Clementine by Sara Pennypacker

Published in 2006. 136 pages.
Pictures by Marla Frazee.


First sentence: I have had not so good of a week.

Basic premise of the book: Clementine is an "after-eight"-year-old third grader with red hair. She lives in an apartment building with her parents - her father manages the building, and her mother is an artist - and with her little brother - whom she calls things like Spinach and Radish, on the basis that if she has to live with a fruit name, then he can have a vegetable name. Her best friend Margaret also lives in the building. Clementine is often told to "pay attention" but believes that she is the only one who is paying attention - for example, she's the only one who was paying attention out the window during the Pledge of Allegiance and saw the lunchroom lady kissing the janitor. Clementine likes to say, "Okay, fine." As it says on the book jacket, "Sara Pennypacker and Marla Frazee have created a quirky, hilarious, and altogether unforgettable character in Clementine."

Why I read this book: Clementine was this month's pick for the mother-daughter book club, hosted by our local library, that Sugar Plum and I have been attending.

What I thought of this book: An absolute delight! I truly laughed out loud, and my heart was warmed.

To whom would I recommend this book: I've already recommended it to my sister for her six-year-old twin girls. I'm hoping that Sugar Bear will also read it. I think most children ages six to eleven would enjoy it, and that moms - like me - would enjoy it too. One additional book in the series has already been published - The Talented Clementine - with Clementine's Letter due out this year.

2008.6