Clarice Bean, don't look now
(Book)

Lauren Child's spunky heroine is back in her third novel, Clarice Bean, Don't Look Now. When Clarice learns that her best friend is about to move away, not even "The Ruby Redfort Survival Handbook" (written by Clarice's favorite girl-detective) seems to help. (Candlewick, $15.99 256p ages 8-11 ISBN 9780-7636-3536-7; Sept.) (c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved

Gr 2-5-Clarice Bean and her endearingly harried family are back, and life is more chaotic than ever. Clarice is codifying her fears into a list of worst worries when the kitchen ceiling comes crashing down after her older sister floods the bathroom. Since the stove is ruined in the process and Mom is extra busy at work, the siblings are forced to make their own dinner ("worry no. 11: Can one live off toast alone?"). Troubles continue at school when her best friend, Betty, announces that she is moving to San Francisco, and a strange new student from Sweden arrives. These transitions ("worry no. 3: change") force Clarice into survival mode, a state encouraged by frequent readings of one of her favorite books, The Ruby Redfort Survival Handbook. The story is told in Child's familiar stream-of-consciousness style and punctuated with creative vocabulary ("exceptionordinarily"). Clarice is quickly stepping out from behind the shadow of other witty characters such as Junie B. Jones and Judy Moody.-Kathleen Meulen, Blakely Elementary School, Bainbridge Island, WA (c) Copyright 2010. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.

In a Wemberly Worried (2000) for middle-grade readers, Clarice Bean catalogs concerns both immediate and cosmic ("Worry No. 3. Change."), while chronic lack of sleep, increasingly sharp arguments between her high-strung parents and the departure of best friend Betty Moody combine to drive her spiraling down into scowling gloom. Brusquely rejecting several overtures from classmates, she becomes a sour loner, compulsively scouring a cherished Guide For Spies by her literary heroine Ruby Redfort for advice while watching pretty new student Clem Hansson hook up (or so she thinks) with class sociopath Justin Broach. The domestic chaos that came off as funny in previous episodes just seems disturbing here. And though Child tries to lighten the load on her depressed protagonist by having her discover just how many friends she still has when Justin tries to bully her, and also to learn that she was wrong about Clem, her parents' imminent breakup and other matters, the effort comes too late to lift the dismal overall tone. Clarice Bean has many fans, but this new outing isn't as finely tuned as the others, and so is unlikely to earn her many new ones. (Fiction. 9-11) Copyright ©Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.

Lauren Child's spunky heroine is back in her third novel, Clarice Bean, Don't Look Now. When Clarice learns that her best friend is about to move away, not even "The Ruby Redfort Survival Handbook" (written by Clarice's favorite girl-detective) seems to help. (Candlewick, $15.99 256p ages 8-11 ISBN 9780-7636-3536-7; Sept.) Copyright 2007 Reed Business Information.

Gr 2–5— Clarice Bean and her endearingly harried family are back, and life is more chaotic than ever. Clarice is codifying her fears into a list of worst worries when the kitchen ceiling comes crashing down after her older sister floods the bathroom. Since the stove is ruined in the process and Mom is extra busy at work, the siblings are forced to make their own dinner ("worry no. 11: Can one live off toast alone?"). Troubles continue at school when her best friend, Betty, announces that she is moving to San Francisco, and a strange new student from Sweden arrives. These transitions ("worry no. 3: change") force Clarice into survival mode, a state encouraged by frequent readings of one of her favorite books, The Ruby Redfort Survival Handbook . The story is told in Child's familiar stream-of-consciousness style and punctuated with creative vocabulary ("exceptionordinarily"). Clarice is quickly stepping out from behind the shadow of other witty characters such as Junie B. Jones and Judy Moody.—Kathleen Meulen, Blakely Elementary School, Bainbridge Island, WA