Ramona the Pest

We recently finished reading Ramona the Pest, which was particularly fun because my mother read it to me when I was young. Plus, it's a good book.

One thing struck me as particularly interesting. In the last chapter, the mother has to go somewhere with Ramona's older sister in the morning. She leaves Ramona in the house alone and tells her, "At quarter past eight, you need to leave for school." But Ramona gets confused about what "quarter past" means and ends up being late for school.

Can you imagine?

In the first place, where we live it would take at least a full half hour to walk to the local elementary school, and you would have to walk down a high-traffic street (although it does have a sidewalk.) I can't imagine a five year old taking a walk like that all alone.

In the second place, today you'd be probably be arrested if people found out you left your five year old home alone, even briefly.