In “Ramona and Beezus,” Beatrice “Beezus” Quimby must deal with an imaginative younger sister, played by Selena Gomez.

Joey King is the perfect pick as Ramona Quimby in the new family-friendly film based on Beverly Cleary’s books. Someone should hurry up and invent a time-freezing machine so Joey can stay this age for future projects.

The screenplay by Laurie Craig and Nick Pustay throws out a host of emotional challenges for Joey, from major family disasters to one of the worst school picture days in history.