can stop pulling Susan’s hair is Miss Binney’s way of encouraging Ramona’s impulse control. 

Howie is Ramona’s neighbor, classmate, and the son of Mrs. Kemp, who is a friend of Mrs. Quimby. Howie is a sullen little boy, who Ramona regards as a “tattletale” (32). On Halloween, Howie’s original costume gets soiled, so he must wear a hand-me-down black cat costume, which makes him sad: “Ramona could see that Howie was not going to be any fun at all, not even on Halloween” (145). On their first day of kindergarten, Ramona describes Howie as “a solid-looking boy with curly blond hair […] He did not look the least bit excited about starting kindergarten. That was the trouble with Howie, Ramona felt. He never got excited” (6). He shows the same disinterest when he borrows Ramona’s blue bunny for show-and-tell after throwing a tantrum, suggesting he may be a little spoiled. He proves to be mature in other ways, however, when he fixes Ramona’s tricycle.