Ramona the Pest

Five-year-old Ramona Quimby arrives at kindergarten certain it will be the best thing that has ever happened to her — and promptly gets sent home after a series of well-intentioned disasters involving her crush on her teacher and an obsession with a classmate's bouncy curls. Beverly Cleary renders Ramona's perspective with such precision that children recognize themselves immediately and adults laugh in recognition too. The humor is warm rather than mocking, and the emotional core — Ramona's fear that her beloved teacher no longer likes her — is genuinely moving. The caveat is that Ramona's behavior (hair-pulling, pestering) may prompt a useful conversation about conduct. A classic for good reason, continuously in print since 1968 and recommended by educators for decades.