CLARICE BEAN, SMILE — Review & Giveaway

Thought for the Day:

“Be a sadist. No matter how sweet and innocent your leading characters, make awful things happen to them — in order that the reader may see what they are made of.”


~ Kurt Vonnegut ~

Gifts for My Writer Friends:

I think we all tend to focus on plot, but HERE is an interesting article from Writer’s Digest by Finnian Burnett that addresses the importance of your character’s emotional arc: Heart First, Brain Later: Why Your Character’s Emotional Arc Matters More Than Your Perfect Plot.

Chelsea Tornetto wrote an interesting post HERE for Jane Friedman’s blog about The Power of Connotation in Picture Books, but I think this is something all writers can use.

Zachary Petit wrote an excellent article for Writer’s Digest with 15 Things a Writer Should Never Do. There is some very good advice HERE.

The French Open has not disappointed this week, and, at least for me, it is still going on. I’m watching the recording of the men’s final. I added an hour and a half of extra time on all my recordings, and I have a bad feeling that I will not be able to see the end of this match! The first set took well over an hour. So far, I have avoided any news reports, so I don’t know who won. I’m hoping Alcarez pulls out a win. (Ack! My recording ran out before the fourth set was over. I just found out Alcarez did pull out a win, but I didn’t get to see it!) Yesterday, unfortunately, I saw the result of the women’s final before I turned on my recording. Maybe it was just as well. I might have been miserable worrying for Coco Gauff if I hadn’t known she was going to pull out a most incredible win. It was some of the most exciting tennis I have ever seen. I think we are at the beginning of an fantastic generation of superstar tennis players. Can’t wait for Wimbledon!!

A couple years ago, I had a review copy of a book called CLARICE BEAN, SCRAM by Lauren Child. It was awfully cute, and it was a great book for younger MG readers and reluctant readers. I never got around to reviewing it on my blog, but I did put my review up on Goodreads. If you are interested, you can see that review HERE. It turns out it was part of a series. I never ran across the other books, but I was sent the newest in the series by a publicist at Candlewick Press. It is called CLARICE BEAN, SMILE, and I promise you, it will make you smile.

Clarice’s class has been assigned a project that has to do with predators and endangered animals. Of course, Clarice waits until the last tiny moment to make her decision about the topic for her project, and then she begins to second guess her choice. And she has a lot going on in her life. Her best friend moved away last year, and her new best friend is away. Fortunately her very good friend, Karl, is always there for her and puts up with all her idiosyncrasies. Clarice’s family has issues too. Her grandfather is becoming forgetful, her parents are both having problems at work that spill over into the family, her older sister, Marcie, is acting strange, and their nextdoor neighbor is giving everyone a hard time about being anywhere near her brick wall. And to top everything off, Clarice trips on the loose carpet on the stairs, and before she can get up, her sister also trips and lands on Clarice’s head, knocking one of Clarice’s teeth loose, and Marcie breaks her finger. Yeah, there is a LOT going on. And this is just the very beginning.

Lauren Child has such a wonderful series going on with great characters and situations that most kids can relate to. All of the characters have quirks, and there is a lightheartedness to everything. Clarice tells the story in first person point of view, and she reports all the humor to be found in every person and happening. This book is just a delight. Kids will certainly love it, but so will any adults who happen upon it.

I have a gently-read hardback to give to one of you. All you need to do is be a follower (it’s free and easy — see the top, right corner of the post) with a US Address, and leave a comment. If you share the link to this post on social media, please let me know in your comment, and you will get an extra chance. And please don’t forget to check for other Marvelous Middle-Grade Monday posts at Greg Pattridge’s blog HERE.