The Talented Clementine (Clementine Book, A)

Third grader (and Ramona throne usurper) is baaack!! Thankfully! (This is one "series" I will whole-heartedly recommend to kids!!)

This time, Clementine's class is doing a talent show... but Clementine doesn't think she has any talents to show. Will she find out what hers is? Of course! It's a kids

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book! ;) But the hilarious-ness is how she gets there! One example... she thinks she can tap dance but has no shoes, so she opens up 24 bottles to take the caps and superglue them to her sneakers! (Followed by a hilarious conversation between her parents as to who has to take her shoe shopping to replace the ruined pair!) This character is so real she makes me laugh out loud

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Clementine's teacher has decided that her class will put on a talent show as a fund raiser. Except that Clementine doesn't think she's got any talents. So, she tries to get her friend Margaret to teach her how to tap dance. That doesn't work. Along the way, she also acquires a pair of lime-green

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sneakers, and hopes perhaps of getting her baby brother to stay in a dog harness and laugh at her Elvis impersonations... but that's not going to work either. What will Clementine do? The talent show is fast approaching - will she be able to come up with a talent in time for the show?

Fans of Judy Moody books, Beverly Cleary, Judy Blume and Junie B. Jones will enjoy Clementine's antics.

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Eight-year-old Clementine, convinced that she has no talents, tries to find a way to avoid participating in the class talent show.

Clementine is such a funny character! She is all stressed out about her grade level's upcoming talent show. She doesn't think she has a talent. She asks her friend Margaret to share some of her talents with her. None of Margaret's talents are working out for Clementine. She finally decides to use

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her brother for her talent show act. The day of the talent show, one of the teachers has an emergentcy, so Clementine takes charge and saves the talent show. She then realizes what her true talent is.

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Despite being nothing at all like the Ramona Quimby books, they still remind me a LOT of them.

In this edition, Clementine is left scrambling for an act for the talent show. She has, she says, NO talents. Not even hopping. No, really, at 8 years old she still can't hop, poor child. And no doubt it

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doesn't help that her "perfect" upstairs neighbor and friend has more talents than she can count.

After rejecting tap-dancing (apparently, beer caps do NOT make acceptable taps when superglued to sneakers), moving to Egypt, and hiring a substitute, Clementine hits upon the perfect talent - leash her brother and perform Elvis! (It makes sense... sorta.) Unfortunately, her father nixes this idea and she ends up at rehearsal with nothing to do.

Fortunately, her ability to notice everything but what she's supposed to pay attention to keeps her occupied instead of moping - and she ends up applauded as the last-minute stage manager, a believable and in-character happy ending.

There were two false notes for me, both related to the tap shoes. First, when Clementine goes to buy new sneakers to replace the ones she ruined, her parents stage a big fight over who gets to take her (her father eventually bribes her mother with new shoes for herself AND a trip out to dinner at the Ritz) because she's a pain to shop with and insists on trying every pair of shoe so she can "not-choose" them before she chooses the ones she picked at the beginning. Reading about Clementine promising to "be normal" and not act like that... well, it breaks my heart, it does, and it seems out of character for her parents who typically seem pretty understanding of their daughter (not that they're overindulgent, just that they try to understand her). Secondly, at the end of the talent show they invite her to go to dinner at the Ritz with them, saying "we wouldn't even be going out if it weren't for you". To me, this reads as though they're rewarding her for ruining her shoes because they're only going out as the bribe for buying her new ones! It would have been better to say they're taking her to dinner to celebrate her starring backstage role in the talent show, I think.

Still, the rest of the book is wonderful. And, as I said in the first book, I love how the author writes the sibling relationship. You *know* your sister loves you when she writes "NO NUTS FOR ME!" on your head before she feels safe leaving you in care of the babysitter.

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Susan says: This second book about Clementine in the third grade is just as sweet as the first. Clementine's teacher tells them all that the third and fourth grades are having a talent show to raise money for the school. This sends Clementine into a panic because she does not believe she has any

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talent. Adults or older readers can see that she has many talents, but she's focused on tap dance and singing. Finally the day of the talent show arrives, and she ends up becoming the director of the talent show, and does a great job. This would be a good book for chick lit, since it is fairly short, and even older girls would get something out of it. Clementine is funny, interesting and a real character. I'll keep reading in this series of short chapter books.

