What do you think?
Rate this book
Clementine #7
Completely Clementine
This delightful New York Times bestselling chapter book series, from the award-winning author of Pax , is a modern classic that has been keeping readers engaged and laughing as they follow the hijinks of Clementine, a clever and quirky third grader who’s the most spectacular friend around. Perfect for fans of Amelia Bedelia and Ivy + Bean!
Summer is coming, and Clementine is not ready. She is not ready to start speaking to her father again, because she's still mad at him for eating meat. Instead, she gives him drawings of animals she knows would not want to be somebody's dinner.
Then there is the new baby on the way. Clementine's mom sure doesn't seem ready. She's suddenly crazy about cleaning (Dad says she is nesting ), but she doesn't even have a name picked out yet. Clementine just hopes the baby won't be a dud.
What Clementine really isn't ready for is saying good-bye to her third grade teacher. She knows Mr. D'Matz is going to tell her all kinds of things that aren't true. Everything else may be changing around her, but that doesn't mean that Clementine has.
But which is worse, saying good-bye, or not saying good-bye?
READ MORE!
Clementine
The Talented Clementine
Clementine’s Letter
Clementine, Friend of the Week
Clementine and the Family Meeting
Clementine and the Spring Trip
Summer is coming, and Clementine is not ready. She is not ready to start speaking to her father again, because she's still mad at him for eating meat. Instead, she gives him drawings of animals she knows would not want to be somebody's dinner.
Then there is the new baby on the way. Clementine's mom sure doesn't seem ready. She's suddenly crazy about cleaning (Dad says she is nesting ), but she doesn't even have a name picked out yet. Clementine just hopes the baby won't be a dud.
What Clementine really isn't ready for is saying good-bye to her third grade teacher. She knows Mr. D'Matz is going to tell her all kinds of things that aren't true. Everything else may be changing around her, but that doesn't mean that Clementine has.
But which is worse, saying good-bye, or not saying good-bye?
READ MORE!
Clementine
The Talented Clementine
Clementine’s Letter
Clementine, Friend of the Week
Clementine and the Family Meeting
Clementine and the Spring Trip
208 pages, Paperback
First published March 1, 2015
89 people are currently reading
602 people want to read
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 30 of 164 reviews
May 2, 2015
Adult-ing is hard. It is one of the hardest things I've done to date. But for an hour or so, Clementine made me laugh & helped easy a little of my worry. She is precocious, ingenious, and all around hilarious. I can't wait to read more Clementine adventures!
January 3, 2016
What a happy accident that we stumbled onto the Clementine books three years ago. The characters are loveably quirky. Clementine learns about herself and how to navigate life with loving, supportive adults and friends.
This was another great addition to the Clementine series. My oldest daughter checked it out from the library and has read it once a day for the past three days. Last night she placed it in my hands, opened to the first page, and commanded me to read. She is rarely so insistent. And read, I did. And realized that SHE realized that she related to the character and her plight, and her resolution. And wanted me to understand it too. Books are beautiful, friends.
This was another great addition to the Clementine series. My oldest daughter checked it out from the library and has read it once a day for the past three days. Last night she placed it in my hands, opened to the first page, and commanded me to read. She is rarely so insistent. And read, I did. And realized that SHE realized that she related to the character and her plight, and her resolution. And wanted me to understand it too. Books are beautiful, friends.
March 12, 2019
The Clementine series is truly something special. The author has a great sense of what it's like to be a kid, and she creates characters that bring to mind some of the most beloved stories of Beverly Cleary and Patricia Reilly Giff.
Best of all, the characters spend their time interacting with one another and the world around them, rather than burying their faces in smartphones and social media.
Those who have read my review of the previous Clementine book will know that I especially like the fact that Clem becomes a vegetarian at the same age I did. In this book, we get the wonderful news that Clem's mom and brother have decided to join her in meat-free eating, but her father remains a holdout. She decides to launch a one-girl campaign encouraging Dad to go veggie.
This segment reminded me of when Ramona Quimby attempted to get her father to give up smoking in Ramona and her Father. (We often think only of adults teaching children, but sometimes kids push their parents in the right direction.) Trouble is, Dad just isn't responding as Clem had hoped.
In what will certainly be relatable to any ethical veg*n who has watched a loved one choose to continue to eat animals, Clementine is torn. This is especially tough information to digest in childhood, when it is more difficult to see people as the multi-faceted individuals they are. I was heartened to see Clem and her Dad come to a compromise and an understanding that she can still love him without loving every choice he makes.
