Ramona and Her Mother

It’s a Wednesday in February, and Mrs. Quimby prepares a pot roast in the Crock-Pot before leaving for work. Ramona knows her father dislikes Wednesdays because all the prices in the store change, and he must memorize them. Despite this, Mr. Quimby sings a funny, made-up song as he leaves for work. On the way to school, Beezus and Ramona both agree they hope their father will eventually like his job. Ramona suggests that he just quit, but Beezus explains that finding employment is difficult because their father never finished college when he and their mom got married and became pregnant with her.

Ramona’s teacher is on maternity leave, and Mrs. Rudge is their substitute. Ramona likes her, but she isn’t sure what Mrs. Rudge thinks of her. Ramona struggles with spelling, and Mrs. Rudge corrects her misspelling of “like”; Ramona had written “lick.” When Ramona explains that she can’t spell, Mrs. Rudge says, “There is no such a word as can’t” (65). Ramona thinks this is preposterous because there are many things people can’t do. She assumes Mrs. Rudge is lying to her because she doesn’t like her. At lunch, Ramona discovers her mother sent a pot-roast sandwich, which she doesn’t like, so she throws it away and broods over Mrs.