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I really enjoy the Clementine books. Clementine is utterly charming, as is her family, who dearly love her despite being somewhat frustrated by her.

Clementine's talent for noticing things (easily distracted, she gets sent to the principal's office multiple times in the first book in the series)

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comes in handy for the school's talent show.

Her dismay over being unable to find a "normal" talent is very realistic, as are the reactions of her friends and family (surely you can think of something to do?!), and makes the final chapter all the sweeter.

A funny, delightful read - highly recommended!

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I love Clementine. She's so fun to read, often making the boys and me laugh out loud as we read. This story is how Clementine, a highly-distractable, highly-intelligent girl, can't think of a talent for the school talent show. Her search for talents made my boys think about their own talents which

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led to some nice conversations. I love Sara PennyPacker, she is an excellent author that portrays her children characters so accurately.

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I love Clementine. She's so fun to read, often making the boys and me laugh out loud as we read. This story is how Clementine, a highly-distractable, highly-intelligent girl, can't think of a talent for the school talent show. Her search for talents made my boys think about their own talents which

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led to some nice conversations. I love Sara PennyPacker, she is an excellent author that portrays her children characters so accurately.

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If you enjoy Junie B. you will also like Clementine. A fun read!

Clementine is worried because her class is doing a talent show and Clementine can't think of anything she can do for it. It's a laugh-out-loud romp as Clementine tries to think of an act, even resorting to asking That Margaret for help. Highly recommended for fans of Ramona Quimby and Junie B.

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Jones.

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This book is about an eight year old girl named Clementine who is not happy that her class has to do a talent show. Everyone is excited, but Clementine does not believe that she has any talents. Her best friend Margaret has so many talents that she cannot decide which one to do. Clementine

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discusses her problem with her principle, her father, her friends brother, Mitchell, and Margaret. Her father lists her many talents, but Clementine claims that none of those can be done on a stage. Mitchell makes suggestions, but Clementine does not have the talent for any of them. Margaret attempts to teach her one of her talents, but once again Clementine has difficulty with them. She makes up many excuses as to why she cannot attend the talent show, but they are too far fetched for her teacher to believe. Finally, she wants to take her brother on stage wearing a leash and pretending he is a dog. She will do the act she does at home that makes him laugh. Her parents do not think that putting her brother on a leash is a good idea. She arrives at the talent show with no talent. However, she notices something wrong with each act during rehearsals. She puts mats down so that the cartwheelers do not fall and she stops a whistler from eating crackers. This continues with all the acts. During the show she helps to ensure that it goes on without any hiccups. She helps Margaret overcome being frozen on stage. In the end the principle announces that she is a very talented director and Clementine is happy with her talent and the applause.

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Clementine is a spunky third grade girl. She also knows how to be funny and sarcastic. The talent show is coming up for the third grade and fourth grade, but Clementine has no idea what her talent is! She begins to think that she may not even have a talent. She can't play an instrument, tell jokes,

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or sing. Clementine becomes desperate for any sort of talent act for the talent show. Clementine writes in a journal throughout her story. She learns some important lessons along the way, and she surprised even herself with her talent show act!
This text is an easy read that many students can relate to. I believe that students in grades 3-5 would find this book very enjoyable, and accessible. Advanced readers from younger grades might also enjoy this story. I would use this book to help teach students about journaling and writing in journals. As a class, we would talk about what sort of things Clementine writes in her journal. After creating a list of things that can be written in a journal, the students would create a list of what things from their own lives they'd want to write about in a journal. For a week, the students would have to write in their own journals about what is happening in their daily lives, and how they are feeling. At the end of the week the students would reflect on what they have written in their journals. Students enjoy this book because it is relatable, and humorous.

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This was a very cute little book. Clementine is an adorable character, who always has good intentions, but they don't work out as planned some of the time. I really liked how quirky she was, and I liked how there were some bigger vocabulary words, but they were explained in the book.

I'd never read a Clementine book before. I found her refreshing. She reminds me of Ramona. She is not too modern or precocious, nor as obnoxious as Junie B. Jones. It would be a great book for second, third, or fourth grade girls.