I hope this book will help veg*n kids and omnivore parents understand each other and get along a little better. The parents in this book model admirable fairness and maturity in responding to Clementine's decision...hopefully more parents of real-life veggie kids will take note.
Best of all, the characters spend their time interacting with one another and the world around them, rather than burying their faces in smartphones and social media.
Those who have read my review of the previous Clementine book will know that I especially like the fact that Clem becomes a vegetarian at the same age I did. In this book, we get the wonderful news that Clem's mom and brother have decided to join her in meat-free eating, but her father remains a holdout. She decides to launch a one-girl campaign encouraging Dad to go veggie.
This segment reminded me of when Ramona Quimby attempted to get her father to give up smoking in Ramona and her Father. (We often think only of adults teaching children, but sometimes kids push their parents in the right direction.) Trouble is, Dad just isn't responding as Clem had hoped.
In what will certainly be relatable to any ethical veg*n who has watched a loved one choose to continue to eat animals, Clementine is torn. This is especially tough information to digest in childhood, when it is more difficult to see people as the multi-faceted individuals they are. I was heartened to see Clem and her Dad come to a compromise and an understanding that she can still love him without loving every choice he makes.
I hope this book will help veg*n kids and omnivore parents understand each other and get along a little better. The parents in this book model admirable fairness and maturity in responding to Clementine's decision...hopefully more parents of real-life veggie kids will take note.
February 20, 2018
In this last book in the Clementine series, we see her preparing to say goodbye to 3rd grade and hello to a new sibling. On top of that, Margaret's mother is getting married and Clementine is helping her deal with the changes coming in her life. Love the "Pentagon" project and how Clementine's passion about being a vegan household forces her to work through giving her dad the silent treatment regarding his menu choices. Love this series!
January 5, 2020
Love this whole series. Would that we could be parents as wonderful as these. I like that Margaret gets to stay in a hotel with clean soap and housekeeping every day. (Not very 'green' to be a germ-phobe, doing all that extra scrubbing and laundry etc., but maybe she'll become a bit more chill as she matures.) And of course Clementine is the perfect complement.
September 26, 2023
One of the best read aloud children’s series I’ve ever shared with one of my kids.
June 23, 2023
This book teaches kids to disrespect their parents and has PETA propaganda.
Clementine is a vegetarian and wants her dad to be one too and when he eats meat she doesn't speak to him for a week at which point he caves and won't eat meat at home. Ridiculous.
If you are thinking of picking this book up for your young child I would pass on it altogether or read it aloud with them so you can have a conversation about her behavior.
Clementine is a vegetarian and wants her dad to be one too and when he eats meat she doesn't speak to him for a week at which point he caves and won't eat meat at home. Ridiculous.
If you are thinking of picking this book up for your young child I would pass on it altogether or read it aloud with them so you can have a conversation about her behavior.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
August 1, 2015
I remain completely devoted to Clementine. She is an astoundishlingly-developed character and this book is pretty perfect.
January 5, 2022
What a sweet ending to this series. I love how it addresses the way Clementine and her dad are having a conflict, and that it’s okay to have different ideas and be different people. I love how she slowly realizes that she’s tired of not talking to her dad because she loves and misses their relationship so much, and also the way he’s so persistently patient with her. I love how Clementine realizes all the ways she’s grown during her third grade year (having a third grader myself right now, it’s true, they grow so much this year!). And the part with the baby is so funny that I could barely read it out loud for laughing.
This is one of my favorite children’s series now, especially for kids in the first half of elementary school.
This is one of my favorite children’s series now, especially for kids in the first half of elementary school.
March 30, 2021
Read to Isabel: really sweet books. Definitely a spiritual twin of Ramona. The books definitely improve bc I think this is the 7th and we’d only read the first. This one was more thoughtful and less ridiculous. Clementine and her relationship to her parents has more depth and smarts—less just pure silliness.
May 1, 2021
Such a cute and sweet children's book series. This last novel made me laugh and filled my eyes with tears multiple times. Pennypacker does such a wonderful job of balancing relatable children's literature with funny moments and real life lessons for readers of any age. Can't wait to read with my kiddos!
December 28, 2018
One of my favorites in the series. <3
March 22, 2015
Completely Clementine is the seventh book in the series. Clementine is just as lovable as in earlier books. I continue to like the series very much. It's interesting to read Clementine so soon after reading all the Ramona books. I definitely love, love, love the Ramona books. But I solidly like the Clementine ones. I think I definitely would have liked them as a kid.
