Overview

Summer is coming, and Clementine is not ready. She is not ready to start speaking to her father again, because she's still mad at him for eating meat. Instead, she has to express her sadness by giving him drawings of animals she knows would not want to be somebody's dinner. Then there is the new baby on the way. Clementine's mom sure doesn't seem ready. She's suddenly crazy about cleaning (Dad says she is nesting), but she doesn't even have a name picked out yet. Clementine just hopes the baby won't be a dud. What Clementine really isn't ready for is saying good-bye to her third grade teacher. She knows Mr. D'Matz is going to tell her all kinds of things that aren't true. Everything else may be changing around her, but that doesn't mean that Clementine has. But which is worse, saying good-bye, or not saying good-bye?

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9781423123583

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Rambunctious Clementine is back, and with third grade almost over, she has calmed down and grown up. At least that's what her favorite teacher, Mr. D'Matz, thinks. Actually, Clementine is not ready to leave her teacher. She is also not ready to end a standoff with her father: she wants him to go vegetarian (regularly handing him drawings of sad animals), and he refuses. And if all that isn't enough, the new baby is expected soon. Pennypacker puts a pleasing bow on the popular series, giving Clementine a complicated family situation to deal with and allowing her to explore the feelings that come with being angry at someone you love. Ingenious, too, is the way she finds for Clementine to finally resolve the situation, reminding readers that love can be as important as taking a stand. Frazee's illustrations always charm, and that's true here. Although readers may be disappointed that Clementine and Mr. D'Matz don't get a face-to-face good-bye, the poignant ending still works its magic. Ilene Cooper Booklist

PRAISE FOR THE TALENTED CLEMENTINE * Clementine is a true original. Libraries will need multiple copies of this one, because early chapter-book readers will jump at the chance to spend another eventful week with Clementine. School Library Journal (starred review)

In this series ender, third grade is almost over, but Clementine is far from ready to say goodbye to her familiar classmates and supportive teacher. Mr. D'Matz keeps trying to tell her about all the ways she's grown and changed since entering his class (Clementine, rev. 1/07 and sequels), but all Clementine hears when he talks about baby chicks ready to spread their wings is his favorite story about how great it is when perfectly happy, unsuspecting birds get kicked off their branches. Meanwhile, she's not speaking to her father over an argument about vegetarianism, her new baby sibling is due any day, and her friend Margaret's mother is about to get married. All this change and clamor is handled with the series's signature light touch, mixing compassion, humor (often a function of Clementine's tart perspective on various situations), and respect for Clementine's very real, very relatable anxieties. The plot unfolds gently onward, seamlessly interweaving threads that are just right for their audience. Frazee's breezy pen-and-ink half-page, full-page, and spot illustrations capture Clementine's frenetic energy and goofy panache to expand upon already rich portrayals of her frazzled-but-loving parents, patient teacher, and similarly beset classmates. A warm, bittersweet sendoff for a beloved literary friend. claire e. gross Horn Book

Antic third-grader Clementine faces her biggest challenge yet: looming change. It's the last week of school before summer, and everyone is excited except for Clementine, who definitely does not feel ready for fourth grade. Whenever her beloved Mr. D'Matz tries to talk about it, Clementine avoids the subject. Fortunately, she's got a few things to keep her occupied. Classmates Maria and Rasheed are planning their wedding, and Clementine is deeply involved, acting as proxy wedding planner since her bossy upstairs neighbor, Margaret, is an expert. Her mother is expecting a new baby, nesting in ever more comical fashion, and Clementine is working hard on a good name for the tyke. Perhaps hardest of all, vegetarian Clementine is subjecting her father to the silent treatment, since he will not give up meat. While it's gratifying to see how much Clementine has grown-much as Clementine might herself suspect she hasn't-this outing doesn't pack the punch of previous books. The wedding subplot in particular feels superfluous, and both Clementine's apprehension about change and her insistence on the moral high ground feel deserving of center stage. Still, her ebullience will likely carry readers past this to the valuable understanding that change will come and sometimes the best you can hope for is a compromise. Though looser in weave than previous appearances, still this provides the emotional honesty readers have come to expect. (Fiction. 6-10) Kirkus

Author Information

Author Bio: Sara Pennypacker (www.sarapennypacker.com) was a painter before becoming a writer, and she has two absolutely fabulous children who are now grown. She has written several books, including six previous Clementine stories: Clementine, The Talented Clementine, Clementine's Letter, Clementine, Friend of the Week, Clementine and the Family Meeting, and Clementine and the Spring Trip. Sara grew up in Massachusetts and now divides her time between Cape Cod and St. Petersburg, Florida. Illustrator Bio: Marla Frazee (www.marlafrazee.com) illustrated all of the books in the Clementine series and several picture books, including God Got a Dog by Cynthia Rylant. She is the author/illustrator of The Boss Baby; Walk On!; Santa Claus, the World's Number One Toy Expert; Roller Coaster, and Boot and Shoe. She is also a two time Caldecott Honoree, for All the World by Liz Garton Scanlon, and her own A Couple of Boys Have the Best Week Ever. Marla works in a small backyard cabin under an avocado tree in Pasadena, California.

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