Beezus Quimby

Beatrice Ann "Beezus" Quimby is a character from the Henry Huggins and Ramona series of books by Beverly Cleary. She is the friend of Henry and Mary Jane and the older sister of Ramona and Roberta. Beezus earned her nickname from Ramona, who had a hard time saying "Beatrice" as a toddler. Beezus' real name comes from her Aunt Beatrice, her mother's sister, for whom Beezus has a deep admiration and whom she idolizes.

In the "Henry Huggins" series of books, Beezus is depicted as an intelligent neighbor girl, Henry's close friend, who is constantly pestered by her infuriating younger sister (and best friend) Ramona. The first and only book to shift to her viewpoint rather than that of Henry, Beezus and Ramona, chronicles the sibling rivalry between the two girls and the irritating stunts performed by Ramona that agitate her older sister. From then onward, after the series has completely jumped to centering on Ramona's life, Beezus is depicted as an intelligent, studious girl and a typical elder sibling towards Ramona, taunting her and aggravating her. However, in Ramona and her Father, Beezus adopts a grouchier attitude because of her father's unemployment, albeit toward the ending of the book her mood is enlightened a bit as a result of her selection to portray the Blessed Virgin Mary in the upcoming Nativity play. She is usually kind, but teases Ramona nonetheless and agitates her with the sisterly wisdom she has to share, such as Ramona's being forced to wear Beezus's hand-me-downs and the fact that they have experienced similar dreams before in the past, leading Ramona to wonder if some dreams are inherited.