Clementine, Friend of The Week

When I read the book Clementine, Friend of the Week aloud to my class this month it was the first time I’d read a book by Sara Pennypacker. Reminding me of Junie B. Jones (by Barbara Park) and Beezus (of Beverly Cleary fame), Clementine can stand on her own as a precocious little heroine. I was a bit embarrassed when I read that she named the cat Flomax (explain that to eight year olds and hope their parents don’t call you later on), but her antics were ingenious and her sorrow over the (temporary) disappearance of her kitten heartfelt.

Perhaps it would be most helpful to hear the opinions on this children’s book from children themselves. Here are the good, and the bad, reviews from a few of my third graders:

We read Clementine, Friend Of The Week. I thought this book wasn’t that good. I did not like Clementine’s ideas because they were kind of boring. I felt that the pictures were not that creative. I didn’t like that Margaret was acting so weird. I would recommend this book to a friend, but I would rather read Thumbalina. ~Riya

     This book was very funny! I thought this book was funny because Clementine comes up with the best bathroom names for her pets, like Flomax. “Moisturizer” (her cat) sounds like a sanitizer. And, I thought the funniest part was the picture that she drew of Moisturizer. I’m looking forward to another Clementine book. ~Vismay

     I loved Clementine, Friend of the Week! I liked how she was so funny. I also liked how she was nice and offered decorations to her friends. But I really loved how she never gave up looking for Moisturizer. This book is thrilling. ~Kimberly

     We read Clementine, Friend of The Week. I didn’t like the book because it was not interesting, it was not mysterious, or any genre that I like, and it was really boring. ~Karthik

     I liked this book! I like the part when she called brother names like Turnip and other vegetable names. I like when her father said, “You are also a friend of the strong.” The last part I liked was when she asked her friends if they would like to use her father’s decorations for the bike rally. I think this book was sensational! ~Aimee

    We read Clementine, Friend of The Week. I  love this book. I like Clementine because she has whacky ideas. She is very weird because she calls her brother vegetable names. She comes up with names from the bathroom for her pets. She is also very funny. This is a great book. ~Chloe

It appears that the general consensus is in Clementine’s favor. It was a fun book to read and seemed the most popular with the girls in my class. As you might expect.

Special thanks to Disney-Hyperion for the advanced copy to review.