Haha, so charming! I laughed out loud more than once. Loved the illustrations too, especially the principal. :-)

The Talented Clementineby Sara Pennypacker is the second in the series. The third and fourth graders will be performing a talent show and Clementine is at a complete loss. I can completely relate — while I have talents, none of them are geared towards live performance!

Clementine goes through all

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sorts of different ideas for the show. None of them really are appropriate for a talent show. Ultimately she settles on working back stage, but it's a job she falls into.

It was another cute book. I really felt horrible for Clementine as her teacher just couldn't believe she didn't know how to perform on stage. Been there myself in school.

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Charming girl without performing arts talent still comes in handy during the production of the talent show.

Clementine is faced with a talent show. I'm not a fan of the "talent show" genre of kids' books, but I like all the Clementine books I've read, so I'll give this one a thumbs-up too.

In class the teacher announces that the students in the 3rd and 4th grade will be putting on a Talent-palooza. This makes Clementine nervous because she feels as if she has no talent. She doesn’t believe that she can sing, dance or even play an instrument. While, she compares her ability to

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Margaret’s who has so many talents. At school she gets so worried that she is exhausted when she gets on the bus. The Clementine asked Margaret to teach her one of her talents so that she could have something to perform. As Saturday gets closer, Clementine is franticly looking for any talent to perform. She has the brilliant idea of sending in a substitute performance for her but that wont work. Clementine was helping the people behind the stage before they would perform. Then Clementine had to assist Principle Rice for the whole night because the other teacher had to leave. She would even have to close the curtains on the acts that went over time. She finally got the pride of herself with all the work she was doing that night. She did not perform and act and she was sad that people were not clapping for her. Principle Rice went on the stage and took the microphone to introduce the director of the night, which was Clementine. She ended the night she got to dinner with her parents. Now she knew the good feeling of all of those people clapping for her. The genre of ‪The Talented Clementine‬ is realistic fiction.

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Narrated by Jessica Almasy. Clementine’s class is holding a talent show fundraiser for the big school trip. Unfortunately, everyone but Clementine seems to have a talent to perform at the “Talentpalooza.” Clementine considers tap-dancing (she opens 24 beer bottles to glue the caps on her

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tennis shoes for taps), making her little brother laugh, and even claiming the family is moving to Egypt. However, on the night of the show, Clementine proves to be an effective director and stage manager and she gets the applause she seeks when the principal acknowledges her help.

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This one was just a teeny bit sappy & cliched. Still wonderful. Oh I hope there are more and more and somehow the author keeps up the good work. Tell the illustrator that the 2-page spreads in which our little darling communicates with Mrs. Rice (the principal to everyone else, but a favorite

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counselor/ auntie to C.) are a must for every book in the series.

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This book explores the difficulty Clementine goes through trying to figure out what her talent is. She consults her parents and her friends, but seems like there isn't anything that she's especially good at besides making clever attempts to get out of the talent show. eventually she learns that

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talent isn't just about singing or dancing. It can also be about being creative and thoughtful. This book has a lot of positive messages about being yourself and thinking your way through a problem.

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The second-grade fund-raising talent show is coming up and Clementine has no talents! Her neighbor, Margaret, has so many she has to alphabetize them to remember them all and Clementine's dad (who suggests Clementine trim ivy on stage) is no help either! Will Clementine have to move to Egypt to

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avoid being embarrassed at the show? Sara Pennypacker's clever and hilarious "The Talented Clementine" (2007) won several Best Book of the Year awards and the National Parenting Publication Gold Award for its endearing female protagonist who always asks the most interesting questions and who sends herself to the principal’s office. The 138-pages transitional chapter book will have readers rolling in the aisles at Clementine's witty, truthful observations when cleaning up; "I learned that coffee is easier to clean up when you spill it on a new brown rug. You hardly have to touch it at all!" and when getting ready for school, "Which reminded me to crawl under the bus seat to get all [my paper] before we got to school. This is called Being Organized." Playfully illustrated in black and white, Marla Frazee's drawings show readers a button-eyed, bewildered Clementine, doing what she does best - being herself. Parents and teachers will love the suspenseful build-up that keeps their readers interested through this page-turner and readers will fall in love with Clementine, who, like them, is just trying to get through the school day in one piece! Recommended for ages 7-8.

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