Clarice Bean, That's Me

For some reason, I expected this to be a full length book like Spells Trouble or Don't Look Now, but this is a picture book. However, a true Clarice fan will still love it. My 11 year old has read it twice because it shares the same wit as the longer Clarice Bean stories. The illustrations are wonderful and show some of the characters that don't appear in the other books, which my daugher was thrilled about. Bottom line, she loved it! I have to say if I had known that it was a picture book, I probably would not have ordered it. But I am so glad I did.

Hated this! This is probably typical behavior in a big family, but we practice patience and acceptance and we love Charlie and Lola. That's how we treat each other. This book shows a little girl complaining about her family, her sister hates her, her brother wears a shirt that says something really mean. Her parents can't wait to get away from their kids. They torture their handicapped grandfather when he's napping. All in all I was horrified at the language and total disrespect for each other. It's all about exclusion and being annoyed by each other. No way am I reading this to my daughter! My mother found the book and started reading it to my daughter. I had to stop her. She thought it wasn't so bad. She said it was close to real life. Well, not in our family. We love being around each other and we respect each other. Maybe one day my daughter will be friends with kids who's family dynamic is similar to this, but until then she won't be exposed to such disregard for family members. I can't find the book to site more examples as I've hidden it. Haahaahaa!

We in this house adore this story. this must be a different rendition then the one we used to get from our local library though. Some of the words were different, and we liked it the other way. When we read it we just substitute what we know from before. If there is an older version that we could get I would rather like to know.

Lauren Child's writing and illustrations are always captivating, but this picture book about Clarice Bean is especially delightful. It would make a great introduction to Clarice and her family for those who have not read any of the novels. But for the initiated, it is quite a nice peek into the home life of Clarice, whose parents and siblings are described in the books but never actually truishly seen. Get it. Savor it! Dr. Pat Taylor Ellison

awesome

Kids loved it. In perfect shape.

daughter loved it.

This was one of Lauren Child's first children's book, published just over ten years ago. I wonder if, at that time, she had any inkling of how crazy popular Clarice Bean would become? I also can't help wondering if Charlie and Lola were already knocking around in that brain of hers.The inside cover of this edition tells how Lauren submitted this book to many publishers who wanted her to make a lot of changes to her vision. She got many rejection letters and had to wait five years before she got one with the magical word .... yes! Thank goodness Lauren stood firm so that we can all enjoy Clarice in the style in which she was originally intended.Since this is the first book, Clarice starts off by introducing herself and each of her family members. She then gives us a hilarious tour of her house. I just adore her running commentary - her flat way of stating the facts gets me every time. She says things like "If I had thought about it I would have put tapioca down his shorts." Surely, we've all thought that a time or two, right? She has a biting sense of humor and terrific imagination.Of course, saying Clarice has those attributes really means it's Lauren's personality coming through. This is also evident in the book's visual style - her wonderful mash-up of fonts, color and pattern. You never know what the turn of each will bring - some collages here, wavy lines there, a giant bowl of soup, Grandad's pitiful plaid chair and the neighborhood cat. The real magic is that the finished product never comes across as random or busy, but well thought out and completely charming.I would hope that most parents are familiar with Lauren's Child's work at this point. If not, get thee to a bookstore or library and check her out! Thanks to the great popularity of the series, they are now being offered in a lovely oversized paperback for the very first time! They sport dynamic new covers, feature flaps, die-cuts and more. Thanks, Candlewick, for making them even more affordable to the masses - only $[...] each!

The seems to be the first Clarice Bean book in that it sets out who all the characters are. I actually thought that this would be a long book like the other ones we have borrowed from library but it's really short so was a little disappointed.

She loved it

I can see maybe an older girl liking these books and they clearly do as they sell so well. We love Lauren child's way I'd writing and think charlie and lola is so fun but this book for me had too many oddities.

Purchased for my granddaughter so unable to comment on story. Did have a quick look through and I like the style and drawings

Brill One of the best and a firm favourite in our house. Loved by children and parents