The First Day of School Summary

The first chapter opens as Ramona Quimby is preparing for her first day in the third grade. She is excited at the prospect of riding the bus to school for the first time, feeling it is a privilege. She teases her older sister, Beezus, who has to walk to her school. Ramona is dreading the "little talking-to" she expects her parents are likely to give her about behaving properly. She is feeling grown up because of the bus ride and does not wish to be talked to like a child who has to be reminded to behave.

Ramona's parents are also preparing for their days. Her mother is dressed in a white uniform for her job as a receptionist at a doctor's office. Her father is also going to school, having recently quit his full...