Clementine Friend of the Week

Starred review from July 1, 2010
Gr 1–4—-lementine is back for another adventure as she is chosen to be "Friend of the Week." The honor has many important responsibilities such as leading the Pledge of Allegiance, collecting milk money, being line leader, and feeding the fish. At the end of the week, the third grader will get a friend booklet signed by all of her classmates telling her how much they appreciate her. Clementine's best friend, fourth-grader Margaret, advises her to give compliments to classmates all week so she'll get good comments in her booklet. The following day Clementine starts giving them to every person she comes in contact with, primarily based on appearance, which doesn't always work out as she planned. Just as she looks forward to the best week ever, things take a turn for the worse when her kitten goes missing. She forgets all about her promises to decorate her classmates' bikes for a bike rally and is afraid they will be disappointed in her. Little does she know how much they support and love her. Pennypacker's writing once again brings creativity, humor, and sensitivity to Clementine and her world. Black-and-white line illustrations grace the book, capturing the child's personality and varied emotions. A must-have for most collections. Fans will be in for another fun serving of their favorite girl named after a fruit.—"Janet Weber, Tigard Public Library, OR"

Copyright 2010 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

October 1, 2010
Grades 2-4 Popular Clementine is back, but the question is, how popular is she with her classmates? Shes been chosen Friend of the Week, but will the kids find enough nice things to write about in her friendship booklet? Best friend Margaret, a grade older, gets all weird when the topic of the booklet comes up. Pennypacker does a fine job of juggling a number of plotlines, especially when she ties the friendship booklet to Clementines missing kitten. Fans wont be disappointed, and readers new to the series will enjoy this, too.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2010, American Library Association.)

September 1, 2010
Third-grader Clementine is gearing up for her reign as Friend of the Week. She will get to be the all-around helper in class and her classmates will sign her Friend of the Week booklet, writing reasons "why it's so great to have [her] around." All is well until fourth-grader Margaret brags that her own book was filled with compliments about her organization, cleanliness, and helpfulness. Clementine knows she won't get comments like those unless she takes action. Following Margaret's suggestion, our heroine sets out to pay compliments in order to guarantee some nice words in return. But, being Clementine, she has to do more, including drawing free-of-charge tattoos and promising all the decorations in her dad's closet for bicycle decorations for a bike rally. Clementine's campaign comes to a halt when her beloved kitten, Moisturizer, goes missing. Her new skills are now put to the real test as she, along with an unlikely helper, search for her pet. Readers will empathize with Clementine's emotional response to her missing cat and will cheer as she learns some things about herself and her best friend. Secondary characters, particularly older boy Mitchell and Clementine's understanding parents, add much to Clementine's life and make this a worthy addition to an already-excellent series. robin l. smith

(Copyright 2010 by The Horn Book, Incorporated, Boston. All rights reserved.)

January 1, 2011
Third-grader Clementine is gearing up to be Friend of the Week, the class's all-around helper (being Clementine, this includes drawing free-of-charge tattoos). Her campaign comes to a halt when her beloved kitten, Moisturizer, goes missing. Readers will empathize with Clementine's emotional response to her missing cat and will cheer as she learns some things about herself and her friends.

(Copyright 2011 by The Horn Book, Incorporated, Boston. All rights reserved.)