Clementine and the spring trip

Gr 2-4-Clementine is busy navigating third grade. Her family is expecting a baby and working on a surprise project for her Mom. Now that spring has sprung, Clementine has planted an apple tree and she's busy watching it grow. Her friend Margaret is going crazy with spring cleaning and worrying about the upcoming field trip to Plimoth Plantation. But that's not all. There's the funky odor on bus seven, and the fourth grade class has rules about eating without making a sound-no slurping, chewing, smacking, or snicking (what is snicking anyway?). Clementine has a lot to be concerned about, but a new student named Olive will help her work through her woes with a few bumps along the way. There's a lot going on in this book (Hyperion, 2013), but in the end Pennypacker ties it all together. Clementine learns important life lessons about growing up, becoming independent, and making choices. She's reminiscent of Ramona, Junie B. Jones, and Judy Moody with her own style and personality that listeners will easily relate to. Jessica Almasy's narration brings life and energy to the characters. The inclusion of sound effects and some music would have made the telling even more engaging.-Jessica Gilcreast, McDonough Elementary, Manchester, NH (c) Copyright 2013. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.

In her sixth book, changes continue for Clementine: her mother's belly is growing bigger, the fourth graders continue their reign of terror over the lunchroom (no crunching of any food!), neighbor Margaret's mother is getting married again, the third grade is going to Plimoth Plantation (and has to eat with the fourth graders!), and new girl Olive is stealing some of our heroine's thunder. Add to that the mystery of the ungodly stench on Bus 7 (which is assigned to Clementine's class for the field trip) and we have classic Clementine. Not only does she solve the mystery of the smelly bus but she also figures out why fussy Margaret is so neurotic and realizes that a new student might be a new friend. Clementine's voice is growing more sophisticated as she gets older, but it's still true to her age and her fans' ages, too. When Margaret finally agrees to join the rebellion and almost crunch her food, Clementine's description is hilarious: "Margaret's bite sounded like a moth's footstep. It sounded like a moth's footstep if the moth was crossing a carpet. And wearing socks." Clementine's family, too, is the kind that readers will want to be a part of -- they take care of and love one another without being cloying. robin l. smith (c) Copyright 2013. The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.