Ramona the Brave by Beverly Cleary

Newbery Medal–winning author Beverly Cleary lovingly chronicles the ups and downs of elementary school woes. This is perfect for fans of Clementine.

For a girl as enthusiastic about life as Ramona, starting the first grade should be easy! But with a teacher who doesn't understand her, a tattletale classmate, and a scary dog who follows her on the walk home from school, Ramona has a hard time acting like the big girl everyone expects her to be. But when she shows up to school with a missing shoe, Ramona gets a fresh grip on her courage in order to make it through a mortifying situation.