Clarice Bean, Scram! The Story of How We Got Our Dog

Clarice Bean

by Lauren Child

When a stray dog follows Clarice Bean home, she decides it’s up to her to take care of him. Now all she has to do is figure out how to keep him a secret from the rest of the family . . .

Nothing ever happens
except for sometimes.
And only on rare-ish occasions,
which is hardly ever.

It is sweltering hot, and Clarice Bean is bored, and boredom can lead to trouble, and trouble can lead to people getting very mad at you. Not good when the person who’s mad at you is your sister and she has the thing you want most of all: a pair of roller skates.

How can Clarice make things right when there’s this dog who won’t stop following her around? Doesn’t he have a home of his own to go to? She's told him to scram, but he just won’t listen. Find out in this story from the inimitable Lauren Child of falling out with a sister, falling in with a dog, and doing everything wrong, only to find you’ve got everything right.

Genres: Middle Grade, Dogs, Childrens, Novels, Friendship, Family

176 pages, Hardcover

Published April 11, 2023

About the author

Lauren Child MBE is an English author and illustrator. She was the UK Children's Laureate from 2017-19.

Child grew up in Wiltshire as the middle child of three sisters and the daughter of two teachers. She has always been interested in the many aspects of childhood, from gazing into toy shop windows to watching American children's shows from the 1960s. After attending two Art Schools, she travelled for six months, still unsure about which career to embark upon.

Before writing and illustrating children's books Child started her own company 'Chandeliers for the People' making lampshades. It was only when she came to write and illustrate the book Clarice Bean, That's Me that she decided to devote her time to writing and illustrating books for children, which combines her fascination for childhood and her talent for designing and creating. Child gets her inspiration from other people's conversations or from seeing something funny happen.

Her book I Will Not Ever Never Eat A Tomato won the 2000 Kate Greenaway Medal. For the 50th anniversary of the Medal (1955–2005), a panel named it one of the top ten winning works, which comprised the shortlist for a public vote for the nation's favourite. It finished third in the public vote from that shortlist.

Child lives in North London.

Reviews

[Paul · Rating 5 out of 5]

More genius, hilarious Clarice Bean misadventures from Lauren Child. This was the book that made me realise the series was not being published in chronological order, as this was a prequel/flashback of sorts to the time when they got the family dog.

[Shannon · Rating 5 out of 5]

Another fantastic Clarice Bean book, perfect for any fans of the series.

[Ella Storey · Rating 5 out of 5]

AMAZING as always. I love Lauren Child's books and his one was as brilliant as the rest. I'll never get bored of them!

[Annie · Rating 5 out of 5]

Unlike “Think like an Elf” which I read out of season yesterday, I read this book on a day that is hot and humid just like the setting in the book.
This has lovely pictures and a nice cozy low stakes plot. The positive interactions between the 4 Bean siblings are sweet too. Of course they don’t always get along (nobody’s siblings do) but them finding common ground and working together is sweet when lots of children’s books feature siblings who are more apathetic or antagonistic towards each other.
This is a fun series because some of them are picture books and some are illustrated chapter books.
This book does not top the line “We do not lick other people’s hands in The Sound of Music” from one of the earlier books.

[liz · Rating 5 out of 5]

7 year old me loved Clarice Bean and so does 27 year old me! I can see why; her voice is just like mine as a child. As an adult reader, I found this book cute and funny, but I know that if I'd read it as a child I would have been ENRAGED by the simplistic plot line and how Clarice Bean felt younger - why bother craft a character if you're not going to develop her in further books? However, I know that Lauren Child wrote this book as sweet escapism from the covid lockdowns, so I understand why she wrote it. What a children's author chooses to write has a lot more adult meaning than they choose to tell children.

[kaitlyns_library · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book was absolutely precious! I read Clarice Bean: Spells Trouble and Utterly Me, Clarice Bean when I was younger and when I saw this book, I wanted to relive my childhood.

I love the adventure that Clarice gets on in this novel. It was super cute and lighthearted!!

[amanda luke ✡︎ · Rating 4 out of 5]

So much fun! I didn’t even know Lauren Child was still writing Clarice Bean books. This one was as enjoyable as the the others I grew up reading.

[Laura Feldon · Rating 4 out of 5]

So far my favourite storyline out of the Clarice Bean books. My childhood dream!

[Sunshine · Rating 5 out of 5]

Utterly lovely!

