About the Author

Sara Pennypacker is the author of the #1 New York Times bestselling Pax, the Clementine series and its spinoff series, Waylon, and the acclaimed novels Summer of the Gypsy Moths and Here in the Real World. She divides her time between Cape Cod, Massachusetts, and Florida. She invites you to visit her online at sarapennypacker.com.

Marla Frazee is a two-time Caldecott Honor winner and the recipient of a Boston Globe-Horn Book Award for Best Picture Book. She has illustrated many acclaimed picture books, including All the World by Liz Garton Scanlon, Stars by Mary Lyn Ray, and Everywhere Babies by Susan Meyers, as well as her own Farmer Books trilogy, A Couple of Boys Have the Best Week Ever, and The Boss Baby, which inspired the DreamWorks Animation film. She is also the illustrator of the New York Times bestselling Clementine chapter books by Sara Pennypacker. The mother of three grown sons, she lives in Pasadena, California. She invites you to visit her at MarlaFrazee.com.

Reviews

Praise for the Clementine series:
A New York Times Bestseller
Winner of 2008 Rhode Island Children's Book Award
Winner of 2008 William Allen White Children's Book Award
Winner of the 2007 Boston Globe/Horn Book Honor
Winner of 2008 Great Lakes Great Books Award
Winner of the 2007 Josette Frank Book Award
Winner of the 2007 Sid Fleishman Award
A 2006 School Library Journal Best Book of Year
A 2006 Child Magazine Best Book of Year
A 2006 Publishers Weekly Best Book of the Year
A 2006 National Parenting Publication Gold Award Winner
A 2006 Nick Jr. Family Magazine's Best Book of the Year
A 2006 Miami Herald Best Book of the Year *"A delightful addition to any beginning chapter-book collection."
--School Library Journal, starred review *"Along with humorous bits, Pennypacker seamlessly weaves into the narrative common third-grade themes...Fans of Judy Moody will welcome this portrait of another funny, independent third-grader."
--Publishers Weekly, starred review *"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. Give this to readers of Cleary and Blume and cross your fingers for more."
--Kirkus Reviews, starred review

I have had not so good of a week," begins the irrepressible narrator of this winning caper. Pennypacker (Stuart's Cape) then takes readers straight through that week, making clear that Clementine has an unfailing nose for trouble and a comical way with words. The eight-year-old proclaims herself lucky because "spectacularful ideas are always sproinging up in my brain." One of these ideas concerns her fourth-grade friend and neighbor Margaret getting glue in her hair, and Clementine's attempt to help; together they cut off nearly all of Margaret's long locks. Further strategies involve the use of permanent markers and Clementine undergoing a sympathy coif. Frazee's black-and-white illustrations of the close-cropped gals captures the mixed emotions of their shared fate. Her portraits of the heroine's three-year-old brother, "who didn't get stuck with a fruit name," and whom Clementine calls by various vegetable names, including "Spinach," "Lima Bean" and "Pea Pod," may remind readers of the charming star of Frazee's Walk On! Along with the humorous bits, Pennypacker seamlessly weaves into the narrative common third-grade themes, such as Clementine comparing Margaret's neatly dressed banker mother with her own overalls-clad artist mother, and envying Margaret her kitten from the litter of Clementine's own lately deceased cat, Polka Dottie. Luckily, Clementine ends her week on an up note. Fans of Judy Moody will welcome this portrait of another funny, independent third-grader. Ages 7-10. (Sept.) Copyright 2006 Reed Business Information.

Praise for the Clementine series:
A New York Times Bestseller
Winner of 2008 Rhode Island Children's Book Award
Winner of 2008 William Allen White Children's Book Award
Winner of the 2007 Boston Globe/Horn Book Honor
Winner of 2008 Great Lakes Great Books Award
Winner of the 2007 Josette Frank Book Award
Winner of the 2007 Sid Fleishman Award
A 2006 School Library Journal Best Book of Year
A 2006 Child Magazine Best Book of Year
A 2006 Publishers Weekly Best Book of the Year
A 2006 National Parenting Publication Gold Award Winner
A 2006 Nick Jr. Family Magazine's Best Book of the Year
A 2006 Miami Herald Best Book of the Year

*"A delightful addition to any beginning chapter-book collection."
--School Library Journal, starred review *"Along with humorous bits, Pennypacker seamlessly weaves into the narrative common third-grade themes...Fans of Judy Moody will welcome this portrait of another funny, independent third-grader."
--Publishers Weekly, starred review *"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. Give this to readers of Cleary and Blume and cross your fingers for more."
--Kirkus Reviews, starred review