In this book:
*Clementine struggles with saying goodbye to her favorite teacher
*Clementine worries about if she's really ready for fourth grade like her teacher, her parents, and her principal say she is
*Clementine nurtures her anger at her father for not suddenly becoming vegetarian; she refuses to speak to him for most of the book
*Clementine anxiously waits for the birth of her baby sister
I perhaps could have done without the vegetarian element in the story. I'm not sure it's fair for a child to dictate what her parents eat in their own home. And I think she carries the silent treatment a bit too far.
In this book:
*Clementine struggles with saying goodbye to her favorite teacher
*Clementine worries about if she's really ready for fourth grade like her teacher, her parents, and her principal say she is
*Clementine nurtures her anger at her father for not suddenly becoming vegetarian; she refuses to speak to him for most of the book
*Clementine anxiously waits for the birth of her baby sister
I perhaps could have done without the vegetarian element in the story. I'm not sure it's fair for a child to dictate what her parents eat in their own home. And I think she carries the silent treatment a bit too far.
September 14, 2015
3.5 Stars Another cute book in the Clementine Series. That Clementine flare is what the books are all about but the part about giving her dad the silent treatment made me very sad. Just wait until your dad isn't around (deceased or whatever) and you can't talk to him...you will kick your 8 year old self for being such a brat. That is why I can't rate it higher. I know Clementine was trying to drive home her point, but it says in the book that her dad was very sad. We know Clementine is a rambunctious spirited girl, but that takes it too far... it is all resolved at the end of the story but it made me sad along the way!
October 11, 2019
This book was again, entertaining and well executed. I still wish there were more books, but this did have a satisfying ending as well. We got to see Clementine's growth from the beginning of the series to this one, while still maintaining her fun and quirky personality. Megan really got into it and even wrote some of her own pretend notes to Mr. D'Matz about the school year ending.
I totally recommend this series to anyone looking for good beginning chapter books.
I totally recommend this series to anyone looking for good beginning chapter books.
July 11, 2016
Clementina bien puede ser el resultado de lo que ocurre cuando mezclas padres amorosos, profesores que escuchan y, en general, adultos que confían en los más pequeños. Una sencilla, pero tierna e inolvidable historia sobre la maravillosa cotidianidad de Clementina.
October 8, 2017
Touching end to a beautiful series.
February 16, 2018
Latest addition to the Clementine series introduces a new family member. A girl or a boy? A fruit or a vegetable?
May 2, 2019
I'm always a fan of the Clementine books. They're a consistent delight.
June 6, 2019
Looove the Clementine books.
March 25, 2021
When I finished reading this book to my entranced kiddo, I popped over here to see if any parents were annoyed at this book series for spending six books making us care about the surprisingly complex inner life of this kids' character that is Clementine, only to find her telling her dad (and the young readers, by extension) that she has become a vegetarian and she thinks they ought to do the same.
I will admit, I was taken slightly aback by it, but only because most kids' books contain little substance whatsoever. But there's no reason why a kids' book can't challenge its audience, even if that audience is knowingly comprised of parents who may have to decide mid-sentence whether or not they wish to keep reading aloud.
I'm not a vegetarian, and I have no plans to become one. But when I reached this point in the book, I had to decide: If my kid is ready for books with chapters and more complex characters, are they also ready for those characters to express ideas that may not be the same as the ones they hear at home?
I had to decide quickly on this, but I kept reading, because the answers to those questions tend to match. It's a complicated universe, and this kid has asked me about the afterlife enough times that I'm not afraid of them hearing that vegetarians exist, and are recruiting. If they don't learn about it from you, they'll learn about it from some kid at school before you know it. And when I put it through that filter, I find that there are very few topics I can realistically consider off limits.
Also, it's sweet and funny and all of the other stuff the other books are.
I will admit, I was taken slightly aback by it, but only because most kids' books contain little substance whatsoever. But there's no reason why a kids' book can't challenge its audience, even if that audience is knowingly comprised of parents who may have to decide mid-sentence whether or not they wish to keep reading aloud.
I'm not a vegetarian, and I have no plans to become one. But when I reached this point in the book, I had to decide: If my kid is ready for books with chapters and more complex characters, are they also ready for those characters to express ideas that may not be the same as the ones they hear at home?
