This series of books is new to our household. My avid little readers received this one and I thought it worthy of some space here on brainfood. Let me tell you why. Clementine is a cute, quirky girl character I enjoyed a lot. Clementine is talented and she is in gifted math at school, as she will tell you quickly in her story.
She has crazy orange hair, is impulsive and has renamed her darling little brother peas or broccoli or radish or whatever vegetable name she feels appropriate on any given day. That’s partly out of spite that her parents have given her the name of a fruit. You can almost hear the huffy disdain in the main character’s voice. Although this book is a tiny bit Junie B. Jones combined with the various other cute girl characters that are so popular amongst the grade school set, this one stood out to me for a couple of reasons. I like that Clementine is quite clearly a girl with gifted abilities and a bit of ADHD (attention deficit hyperactivity disorder). I know that Grandma didn’t know that when she bought this book for my darling Payton’s ninth birthday. But the character is not your average little girl. I love how Clementine gives us funny insights into her abilities and the way she sees it. She often states that she is always getting in trouble for not paying attention, but she also describes it as hyperattentiveness to other stuff ( which is pretty much how I see both of my children’s abilities on most days of the week). “I got busy working on my project, so I wouldn’t have to hear any: “Clementine-pay-attention’s!”. Except I did anyway.Which was unfair because each time I was the only person in the whole art room who was paying attention which is why I could tell everyone right in the middle of the Pledge of Allegiance that the lunch room lady was sitting in the janitor’s car and they were kissing. Again. No one else saw this disgusting scene because noone else was paying attention out the window!” Clementine has a prissy friend Margaret who is in fourth grade and lives in the same building as the title character. Margaret and Clementine together just cannot seem to stop getting into trouble. The trouble starts when Margaret tries to trim glue from her hair and Clementine tries to help, but instead gets blamed for everything. Clementine is a good friend and a good big sister and a cute girl with a big imagination and a strong creative spirit. I am already seeking the rest of this series out for the children because this book was so cute and it lent itself well to my nightly read out loud format with dramatic reenactments. It is intended for ages 7-10.
I give this book a solid $$$$1/2 out of $$$$$. Price is right and material engaging. Some parents may find her hijinks to be too much and her mouth to be too much (like Junie B. she has a knack for finding trouble.)
Clementine is written by Sara Pennypacker and cover notes it was a New York Times bestseller. Illustrated by Marla Frazee. Price is $4.99 in the U.S. , Paperback, Hyperion Paperbacks for Children.