Ramona Quimby is seven and a half - "right now", as she likes to say. With her rapid growing come many changes, including new pajamas so cozy that Ramona wears them under her clothes to school. But even though Ramona's getting bigger, she sometimes feels left out of the more grown-up relationship between her older sister, Beezus, and their busy working mom. Mrs. Quimby tells friends she "couldn't get along without Beezus", but does this mean she doesn't...

Ramona's year in third grade is highlighted by the arrival of Howie's rich Uncle Hobart, a change in her after-school situation, a surprise wedding, a death and a new arrival in the family, and her father's getting a job.