Clementine Friend of the Week (Clementine, 4)

The first reviewer gives away enough of the plot. I just want to say a few words about the quality of the series as a whole.Sara Pennypacker is in the process of writing what may eventually be thought of as one of the best series for young readers in our time. Or she may evolve into someone who pounds out variations on the same formulaic plot. At this point, it is hard to tell. I am a great fan of these books and have read everyone of them to my daughters. This last one seemed to me to start to show signs that the author has perhaps stalled creatively.So what is good about it? Clementine herself is funny, smart and very observant. My own girls love her and totally get her point of view. She is also remarkably kind-hearted. Combine that quality with her powers of observation and she always seems to know exactly the right thing to do to help people in the end.I love her relationship with her brother. She refuses to call him by name. Instead she refers to him by an endless series of vegetable names. Her ability to never use the same name twice is awe-inspiring and displays a wry wit on the part of the author.Another thing I like about the series is Clementine's friend Margaret. Margaret is a more complex character than Clementine and brings a sort of desperate self-assurance to every situation. I like the way Clementine regards her with both awe and annoyance. I think the author catches some of the nuances of the way young kids can be friends and occassional rivals.Margaret and Clementine are really the center of the series. But Clementine's parents, Margaret's brother and especially Clementine's school principal all have their own charms and insights to offer.And as mentioned by all the reviewers of the series the illustrations by Ms. Frazee are outstanding.If you have young readers, especially girls, give this series a chance. I especially loved the second book, The Talented Clementine. But all of them are worth reading to and discussing with your young ones.

During COVID, I have been reading every day via Skype to my 9 year old grandtwins. I researched to find things that they would like, and Clementine has been a part of our day for a few weeks now. We've read all of the books, and they have been absolutely spot on delightful, warm hearted, sweet, endearing, lovely. I highly recommend this series. Read them in order - they're a lot more fun that way. We still recall fond moments in the stories, and use some of her invented words. Don't miss this series. And as a surprise bonus - one of the characters (Waylon) has his own 3 book series; he was one of Clementine's friends, and she's part of his books. We're reading those now. These are absolutely wonderful.

My first grader has developed a fondness for this series, since listening to the Clementine audio CD. We plan on checking out the books as well. When third grader Clementine gets picked as friend of the week, she is predictably over the moon! The perks include being line leader, collecting lunch money, and feeding the classroom pet. But then, as always, Clementine goes a bit overboard. She gets her close friend Margaret to help her get on her classmates' good sides so that they will write wonderful things about her in the booklet that is customarily given out to the friend of the week. Will Clementine save her friendship with Margaret before it is too late?The narration on the audio CD by Jessica Almasy is fun and credibly done, and is unabridged on two CDs, and runs for 2 hours.P.S. Since my last review, I purchased the book for my daughter and she has finished reading it. She loves the story! My daughter said, "There are plenty of good lessons in here mom!"

My daughter is obsessed!

7/8 yr old daughter LOVES the Clementine series. She states they're about a troublemaking girl who learns her lesson. She states the books are funny and entertaining, which draw her in to the point she doesn't want to put the "iPad (through kindle)" down.We download the "Kindle" version down through Safari from the amazon site. Once purchased, we update kindle (app) on her iPad and our cell phones for her to read wherever we are.

I love these books! Tele-reading with granddaughter through Covid. The Clementine series is great practice for her, and humorous and thoughtful reading for me.

Lovely story for third & fourth grade students. This story in particular had my daughter so engaged she lost track of time (and it even made her cry).

We read this book together and it was easy for her to follow

Gifted this book, child loves these books

Clementine books are excellent - my nieces are loving it

The Clementine series has been so good for my daughter who is 7 and has ADHD. She finds the character relatable and it helps her find words for how she is feeling (like being "allergic" to sitting still - it makes her itchy and uncomfortable). This book was a great addition to the series and both she and I enjoyed it.

My daughter would read 100 of these books back-to-back. They are so well-written and really capture how children think. They're absolutely delightful to read.

I cannot praise this series of books enough. Sara's work is wonderful! My seven year old loves these, both to have me read them to her (more than once), and to read to herself. The stories are funny and unwind gently with depth and humour. The English is elegant, simple, funny, stylish and unpretentious. Its lovely stuff!