The last few weeks my nightstand has hosted a battle of little girl book vs little girl book and author memoir vs. author memoir.

First up is Ramona Quimby vs. Harriet Welsch.

Don't think I'm too much of a boob, but I'd never read any of the Ramona books until a few weeks ago. After Patti Lee Gauch's rousing Sassy talk at our October SCBWI meeting I knew I had to find out more about this funny little girl and her talented author.

Ramona the Pest couldn't be better. Hilarious, not dated, with a crystal clear voice and super snappy dialogue. I know NOW that Beezus and Ramona comes first, forgive me, I'll get to it. I'm sad I missed out on Ramona at my Ramona age. At the time I thought the books looked baby-ish and never wanted to open them opting instead for John Fitzgerald's (drawings by Mercer Mayer) Great Brain series. I do remember enjoying Dear Mr. Henshaw, but why didn't anyone force me to read Ramona for my own good? MOM and NANA I'm talking to you.

I can't be so glowing about Harriet the Spy, though. I REALLY wanted to love it--I've always wanted to be a spy and was intrigued by the article about Harriet and Louise in the Horn Book. I can remember loving the title, cover, and chapter illustrations as a kid, but I'm pretty darn sure I never read the accompanying text. Harriet had moments of briliance, but it wasn't as snappy or timeless as I found Ramona. I know, from all the great articles written about Louise and from mention of her in Dear Genius, how important Harriet was. Maybe I have no right to compare them, but Ramona wins for me for now.

Next: Beverly Cleary vs. Betty MacDonald.

Both fairly local ladies, both with thoroughly engaging memoirs. Mrs. Piggle-Wiggle I couldn't get ENOUGH of when younger. I dream of spending a night at Betty's old place. But I am still slogging through the Egg and I and it isn't all it's cracked up to be.

A Girl From Yamhill chronicles Beverly Bunn's life from birth to highschool graduation. The beginning is lovely, funny, poignant, and gives you glimpses of the real Ramona. As the Depression rages on and Beverly gets older her family falls apart a little bit. The passages about teen Beverly's interactions with her mother made me cringe inside. Still, A Girl From Yamhill had me wanting to finish, to see how Beverly would triumph and continue to find humor and joy in her everyday Portland life.

To be fair, I still need to finish the Egg and I and read the second of Beverly's autobiographies, My Own Two Feet. While The Egg and I started strong, it has become a chore for me to finish this book. It has ruined my romantic thoughts of owning a chicken farm someday or trying to live off the grid. Normally, I'm all for continuously ridiculing your neighbors, but there are so few passages without judgement or complaint that Egg and I is leaving me curdled. I want to love it. Some of her descriptions of the Northwest are so spot on and so poetic that it might be worth reading just for those. But I can also get that from Sometimes A Great Notion so...

For now Beverly takes the cake. Following Beverly's "college prepatory course" I would happily make her a potato caramel cake, quick chocolate cake, Arabian spice cake, Lady Baltimore cake, prize devil's food cake, walnut loaf cake...Beverly can bake all of these. Please believe this is not the only reason I picked her.

Jaime