Determined to be brave, six-year-old Ramona Quimby has to deal with starting first grade, her mother's new job, and a teacher who does not understand how hard it is for Ramona to grow up.
Ramona meets lots of interesting people in kindergarten class, like Davy whom she keeps trying to kiss and Susan whose springy curls seem to ask to be pulled.
Maggie resists learning cursive writing in the third grade, until she discovers that knowing how to read and write cursive promises to open up an entirely new world of knowledge for her.