Clementine
by Sara Pennypacker
Bibliography
Pennypacker, S.(2006). Clementine. New York: Hyperion Books for Children ISBN 0-7868-3882-5
Summary
Clementine is not having a good week and it is quite surprising given that she has more great ideas pop in her head than any other third grader you’ve ever met! When her best friend, Margaret, cuts the glue out of her in the school bathroom Clementine takes the strongest red marker she has and colors some curls onto Margaret's head. Then just prove she is a good friend, she cuts all her own hair off and colors it green. It is a never a dull moment throughout the story as Clementine’s great ideas seldom turn out quite as she plans.
My Impression
This is a fun story! Clementine is misguided but lovable and you can’t help but laugh as you read how her “spectacular ideas are always springing up in (her) brain”. I think this book would especially appeal to second and third grade girls but I have no doubt that boys would appreciate Clementine sense of humor; like calling her little brother vegetable names and fighting the great pigeon war with her dad. A great story to read aloud, read alone, or share with a reading group.
Reviews
From School Library Journal
Grade 2-4–Clementine, a not-so-common third grader, knows her way around the principal's office as well as she does the art-supply closet. Daily rituals take on a different view when seen from her eyes. She's constantly being told that she needs to pay attention, but to her mind she is paying attention and making astute observations. Whether looking out the window during the Pledge of Allegiance at the janitor locked in an embrace with the lunch lady or dealing with a pesky pigeon problem at her apartment building, her concentration is always focused. Clementine goes to great lengths to be friends with fourth-grade neighbor, Margaret, but more times than not, both girls end up in trouble. Humorous scenarios tumble together, blending picturesque dialogue with a fresh perspective as only the unique Clementine can offer…A delightful addition to any beginning chapter-book collection.–Cheryl Ashton, Amherst Public Library, OH
From Booklist
As Clementine says, "Spectacularful ideas are always sproinging up in my brain." All the better for readers who like to laugh… Clementine is an ingenuous third-grader with a talent for trouble and a good heart. Her best friend is her neighbor Margaret, a fourth-grader who experiences both qualities firsthand. After all, plenty of kids may have had their hair chopped off by a helpful friend in an effort to get the glue out, but how many of those friends would think to improve matters by drawing hair back on the scalp, forehead, and neck with a Flaming Sunset permanent marker? "It looked beautiful, like a giant tattoo of tangled worms," Clementine observes in the fresh, funny, first-person narrative. Frazee's expressive ink drawings capture every nuance of the characters' emotions, from bemusement to anger to dejection. Sometimes touching and frequently amusing, this engaging chapter book is well suited to reading alone or reading aloud to a roomful of children. Carolyn Phelan
Suggested Activities
Clementine does not like having the name of a fruit, so she calls her brother by vegetable names throughout the story. She also thinks that, “the most exquisite words in the world are on labels you find in the bathroom”; which is how Margaret’s cat ends up with the name Mascara. Have students research their own name meanings or have them research name meanings and choose a new name for themselves that best describes their personality.
Under Clementine’s bed is referred to as, “The Black Hole” in the story. Have students brainstorm and write about some crazy thing they could find under their bed while cleaning their room.
Clementine is always being told to “pay attention” in school; use a projector or overhead to show students a picture of a group of objects. After turning it off, ask students to write down everything they recall from the picture.
