When Ramona and Her Father was written in 1977, the US was suffering from economic recession and stagflation that kept prices high and unemployment rising. Perhaps it's not a surprise that the book is about Mr. Quimby losing his job and the family feeling the financial strain.
In the same decade, the anti-smoking movement started, coinciding with Mr. Quimby's newfound smoking habit due to stress and Ramona's attempt to get him off of it before he gets lung cancer.
Howie's uncle is an oil engineer who has worked in Saudi Arabia and is heading to a new worksite in Alaska after he marries Ramona's Aunt Beatrice. The oil shortages and embargoes which were in part responsible for the 1970s recession spurred the United States to explore for new sources of oil in the subsequent decade so as to not be as vulnerable to OPEC or other global oil shocks.
Write What You Know: Beverly Cleary drew on many experiences from her own childhood for Ramona's experiences. For example, the family's struggles when Mr. Quimby is unemployed in Ramona and Her Father was drawn from the Cleary family's struggles during the Great Depression, the young Beverly misheard the words "dawn's early light" in "The Star-Spangled Banner" as "dawnzer lee light" just like Ramona does, and the incident in Ramona Quimby, Age 8 of Ramona thinking she overhears her teacher calling her a "nuisance" is a Lighter and Softer reimagining of a moment when eight-year-old Beverly's teacher really did call her a nuisance.
Louis Darling, the illustrator of the Ramona books until his death in 1970, drew Ramona with a short, dark haircut with bangs that has been used as a reference by subsequent illustrators even as they changed her wardrobe to more contemporary styles. The original Ramona illustrations are based on childhood photos of Cleary, who wore short hair with bangs when she was very young.
Trivia for the TV adaptation
Dawson Casting: Surprisingly averted. She's actually played by an 8-year-old, and the series is set in third grade.
Aunt Bea is played by Kirsten Bishop, best known for playing Zoicite in the first English dub of Sailor Moon.
Nerene Virgin, best known as Jodie on Today's Special, plays Ramona's school secretary, Mrs. Larson.
Keep Circulating the Tapes: Due to a combination of not being particularly well known and the distribution rights being passed around like a hot potato, the series has not been released on DVD. It can, however, be watched on YouTube.
Race Lift: Susan, who is white in the books and the 2010 film adaptation, is black here.
Self-Adaptation: Beverly Cleary had a lot of creative control over the series; she had script approval and the ability to rewrite scripts. According to this interview, other studios approached Cleary about adapting the Ramona Quimby books. She always turned them down because they wouldn't give her script approval rights.
, other studios approached Cleary about adapting the Ramona Quimby books. She always turned them down because they wouldn't give her script approval rights.