[Rosi Hollinbeck · Rating 5 out of 5]

Clarice Bean lives with her family in the city. It is a HOT summer day with NOTHING to do, which, when Clarice is involved, usually means she will get into some trouble. This day is no exception. She gets into her sister Marcie's things and ruins her magazine. While trying to make things right, Clarice is followed home by a stray dog. She knows Marcie wants a dog more than anything, but they are not supposed to have a dog. Grandpa's bird might be endangered, and the cat probably would also object. The dog just won't leave, and Clarice takes it upon herself to find a way to keep the dog.

This book is laugh-out-loud funny and, at the same time, very sweet. The characters are great, the story is very compelling, the writing is wonderful, and the graphics are terrific. Kids will love every page of this book.

[Gretchen · Rating 5 out of 5]

I have always loved the Clarice Bean picture books and any picture book by Lauren Child and somehow I missed that there were chapter books as well. I love that the book has bigger text and pictures to make it less intimidating to students in the lower grades moving into chapter books and yet the story and vocabulary is complex enough to be a short read for older students as well. Clarice, Ramona, and Clementine are all sweet little girls that don't quite know what a filter is or why we need them. That's what makes them so lovable and interesting to read.

[Alice Branch · Rating 5 out of 5]

Clarice Bean has got herself in a pickle yet again. But this is huge.
When Clarice finds a dog on the street without an owner, she takes almost no attention to it. But it keeps following her. So, she secretly looks after it at home, although she is already in trouble with Marcie and Mum. But, she can’t keep it a secret forever, can she?
A brilliant story and it is a stupendous edition to the already hilarious series. I simply cannot wait for more books to come out

[Katy Wheatley · Rating 5 out of 5]

Another cracker from Lauren Child. The marriage between the artwork and the story is fantastic. I love the way that Child uses text to illustrate feelings and/or as an added element of artwork. The way she plays with the word spider is a masterclass in children's writing all on its own. This is the story of how Cement, the family dog, came to be part of the family. It's funny and touching and just wonderful.

[Kalilah · Rating 4 out of 5]

Had to listen to the audiobook read by Lauren Child herself the moment I realised this book existed.
I loved it. Just as "Clarice-ish" as ever, and perfectly read. I hope this means there will be even more Clarice Bean chapter books to come because my whole family loves them.

[Alice magical library · Rating 5 out of 5]

Clarice Bean has got herself in a pickle yet again. But this is huge.
When Clarice finds a dog on the street without an owner, she takes almost no attention to it. But it keeps following her. So, she secretly looks after it at home, although she is already in trouble with Marcie and Mum. But, she can’t keep it a secret forever, can she?
A brilliant story and it is a stupendous edition to the already hilarious series. I simply cannot wait for more books to come out

[Kathy · Rating 5 out of 5]

This reminds me a lot of Dory Fantasmagory in its realistic depiction of how kids think. Kids will totally relate. Lots of pictures and font clues (like Geronimo Stilton) will make this appealing to Diary of a Wimpy Kid fans.

[Steph · Rating 5 out of 5]

Are you kidding me?! I LOVE CLARICE BEAN! I love this book! I love Clement/Cement and how Lauren Child creates art and uses laugh-out-loud phrases and makes me smile as I read her stories of Clarice, Charlie, and Lola.

5 stars for this early chapter book!

[hana · Rating 4 out of 5]

very sweet :) reminded me of my childhood

[jess · Rating 5 out of 5]

I utterly adore Lauren Child.

[Francesca Pashby · Rating 5 out of 5]

Perfect gem!

Sweet story, delightful drawings, pleasingly produced ... it's a win/win for childhood.

[Alba · Rating 5 out of 5]

Really gooddddd

[Courtenay]

DNF. Got to p. 23 and returned to library.

[Laura · Rating 4 out of 5]

Read in one sitting. Clarice Bean is delightful. That is all.

[jaysonreadinginthedark · Rating 4 out of 5]

I now know the origin of Cement 🤍

[Niko Bloom · Rating 4 out of 5]

Read it in cafe Nero just now 😝

[Jane Condon · Rating 4 out of 5]

I utterly can't put it down! Amazing for other dog lovers or just anyone who LOVES books!

Grace

[Anna]

She's so ADHD-coded, iconic diva

[Janet · Rating 5 out of 5]

I don't know how Lauren Child knows me because we've never met. But she knows me and she also knows my kids and husband and our dog and our grouchy neighbor. It's like she's a FLY in our home and she sees all of our Tom Sawyer-ness and our mixed up mid-summer night’s dream-ness and our thing one and thing two-ness. I have no idea how she knows us so well. Because, like I said, we've never met.

[Boo · Rating 5 out of 5]

I don't think anyone in the world was as excited for this book as me (I bought it the minute it came into work).

and as always Clarice Bean doesn't disappoint!! I really really loved this <3