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Clementine Loves Red
It's the end of the holidays for Mark, Annie and Pudding (real name: Derek). They've spent the summer in a cottage on the edge of a forest in the countryside, but they haven't had any really exciting adventures to tell their classmates back at school... Until, on their final visit to see the Frog King of a nearby pond, they find a frightened young girl crying in the woods. The curiously named Macadamia tells them she has lost Clementine, and so the three children set out on a quest to find her. But they are not the only ones looking for Clementine, and a storm is approaching, bringing with it a night full of surprises...
- GenresMiddle GradeFiction
120 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1970
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54 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews
March 15, 2017
The Marx Brothers, as Kids, With a Tart Polish Sense of Humor, Run Around in the Woods
This is a funny, slightly manic tale that should have its own genre description - "Eastern European screwball kids' comedy".
The book's cover tells you all you need to know about the main characters. Mark, Annie and Pudding, (the three siblings at the bottom of the circle), find little girl Macadamia in the woods. Macadamia has lost Clementine. With night coming on and a major thunderstorm threatening the three kids resolve to search for Clementine. Then, Eddie and Freddie, (the two brothers at the top of the circle), decide to follow and conduct their own search. Then Teddy, the local constable's son, decides to take his dog out and conduct his own "major operation". So, we have six kids wandering around the woods at night in the rain, all looking for Clementine. Now add in some responsible adults and some quirky adults and some inept adults, and have them search for Clementine and for the six kids.
It feels a little bit like a farce, with characters entering and leaving stage right, stage center and stage left. There is a tremendous energy to the story-telling, although there are frequent pauses in the action to allow everyone, (including the reader), to catch their breath and reflect on what's going on.
At times the book feels a bit like a parody of an Enid Blyton style kid adventure story. These kids are not the intrepid, omni-competent kids from standard adventure tales. Pudding is whiny and lazy. Mark is a bit of a fuss-budget know-it-all. Teddy has a bit of Inspector Clouseau to him. And so on. The kids make terrible decisions, constantly surprise and scare each other, and cannot stay dry or hold on to their flashlights. The charm, though, is that each kid grows on you as you read and they earn their likeability.
All of this may work because of the author's dry and deadpan funny approach to the whole ridiculous enterprise. There are some very tart throwaway lines and bracing observations. Dialogue is brief, often dizzy, and frequently a bit pointed. There is an underlying honesty regarding how kids really think and how they can swerve between brave and fearful in an eye-blink. The effect is to make the book feel real and goofy at the same time, which is quite an accomplishment.
This book was originally published in Poland in 1970. More and more children's and middle grade books are being translated and published for English speaking audiences and it seems to me that this book is a wonderful example of why that is a very good development. (Please note that I received a free advance ecopy of this book without a review requirement, or any influence regarding review content should I choose to post a review. Apart from that I have no connection at all to either the author or the publisher of this book.)
This is a funny, slightly manic tale that should have its own genre description - "Eastern European screwball kids' comedy".
The book's cover tells you all you need to know about the main characters. Mark, Annie and Pudding, (the three siblings at the bottom of the circle), find little girl Macadamia in the woods. Macadamia has lost Clementine. With night coming on and a major thunderstorm threatening the three kids resolve to search for Clementine. Then, Eddie and Freddie, (the two brothers at the top of the circle), decide to follow and conduct their own search. Then Teddy, the local constable's son, decides to take his dog out and conduct his own "major operation". So, we have six kids wandering around the woods at night in the rain, all looking for Clementine. Now add in some responsible adults and some quirky adults and some inept adults, and have them search for Clementine and for the six kids.
It feels a little bit like a farce, with characters entering and leaving stage right, stage center and stage left. There is a tremendous energy to the story-telling, although there are frequent pauses in the action to allow everyone, (including the reader), to catch their breath and reflect on what's going on.
