Together with Raymie, they become the Three Rancheros, stumbling into mischief around town and beginning to see past their own problems. Beverly has little use for the Little Miss Central Florida Tire competition–in fact, she’d like to sabotage it–but Louisiana wants to take home the crown and the $1,975 that comes with it. (And I say that with only having read the synopsis of Beverly’s story, which seems to have a similar theme to Joe’s.Raymie’s classmates in baton-twirling lessons are Beverly Tapinski, whose father is also MIA and whose mother leaves bruises on her face, and Louisiana Elefante, an orphan whose grandmother can only afford to feed her canned tuna fish. To sum it up, if you have read James Howe’s The Misfits, Addie on the Inside and Totally Joe you have read an edgier Three Rancheros. Therefore, Beverly (the third Ranchero of the trio) and her book, Beverly, Right Here, is going to be an interesting conclusion. And because of that, for me this became Louisiana’s story and Raymie just narrates it. I do think I need to reread Louisiana’s story, as I do not remember her being the way she is in Raymie’s story.

(Though one Goodreads reviewer did say that the pageant and baton twirling might not be relatable to her students.) It is a quick read for an adult and a real story of life and friendship with all the things kids want to do (rescue dead cats sabotage pageants run away have a crazy granny). With all that said, it is a sweet, classically DiCamillo story. If you know this fact, the theme is not lost, but what 8 to 12-year-old knows this? If DiCamillo was going to set the story (at the time) 30 years ago, maybe something from that time should be acknowledged? The country was “coming of age” as Raymie is. The setting is June 1975 but could have easily been set today. She hopes, wishes and of course, finds friends while learning about the crazy world and all the crazy colorful people in it. Even learn to twirl a baton and join a local beauty pageant so when she wins, he will see her picture in the newspaper and realize how wonderful she is and come home. Mom is depressed and girl will do whatever she can to get him back home. Maybe it was because I was introduced to her first, or maybe because I have heard Raymie’s story before: the father leaves his family for another woman.

You can read them out of sequence, but it helps a little to know what happened in Raymie’s world first.īecause of this order of reading, I think Louisiana’s story was stronger. I read Louisiana’s Way Home a few years back and just finished Raymie Nightingale yesterday afternoon. I read Kate DiCamillo’s Three Rancheros series out of order.

Raymie nightingale reviews