I had to decide quickly on this, but I kept reading, because the answers to those questions tend to match. It's a complicated universe, and this kid has asked me about the afterlife enough times that I'm not afraid of them hearing that vegetarians exist, and are recruiting. If they don't learn about it from you, they'll learn about it from some kid at school before you know it. And when I put it through that filter, I find that there are very few topics I can realistically consider off limits.
Also, it's sweet and funny and all of the other stuff the other books are.
November 3, 2022
We’ve really enjoyed the Clementine series, but I found these last two Clementine books to be disappointing. I didn’t like how this one instructs kids on how to give their parents the silent treatment to get them to do what the kid wants. And I didn’t like how in the last book Clementine didn’t like the fourth graders forcing their food rules on her, but in this book (and the last) she is forcing her food rules on her family.
I did like that the book talks about how you can’t get people to believe what you do by force or by the silent treatment and that the best way to change someone’s mind is by talking with them. It was sad how much she missed talking to her dad and sweet that they reconciled. But in the end, Clementine’s silent treatment partially works because her dad agrees to eat her way when they’re at home. So I guess the silent treatment really does work? The whole thing rubbed me the wrong way.
And while I loved the way Clementine named her baby sister, I felt it was a huge miss in this series to not tell us what the brother’s name actually is. Just to mention it once at the very end would have been enough.
Overall this is a funny, sweet series (and so well done on audio). Just didn’t love these last two books.
I did like that the book talks about how you can’t get people to believe what you do by force or by the silent treatment and that the best way to change someone’s mind is by talking with them. It was sad how much she missed talking to her dad and sweet that they reconciled. But in the end, Clementine’s silent treatment partially works because her dad agrees to eat her way when they’re at home. So I guess the silent treatment really does work? The whole thing rubbed me the wrong way.
And while I loved the way Clementine named her baby sister, I felt it was a huge miss in this series to not tell us what the brother’s name actually is. Just to mention it once at the very end would have been enough.
Overall this is a funny, sweet series (and so well done on audio). Just didn’t love these last two books.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
March 16, 2024
If you know anything about me, know this, I love Clemintine books. I would literally buy a Clementine book that I already owned if I saw it at a yardsale or library sale.
Clementine makes me happy. I have never read one of her books that I haven't felt that bubble of happiness in my chest. I always laugh out loud. I always make the head tilt smile that is somewhere between bittersweet and affection.
In this book, Clementine gets mad at her dad for eating meat when the family becomes vegetarians. She stops talking to him, which hurts both of their feelings. Margaret's mom gets remarried, and Margaret has a lot of ideas. That girl is too much. I don't think a book series about her would be half as much fun. I love the glozzled storyline. Clementine's feelings about marriage, and Margaret's brother always makes me smile.
So I guess with the birth of the third child and the presentation of the table, this is the end of Clementine's adventures. Just take it from me, If you see any book in this series, scoop it up. Your heart will thank you.
Clementine makes me happy. I have never read one of her books that I haven't felt that bubble of happiness in my chest. I always laugh out loud. I always make the head tilt smile that is somewhere between bittersweet and affection.
In this book, Clementine gets mad at her dad for eating meat when the family becomes vegetarians. She stops talking to him, which hurts both of their feelings. Margaret's mom gets remarried, and Margaret has a lot of ideas. That girl is too much. I don't think a book series about her would be half as much fun. I love the glozzled storyline. Clementine's feelings about marriage, and Margaret's brother always makes me smile.
So I guess with the birth of the third child and the presentation of the table, this is the end of Clementine's adventures. Just take it from me, If you see any book in this series, scoop it up. Your heart will thank you.
October 27, 2018
That was so beautiful 😭
I literally teared up or started crying like 5 times. Clementine is THE GREATEST children's book character ive ever read (sorry, Ramona Quimby! You reigned in my heart for 11 years!). I just asbolutely adore her and her family is the sweetest literary family ever written. Like Jesus Christ, reading about them always makes me feel like I'm gonna have an emotional breakdown because I would give anythiiiiing to have parents like that! Her dad gives me the fuzziest of feelings and I can't even imagine what it would be like to have a mom like that.
Clementine's relationship with her teacher is also incredibly adorable and heartwarming. Reading this series always makes me feel like my heart is overflowing with warmth and love. Thanks, Sara Pennypacker. Gonna be so sad when I've finished the series because I could read dozens of these and never get tired of them
;_;
I literally teared up or started crying like 5 times. Clementine is THE GREATEST children's book character ive ever read (sorry, Ramona Quimby! You reigned in my heart for 11 years!). I just asbolutely adore her and her family is the sweetest literary family ever written. Like Jesus Christ, reading about them always makes me feel like I'm gonna have an emotional breakdown because I would give anythiiiiing to have parents like that! Her dad gives me the fuzziest of feelings and I can't even imagine what it would be like to have a mom like that.
Clementine's relationship with her teacher is also incredibly adorable and heartwarming. Reading this series always makes me feel like my heart is overflowing with warmth and love. Thanks, Sara Pennypacker. Gonna be so sad when I've finished the series because I could read dozens of these and never get tired of them
;_;
August 9, 2022
Summer is coming, and Clementine is not ready. She is not ready to start speaking to her father again, because she's still mad at him for eating meat. Instead, she has to express her sadness by giving him drawings of animals she knows would not want to be somebody's dinner.
Then there is the new baby on the way. Clementine's mom sure doesn't seem ready. She's suddenly crazy about cleaning (Dad says she is nesting), but she doesn't even have a name picked out yet. Clementine just hopes the baby won't be a dud.
What Clementine really isn't ready for is saying good-bye to her third grade teacher. She knows Mr. D'Matz is going to tell her all kinds of things that aren't true. Everything else may be changing around her, but that doesn't mean that Clementine has.
But which is worse, saying good-bye, or not saying good-bye?
Then there is the new baby on the way. Clementine's mom sure doesn't seem ready. She's suddenly crazy about cleaning (Dad says she is nesting), but she doesn't even have a name picked out yet. Clementine just hopes the baby won't be a dud.
What Clementine really isn't ready for is saying good-bye to her third grade teacher. She knows Mr. D'Matz is going to tell her all kinds of things that aren't true. Everything else may be changing around her, but that doesn't mean that Clementine has.
But which is worse, saying good-bye, or not saying good-bye?
March 21, 2021
Another book I proofread for our school library. I DO love the Clementine books, I love the sense of humour. There were some things in here that I'm unsure of putting in the school library. The artwork is adorable, Marla Frazee, so that's neat. But then there's so many pics of the Mom, adorably pregnant. Plus Clementine doesn't speak to her Dad for most of the book, because he is not a vegetarian like Clementine thinks he should be. I get a little tired of special diets, so maybe that's why the vegetarian part doesn't sit well with me. They do reconcile in the end and her Dad and her have always had a sweet relationship. Also it talks some of her crush on the boy in her apartment. So ya.... Might need a second opinion...
June 19, 2017
178 pages; Another episode in the continuing Clementine saga proves lots of fun for readers. This time it is nearly the end of the school year. Clementine has to deal with many things: having to say goodbye to her beloved teacher, mom having another baby, giving her dad the silent treatment over his refusal to become a vegetarian and best friend's mom getting remarried. Now that's a lot for a third grade girl to deal with. Her story is fun, realistic and continues to keep a reader engaged. I would highly recommend it for Gr. 3-4. The subject matter in this series is focused on third grade but the reading level seems a bit higher. I think girls would enjoy it more than boys.
September 11, 2018
And so the Clementine series comes to an end. It's such a good short series of kids' books, owing just a little bit to Junie B. Jones in the beginning of the series, but slowly shedding those quirks and tics and becoming all herself. Clementine is a very real, very nice girl, even if she isn't always fully aware of what she's feeling and thinking and does things without looking ahead of herself. Highly recommended for a nice light read that doesn't shy away from some of the harder things that kids deal with between friends, teachers, and parents.
June 22, 2025
Okay, this was a perfect wrap up to this very cute beloved kid series. Maybe I’m biased, but my class literally cheered and applauded (okay I’m definitely biased). But really- I found it very well done. The stuff with her dad was well developed - I liked the compromise, it felt realistic (you know, if you have healthy parents). Her crush being confirmed was cute- she’s eight! It’s cute! It’s innocent! And I liked that she didn’t magically get closure with her teacher (I mean I’m sure she would see him again).
January 14, 2018
My daughter loved this series! Clementine is a smart, energetic girl, an artist, a good friend, an animal lover...someone I wish lived next door, so she could be best friends with my daughter. We checked the whole series out from the library, and Grace has already asked if I would buy it for her collection. I have no doubt she'll be reading these again and again, as she has with favorites by Beverly Cleary and Judy Blume.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 164 reviews