At times the book feels a bit like a parody of an Enid Blyton style kid adventure story. These kids are not the intrepid, omni-competent kids from standard adventure tales. Pudding is whiny and lazy. Mark is a bit of a fuss-budget know-it-all. Teddy has a bit of Inspector Clouseau to him. And so on. The kids make terrible decisions, constantly surprise and scare each other, and cannot stay dry or hold on to their flashlights. The charm, though, is that each kid grows on you as you read and they earn their likeability.
All of this may work because of the author's dry and deadpan funny approach to the whole ridiculous enterprise. There are some very tart throwaway lines and bracing observations. Dialogue is brief, often dizzy, and frequently a bit pointed. There is an underlying honesty regarding how kids really think and how they can swerve between brave and fearful in an eye-blink. The effect is to make the book feel real and goofy at the same time, which is quite an accomplishment.
This book was originally published in Poland in 1970. More and more children's and middle grade books are being translated and published for English speaking audiences and it seems to me that this book is a wonderful example of why that is a very good development. (Please note that I received a free advance ecopy of this book without a review requirement, or any influence regarding review content should I choose to post a review. Apart from that I have no connection at all to either the author or the publisher of this book.)
August 15, 2018
There is no doubt that Clementine Loves Red is a whimsical, funny book. There's nothing particularly HARMFUL about it. Not really. Unless you count its old-fashionedness. Its limited take on gender roles (and limited roles for women and girls in general). Occasional jokes that just feel a tiny bit out of place.
It's hard to gauge which of these stem from Clementine Loves Red being an older book and which from it being a children's book. Or from it being an older Polish book. There's not much that feels uniquely Polish about the book; honestly, it reminded me a lot of those 1950s-era British children's novels with the gang of kids out on adventures that never quite make any sense but are fun to read as a kid. And I probably WOULD have enjoyed this as a child, if tepidly.
That's the thing, though. I passively enjoyed Clementine Loves Red because it's hard not to. The writing is dated, but the story is funny at times and sweet and yes, the ending was delightful (if somewhat predictable, but only somewhat). It's not that Clementine Loves Red has some major fault to it, it's just that it never quite seems to transcend. I almost wonder why this specific Polish children's story was translated, and then I feel bad about wondering that, but then I ask myself: Was this story worth it? And I just don't feel that the answer is yes. I wouldn't say that I struggled to read the book (after all, it's quite short...), but I also didn't love it.
Bottom line: Enjoyable, but not much more.
It's hard to gauge which of these stem from Clementine Loves Red being an older book and which from it being a children's book. Or from it being an older Polish book. There's not much that feels uniquely Polish about the book; honestly, it reminded me a lot of those 1950s-era British children's novels with the gang of kids out on adventures that never quite make any sense but are fun to read as a kid. And I probably WOULD have enjoyed this as a child, if tepidly.
That's the thing, though. I passively enjoyed Clementine Loves Red because it's hard not to. The writing is dated, but the story is funny at times and sweet and yes, the ending was delightful (if somewhat predictable, but only somewhat). It's not that Clementine Loves Red has some major fault to it, it's just that it never quite seems to transcend. I almost wonder why this specific Polish children's story was translated, and then I feel bad about wondering that, but then I ask myself: Was this story worth it? And I just don't feel that the answer is yes. I wouldn't say that I struggled to read the book (after all, it's quite short...), but I also didn't love it.
Bottom line: Enjoyable, but not much more.
May 21, 2019
Wenn in einem Kinderbuch eine Handvoll Kinder bei einem Unwetter im Wald herumirren denken wir in der heutigen Zeit gleich an das Schlimmste.
Nicht bei Clementine liebt Rot.
Dort treffen ein Trupp Ferienkinder ein kleines Mädchen im Wald und beschließen prompt ihr bei der Suche nach der vermissten Clementine zu helfen.
Was mit einem wahnwitzigen Plan beginnt, endet mit einer rasanten Verwechslungsgeschichte in die gleich zwei Dörfer verwickelt sind.
Ich habe Clementine liebt Rot als Hörbuch gehört, welches mir durch den Sprecher Jürgen Thormann eine riesen Freude bereitet hat.
