Susan Kushner facts for kids

Susan Kushner is a character from the popular Ramona book series by Beverly Cleary. She is known as Ramona Quimby's classmate and sometimes rival.

About Susan Kushner

Susan Kushner first appears in the book Beezus and Ramona. Later, when Ramona Quimby starts kindergarten, Susan and Ramona become rivals. This rivalry continues through many books in the series.

In Ramona the Pest, Susan's "S" letters look like worms when she writes them. This happens to many students in Miss Binney's class who have "S" in their names. Her hair is described as "reddish brown" in Ramona the Pest. However, in Ramona's World, her hair is called blonde.

Susan and Ramona's Relationship

Susan is often shown as being a bit snobby and always trying to be perfect. In her first book, her beautiful curls catch Ramona's eye. Ramona pulls Susan's curls out of curiosity, which leads to Ramona getting suspended from kindergarten.

A year later, in another book, Susan copies a paper bag owl that Ramona made. Ramona had designed a unique owl for an arts and crafts class. When Susan gets praised by the whole class for her copied work, Ramona gets very angry and destroys Susan's owl.

Susan is usually seen as a perfectionist. She is well-behaved, calm, and works hard in class. This is very different from Ramona, who has a big imagination and often gets into trouble by accident. Susan can be a bit of a snob, though. She exaggerated the pain when Ramona tugged her hair to get attention.

In the last book of the series, Susan refuses a slice of cake at Ramona's birthday party. She says it might not be clean and eats an apple instead. But soon after, she cries and admits how hard it is to always try to be perfect for adults. After this, her relationship with Ramona seems to get better. In the same book, it is mentioned that Susan's parents tell Ramona to "be nice."

Susan in the Movie

In the movie Ramona and Beezus, Sierra McCormick plays Susan. In the film, Susan is shown as more of a bully than in the books. She acts stuck-up and full of herself. She even auditions to be a princess mascot for a famous peanut butter brand. She wears a tiara at school, but we don't know if she got the part.