Clarice Bean, What Planet Are You From?

Clarice Bean, the irrepressible little charmer created by Lauren Child, is seeing green. Green as in ecology, that is. School is getting interesting for Clarice as she's learning about our planet Earth. Gravity is an amazing force to her, as is the fact that the sea doesn't spill over at its edges. Nonetheless, her class is assigned a project called The Environment. She's pleased because to her that is simply nature, and she knows a lot about that as there is plenty of it in her backyard. Being paired with Robert Granger, the pest who lives next door, is enough but when Clarice learns a tree on her street is about to be cut down, well, things get really rugged. Brother Kurt decides to try to save the tree by camping in it, and others sport "Free the tree" signs. Just imagine what Clarice comes up with in order to save the tree. Once again, Lauren Child comes up with a fun way to make an important point. ...

Poor Clarice Bean, just a bit late to school, and now her teacher, Mrs Wilberton, has paired her with that awful Robert Granger for a project on the environment. Boring Robert wants to see who can walk faster, a snail or a worm. Could things get any worse? Obviously, yes they can, as her teenage brother Kurt informs the family. The city's going to cut down a tree right on their street. An old hundred year old tree. Kurt is upset and too depressed to even eat, and decides to camp out under the tree to save it. Pretty soon, the whole extended family gets involved, making signs that say "Free The Tree", and spaghetti marinara dinner to eat while sitting in the tree, and becoming ecowarriors. When the local newpaper sends a photographer to take a picture of this ragtag protest, Clarice and Robert (of course Robert Granger got himself in the picture) find they have an even better environmental project in the works..... Nobody captures the irrepressible and feisty grade schooler like Lauren Child, and Clarice Bean's latest eco-adventure is sure to have readers laughing out loud. Her fast-paced, text is entertaining and engaging, true to life, and full of witty asides and observations. But it's Ms Child's marvelously creative and innovative illustrations that make this book stand out. Her busy and clever collage artwork, mixing colorful pen and ink drawings and photographs, with imaginative fonts of all shapes and sizes, traveling up, down, and all around, will have youngsters entranced and poring over the pages, finding something new and interesting every time they open the book. Perfect for readers 7-10, or younger for reading aloud, What Planet Are You From, Clarice Bean? is a charming and hilarious, manic romp you don't want to miss and the third installment of a terrific and delightful series.