Die Handlung der Geschichte ist an manchen Stellen ein wenig ruppig und nicht ganz so sensibel was eventuell aber auch dem Erziehung Stil der 70er Jahre entsprach.
Im Großen und Ganzen macht das Buch einfach Spaß und gibt Einblick in eine Zeit in der wir noch ohne moderne Kommunikation und Medien durch den Alltag gekommen sind und die Freizeit für die Kinder ein großes Abenteuer war.
Nicht bei Clementine liebt Rot.
Dort treffen ein Trupp Ferienkinder ein kleines Mädchen im Wald und beschließen prompt ihr bei der Suche nach der vermissten Clementine zu helfen.
Was mit einem wahnwitzigen Plan beginnt, endet mit einer rasanten Verwechslungsgeschichte in die gleich zwei Dörfer verwickelt sind.
Ich habe Clementine liebt Rot als Hörbuch gehört, welches mir durch den Sprecher Jürgen Thormann eine riesen Freude bereitet hat.
Die Handlung der Geschichte ist an manchen Stellen ein wenig ruppig und nicht ganz so sensibel was eventuell aber auch dem Erziehung Stil der 70er Jahre entsprach.
Im Großen und Ganzen macht das Buch einfach Spaß und gibt Einblick in eine Zeit in der wir noch ohne moderne Kommunikation und Medien durch den Alltag gekommen sind und die Freizeit für die Kinder ein großes Abenteuer war.
January 12, 2022
Un excelente libro para niños, muy divertido y bien escrito.
June 20, 2022
🔴Dzieci wyruszają na poszukiwania tajemniczej Klementyny, przeżywają chwile grozy, gubią się w ciemnym lesie i muszą wykazać się wielką odwagą.
🔴Zagadkowa książka dla dzieci, pełna przygód i w wakacyjnym klimacie.
🔴Historia od której nie da się oderwać, bo tytułowa Klementyna trzyma w napięciu, aż do końca.
🔴Dla dzieci jest świetną rozrywką, a dla starszych czytelników doskonałym umilaczem czasu.
4/5⭐️
🔴Zagadkowa książka dla dzieci, pełna przygód i w wakacyjnym klimacie.
🔴Historia od której nie da się oderwać, bo tytułowa Klementyna trzyma w napięciu, aż do końca.
🔴Dla dzieci jest świetną rozrywką, a dla starszych czytelników doskonałym umilaczem czasu.
4/5⭐️
February 14, 2023
You can read my review (in Slovene) here https://maticpise.com/2023/02/14/klem...
October 7, 2014
polecam szczególnie wydanie Wydawnictwa Dwie Siostry- humor ilustracji B. Butenki jest bezcenny :)
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May 28, 2017I received a copy of this title from the publisher via Netgalley for review.
DNF at 37%
I've only just now noted that this story is actually a translation from the original Polish and that knowledge beforehand would have gone a long way to atoning for some of the oddness of the story. I put this one down after 37% simply because I was a bit bored and couldn't really be bothered ploughing on to the end. The story is straightforward enough, though the translation has rendered the narrative style a bit too offhandedly, in that the characters don't seem particularly invested in finding the mysterious "Clementine" or even having discovered a kid named Macadamia in the woods.
The illustrations are simple line drawings and didn't add much to my reading experience. I think this was just a case of reader and story not matching up and I'm sure others will enjoy this lighthearted adventure.
DNF at 37%
I've only just now noted that this story is actually a translation from the original Polish and that knowledge beforehand would have gone a long way to atoning for some of the oddness of the story. I put this one down after 37% simply because I was a bit bored and couldn't really be bothered ploughing on to the end. The story is straightforward enough, though the translation has rendered the narrative style a bit too offhandedly, in that the characters don't seem particularly invested in finding the mysterious "Clementine" or even having discovered a kid named Macadamia in the woods.
The illustrations are simple line drawings and didn't add much to my reading experience. I think this was just a case of reader and story not matching up and I'm sure others will enjoy this lighthearted adventure.
Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews