Starred review from July 1, 2008
Gr 2-4-Irrepressible and delightful Clementine is back. She is enjoying third gradeshe is in sync with her teacher, Mr. D'Matz, and is rarely sent to speak with Principal Rice, a major accomplishment in her school life. Then Mr. D'Matz is selected as one of three finalists for an Adventures for Teachers archaeological dig in Egypt and leaves for a week to meet with the committee. Clementine is distraught to learn that if chosen as the winner, he will be gone for the rest of the school year. When the substitute arrives, Clementine learns that she has to follow completely different rules. The next week is not an easy one for the child as she adjusts to Mrs. Nagel, worries about losing Mr. D'Matz, copes with her everyday life as an impulsive eight-year-old, and frets about the letter she is supposed to write to the prize committee about her teacher. Through it all, she shines with a vibrant spirit that can never be completely extinguished, even when she is feeling down. Frazee's pen-and-ink drawings perfectly capture Clementine's personality and her world."Terrie Dorio, Santa Monica Public Library, CA"
Copyright 2008 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.
April 1, 2008
Popular Clementine returns, with a problem onher hands. Her teacher, Mr. DMatz, has been nominated to take part in a program that may win him a trip to Egypt, meaning hell be gone for the rest of the year. Trouble starts immediately. Mr. DMatz leaves for a week of training, and the substitute just doesnt understand the arrangementsClementines worked out with her teacher to make life easier forthem both. So unhappy is sheabout Mr. DMatzspossible departure that when the class is asked to write supportiveletters to the selection committee, she goes a different waya much different way.Although occasionally Clementine sounds more like Pennypacker than herself, books in this seriestie together all the elements that make the bestmiddle-grade fiction: realistic families, the ups and downs of school life, and an awareness of a how a kids mind works. Clementine is a kissing cousinto Beverly Clearys Ellen Tebbits and Ramona Quimby, and Frazees perfect line drawings make this link even stronger.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2008, American Library Association.)
July 1, 2008
Just as the bouncy Clementine is finally getting the hang of third grade, with the help of her very understanding teacher, she learns that he is a finalist in a contest to study in his beloved Egypt. While he is away for a preliminary week, Clementine immediately gets into difficulties with the substitute. "I can't guess Mrs. Nagel's rules...She doesn't tell them until it's too late and I'm already in trouble." Clementine tries to sabotage her teacher's trip by writing a negative letter to the award committee, but she redeems herself at the end. Subplots involve Clementine's selling-off of her neighbors' charity donations and a notebook she and her building-superintendent dad use to write a story together. This may be the best entry so far in the series, as Pennypacker develops her ingenious but impulsive character with less reliance on cutesy phrases in Clementine's narration. And Frazee's line drawings go a little further this time in showing Clementine's highly charged emotions and her capacity for creating chaos in her surroundings.
(Copyright 2008 by The Horn Book, Incorporated, Boston. All rights reserved.)
July 1, 2008
Just as Clementine's getting the hang of third grade, she learns her teacher may go study in Egypt. Clementine tries sabotage, but she redeems herself at the end. This may be the best series entry so far, as Pennypacker continues to develop her ingenious but impulsive character. Frazee's black-and-white drawings show Clementine's highly charged emotions and her capacity for creating chaos.
(Copyright 2008 by The Horn Book, Incorporated, Boston. All rights reserved.)