Customer Reviews

Clarice Bean, That's Me

5 star:		(5)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Clarice Bean, That's Me is such a funny book. In it Lauren Child depicts Clarice and her wacky, oversize family. Everyone can recognize the teenager in "the dark tunnel of adolescence" or grandad whose eyesight is on the blink and who therefore is an easy target in card games . . . My kids really loved it and they're now making up their own books about our family (the results could be frightening!). This is a great "alternative" new baby gift-tells it like it really is! Lauren Child's art is wonderful, too, so expressive and quirky.

This is a great book, fun for children and adults, Clarice Bean introduces us to her family - her brother Minal Cricket (where do these names come from) her older sister Marcie and older brother Kurt - (who is going through the dark tunnel of adolescence.....)

Mother loves lying in the bath and learning languages, Father swivels in his chair saying important things into the phone and eating tutti frutti ice cream. It is all from the point of view of Clarice Bean, so it is off-centre, fun and witty.

Bright illustrations mean that my 18month old as well as my three year old enjoy it. It is a picture book with both collage and painting, bright, large illustrations which appeal to both adult and child as well. There is a story running through it - Clarice Bean is looking for peace and quiet and can't get it at all. Highly recommended along with Lauren Child's other books

A delightful new voice in children's books comes from Lauren Child, with her book, "Clarice Bean - That's Me" . The book's narrator, Clarice Bean, is a precocious little girl struggling through the circus of family life. Her mother says Clarice's older brother is "in the dark tunnel of adolescence." It's Clarice's observation, however, that "usually, he's in his room." When she fights with her brother and throws his blanket out the window and it lands on the neighbor's dog, Clarice is in trouble ("Right now," her father tells her, "you are not the flavor of the month, young lady."); she relates: "I am in such BIG TROUBLE that I get sent to my room for 3 whole hours. Alone. I LOVE IT (Finally, some peace and quiet.)." The writing is fresh and true -- the perfect voice for an intelligent young girl -- and the illustrations, also by Child, are a charming mix of ink line drawings, cut-paper collage and photographic background. Typography also plays a role in mimicking the inflections and emphasis of Clarice's pre-adolescent, observant narration.

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

This is a great book for kids: boys and girls alike.
Very creatively illustrated and a nice story to read, Lauren Child does an amazing job with this children's book.
In this volume, you'll get to know who is Clarice Bean and her family (which is presented in a most imaginative way). I still have to read the other Clarice Bean books, but this one I don't regret I bought 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!

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.

...if you knew who wrote this book, you'll never want to read it. Lauren Child is the creator of Charlie & Lola. Although Lauren Child's artwork is really good, she made a bad choice to waste it on Charlie & Lola. Other than that, the book looks like a good book about a girl kids can relate to. But the fact that this person's the same person who created Charlie & Lola takes away 3 stars. If you'd like to read a good book, try out the W.I.T.C.H series or Tokyo Mew Mew.