Clementine will be a perfect fit for them. She's funny. She's insightful. She's endearing. The readability of the books is easy. The plots are simple and straightforward. Yet the voice that Sara Pennypacker has perfected is a brand of quality that is not always found in easier readers like these. Clementine's zany narrative is so deprived of focus and attention, that for many of my students that battle their own attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, it has to be reassuring to read this girl's thoughts.
The thing I loved the most about each of the three titles I read, is the way Clementine is deeply loved by her family and accepted by those in charge at her school. So often in books like this, I feel like the teacher gets the bum rap, mistreating the student and misreading the student's intentions. Most teachers I know, are patient people. We have to be. I couldn't help thinking while I read, that if Clementine was in my class, I would love her! Thankfully, Pennypacker understands this too. Her teacher understands her. Her principal understands her. Sure she has to own up to the trouble she causes, but they are caring and patient with her, just like most teachers I know, would be. The same cannot be said for other children's books that portray children with ADHD. So often the teacher is viewed as the villain. This was rather refreshing.
There are five Clementine books and I have only read three (CLEMENTINE; THE TALENTED CLEMENTINE; and CLEMENTINE AND THE FAMILY MEETING). A sixth one is also on the way, CLEMENTINE AND THE SPRING TRIP. Ms. Pennypacker has dipped her ink in the FLAT STANLEY series (four books) and has a stand alone title coming out this year that promises to be worth the read (SUMMER OF THE GYPSY MOTHS). She's an author I highly recommend. It's easy to see why her work has wide appeal.
I tried HORTON HALFPOTT as a classroom read aloud too, and it just didn't work. Personally, I enjoyed it and it's English brand of humor, but not too many of my students did. The other thing I wondered about was Angleberger's chamilion-like departure of voice from his ORIGAMI YODA and DARTH PAPER books. The reason kids connected with them is because Angleberger was so effectively able to channel his inner 5th, 6th, or 7th grader and speak like real kids speak. HORTON HALFPOTT reads as if it was written by an entirely different author. It's wordy and descriptive and it's humor is very subjective. All humor is subjective in a way, but the humor present in this book, is just odd. I laughed out loud on a number of occasions, but my students were confused and found very little of it funny. By the time the book concluded, they could have cared less who stole the Lump. They just wanted to get on with the next Brixton Brothers book!
Every book follows a similar pattern . . . boy detective Steve Brixton easily solves a case that has proved difficult to solve; Steve Brixton and his chum Dana get wrapped up in a bigger, seemingly unrelated case; Steve and Dana find themselves in many absurd, life-threatening adventures; Steve solves the bigger case which always ties back into the original, seemingly unrelated case. The second and third books also literally pick up right where the previous book left off. The best part about them, you never know where these books are going or just how crazy the adventure is going to get! Steve gets shot at by baddies, is kidnapped, is trapped in burning buildings, takes part in thrilling car chases, and falls out of second story windows on a regular basis. All the while providing a witty narrative that serves as a perfect How-To on how to write good old fashioned detective stories.
I can't wait until the fourth, DANGER GOES BERSERK, is written and released. And I know my students agree.
