Howie Kemp

Howie Kemp is a fictional character in the Ramona series of novels by Beverly Cleary.

Fictional character personality

Howie Kemp is the curly-haired boy who lives next door to Ramona. They're friends, but sometimes they don't like each other. Howie is the polar opposite of Ramona. Ramona is imaginative and easily excited. Howie is analytical, literal, and never gets excited, which frustrates Ramona. When Ramona tells her class that workmen chopped a hole in their house in "Ramona the Brave" to make a new addition, Howie tells the class she is lying. His point is that the workmen pried off some siding and technically did not "chop a hole" in the house.

Howie's Grandmother lives with Howie's family and babysits Ramona after school. Howie's baby sister, Willa Jean Kemp, is pampered by her family and is an annoyance to both Howie and Ramona.

Fictional biography

Howie has a fascination with tools and building things. Mr. Kemp regularly brings scrap wood home for Howie to build projects with. One time, Howie took a wheel off Ramona's tricycle to turn it into a bicycle, which pleased Ramona. Another time, Howie and Ramona made a boat out of scrap wood and tried to make it float in a tub of water. Ramona tried to make it blue by using some bluing liquid. While reaching for it, she spilled it all over both of them. He also made tin can stilts for both of them when Ramona told him that Mrs. Swink did that as a child.Howie is also Ramona's cousin because his Uncle Hobart married Ramona's Aunt Beatrice. Howie and Ramona like to play a game called Brick Factory, where they collect bricks from around the neighborhood and pound them to dust.