Ramona the Pest / Beverly Cleary / 192 pgs.

I've been reading this book to my kids.  My oldest is in Kindergarten, and I think she really enjoyed hearing about a character her own age.

This is the first in the "Ramona Quimby" series, and its all about Ramona's first year of school.  Ramona tries very hard to be good, but she has yet to learn the self control that comes with maturity.  Therefore, it leads to frustrations, misunderstandings and a lot of timeouts.  Ramona's wild imagination and good intentions makes this a fun and enjoyable read.  I also think that kids can really connect with Ramona and see that even though she is not perfect and she gets angry, frustrated, sad; it's still okay and she is still loved and accepted by her friends, family, and educators.