Susie Wilde (Children's Literature)
Meet Clementine, a third grader who usually can be found in the principal’s office, whose younger brother has an ordinary name--not the name of a fruit--so she is likely to call him Broccoli. She is such a loyal friend to fourth grader Margaret that she helps her cut off all her hair and paint it green with permanent markers. Clementine is creative enough to make glasses out her bologna and single handedly win the war against pigeons that has her super father going crazy. This is a great new series for Junie B. Jones lovers! 2006, Hyperion, $14.99. Ages 6 to 9.

Joan Kindig, Ph.D. (Children's Literature)
For a third grader, Clementine spends an awful lot of time in the principal's office. It is not that she is a bad kid, she is just a rambunctious one with lots of rather harebrained schemes in her little head. Clementine does not always think before she acts and though her heart is always in the right place, Clementine seldom is. Although Clementine's unusual parents never get too flustered, they do try to help Clementine see that she does not need to act on every idea she has. This is an enjoyable read with a fun character with personality to spare. Frazee's illustrations are an added treat to this quirky story. 2006, Hyperion, $14.99. Ages 7 to 10.

Kathryn Erskine (Children's Literature)
Spunky and perky like Junie B. Jones or Ramona, new-to-the-scene Clementine bounces in with child-like perspectives, fun language, and much heart. Though often in trouble, we know she means well. In fact, we find ourselves wondering why the adults in her life cannot see things her way. Fortunately, her parents are helpful and understanding and they both obviously have a good sense of humor. An excellent transition from Junie B. and early chapter books, readers will find short chapters, wonderful illustrations, and fun themes. It is also a bridge to true middle grade novels because there are poignant moments, too, such as when Clementine comes to terms with her not-so-sophisticated mother, realizing that she loves the art and freedom her mother represents. There are laugh-out-loud phrases, funny encounters in the principal’s office, friendship mishaps, sibling issues with her little brother whom she calls endless vegetable names, given that she is named after a fruit, and many ordeals with which third-graders, like Clementine, can relate. 2006, Hyperion, $14.99. Ages 7 to 10.

Kirkus (Kirkus Reviews, July 15, 2006 (Vol. 74, No. 14))
Maybe it was because third-grader Clementine was a little bit angry with her best friend Margaret that things got out of hand with the scissors and the permanent markers and the hair. Or maybe she really was just trying to help. In short chapters, set in the city apartment building her father manages or the school where she has some tough days, Clementine relates the events of the trying week she discovered she was the difficult child in her family and thought she was about to be given away. Middle-grade readers will sympathize with Clementine's conflicted feelings about her friend and her family, and laugh out loud at her impulsive antics, narrated in a fresh first-person voice and illustrated with plenty of humor. Just like her family they will cheer when she comes up with a way to end The Great Pigeon War as well as the temporary rift with her friend. Energetic and imaginative, Clementine is gifted with understanding and patient parents. Give this to readers of Cleary and Blume and cross your fingers for more. 2006, Hyperion, 144p, $14.99. Category: Fiction. Ages 7 to 10. Starred Review. © 2006 Kirkus Reviews/VNU eMedia, Inc. All rights reserved.

Melinda Miller-Widrick (Library Media Connection, February 2007)
This humorous novel for young readers is reminiscent of Beverly Cleary's Ramona Quimby and Barbara Park's Junie B. Jones. The author has created a character who is lovable and very realistic. Clementine is in third grade and is a very unique and determined young girl filled with good intentions that don't always work out the way she hopes. People are always telling her to "pay attention." Several elements are key to the story - her relationship with her friend Margaret; missing her cat who dies before the story starts; her desire to help people, especially her dad with his pigeon problem; and worrying over the fact that she thinks her parents like her little brother better than they do her. This book makes a fine introduction to chapter books for upper primary grades; kids will relate to the funny situations. The pen and ink illustrations complement the storyline. They are especially good in showing what Clementine herself draws and thinks. This book would make a funny and fairly quick read-aloud too. I think it will become a favorite with your students. Recommended. 2006, Hyperion Books for Children/Disney Publishing Worldwide, 144pp., $14.99 hc. Ages 6 to 10.

Deborah Stevenson (The Bulletin of the Center for Children's Books, November 2006 (Vol. 60, No. 3))
Clementine is an ebullient third-grader who, despite her best intentions, repeatedly ends up in hot water, whether it’s for actions at school (“Someone should tell you not to answer the phone in the principal’s office, if that’s a rule”) or interactions with her friend Margaret (“It is very hard to color hair with a marker, let me tell you”), but who ultimately ends up secure in the love of her patient and understanding parents. There’s a contrived scare towards the end of this everyday-life story, with Clementine misunderstanding several overheard adult conversations and becoming convinced that her parents are giving her away because she’s difficult, and the stream of adorable malapropisms grows a little tiresome in its adult-pandering (Clementine’s moan about “the heartbreak of sore irises” is too retro a reference to be successful, let alone credible). She’s therefore more a character for youngsters to laugh at rather than with, but there’s plenty of goofy humor in her eager and well-intentioned disasters and her pell-mell narrative style; Pennypacker’s gift for unerring detail (Clementine’s main fear is pointy things) and touches of creative phrasing add further energy, and there are gentler elements, such as Clementine’s grief for her late cat, that round out her persona somewhat. Frazee’s ink drawings are quirky and robust, showing a Clementine fizzing with a variety of emotions from scene to scene but always in the thick of the action, while occasional art from Clementine herself adds her own viewpoint to the visuals. Clementine’s adventures and peppy voice would make this an appealing readaloud, and readers looking to move up from Junie B. Jones may find Clementine a source of similar humor. Review Code: Ad -- Additional book of acceptable quality for collections needing more material in the area. (c) Copyright 2006, The Board of Trustees of the University of Illinois. 2006, Hyperion, 144p.; Reviewed from galleys, $14.99. Grades 2-4.

Horn Book (The Horn Book Guide, Spring 2007)
Third-grader Clementine feels lucky that spectacular ideas (like cutting her friend's hair) are continually "sproinging up" in her brain, but her parents and other adults don't feel the same way. Clementine's first-person narration is fresh and winsome, and the episodic plot is layered yet accessible. Frazee's pen-and-ink illustrations bounce along the pages with the same energy as the story. Category: Younger Fiction. 2006, Hyperion, 136pp, 14.99. Ages 5 to 9. Rating: 2: Superior, well above average.