Friday, October 26, 2018

Book Review: Utterly Me, Clarice Bean by Lauren Child

Utterly Me, Clarice Bean is the 4th book in my set reading for the MA, and it was such a joy! Really, I've enjoyed everything I've read so far (Charlotte's Web, Where the Wild Things Are, Skellig). But I chose to specifically write about the Clarice Bean series (aka the British equivalent of Junie B. Jones) because, as I was reading and presenting on it, I realized how beneficial of a book this would be for children with disabilities that make reading challenging and therefore just don't read.

Clarice Bean is an average girl with one too many siblings and who has a deep love of the Ruby Redfort mystery books. She wishes she had an exciting life like Ruby's spy life, but instead she must deal with a sneaky grandpa, coats being rearranged at school, her siblings, and her best friend Betty Moody.
Clarice is actually quite excited for a school project when the class is assigned to pick their own book to do a book report table on. They must have a display and show what they have learned from the books. The winners will get a secret prize and their names on a gold trophy. Naturally Clarice and Betty choose the Ruby Redfort book to do their report on. But then several mysteries throw their way into Clarice's way to victory.
First of all, there's a mysterious barking coming from her grandpa's room. Then Betty goes missing. And THEN the golden cup that the winners are supposed to get their names on goes missing! It's all just going to the dogs. And Clarice is left on her own to solve all these mysteries, discover what she's learned from the Ruby Redfort books, and deal with everyday problems.

Clarice Bean's voice is established immediately, and this little girl is hilarious and sassy. I love her. I actually wrote "lol" on nearly every page. But Lauren Child is very witty in the way she sets this book up, which I think is just perfect for children with attention struggles. She plays with the size of text to pull kids' attention back in and forms some of the story's words into shapes. She also has installments of the Ruby Redfort books sprinkled throughout Clarice's own story, so it's almost like breaking up the book, keeping it fresh, and holding your child's attention.
Anyone will enjoy this book because the writing is charming and Clarice Bean is hilarious. But if you have a/know of a child who doesn't like reading just because books can't keep their attention, hand them this Utterly Me, Clarice Bean. They might just get sucked in.

**Plus, this book promotes kids reading what they enjoy, rather than what they are required to read, and I think that's incredibly important. Clarice shows that she's able to learn something from a popular fiction book. So all the power! But I'm off my soapbox now.

Happy Reading,
         HER 

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