On her first day, Ramona is teased by a boy in her class. In the end, Ramona gathers the courage to talk to her teacher about the remark and learns that it was not about her, but about the nuisance of getting egg out of hair. The result is that when she is truly sick one day she puts off saying anything until it is too late and she throws up in class, causing her further embarrassment. Ramona spends the next several weeks of school trying not to be a nuisance to her teacher.

She overhears her teacher say 'What a nuisance', and mistakenly believes the remark to be about her personally. When Ramona's mother mistakenly puts a raw egg in her lunch box instead of the hard-boiled egg she is expecting, Ramona ends up with egg in her hair from cracking the shell on her head. The author also acknowledges that events that might seem trivial to an adult may be extremely important to a child. The story is told from Ramona's point of view, with sympathy for the confusion she sometimes experiences when she does not fully understand what she sees and hears.

At home, Ramona observes the strain that financial concerns are placing on her family but affirms that they are still a happy family. Ramona endures some embarrassing episodes at school and learns to address a misunderstanding she has with her teacher. Ramona Quimby, Age 8, is a story of a young third-grader's experiences as she starts a new school year at a new school and deals with family stresses.

Ramona quimby age 8 pages