(MMGM) Sara Pennypacker, author of the Clementine Series {interview and giveaway}

Welcome to Day 25 of the 4th Annual March MG Madness! Today we are celebrating Sara Pennypacker's charming Clementine Series...

Completely Clementine

(Clementine #7)

by Sara Pennypacker

3/3/15

Disney-Hyperion

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?

goodreads / amazon / b&n /indiebound

You can learn about and purchase the other Clementine Books HERE

Praise for the Clementine Books

"A delightful addition to any beginning chapter-book collection."
-School Library Journal, 10/06 STARRED REVIEW

"Along with humorous bits, Pennypacker seamlessly weaves into the narrative common third-grade themes...Fans of Judy Moody will welcome this portrait of another funny, independent third-grader." 
-Publishers Weekly, 08/06 STARRED REVIEW

"Libraries will need multiple copies of this one, because early chapter-book readers will jump at the chance to spend another eventful week with Clementine." 
STARRED REVIEW School Library Journal, April 2007

"Pennypacker once again demonstrates her keen insights into the third-grade mind with Clementine's priceless observations of the world around her" 
-Kirkus STARRED REVIEW

"New readers and listeners will cheer when Clementine discovers her talent and will eagerly await the next book about this "one of a kind" girl." 
-Horn Book, May/June 2007

What three words best describe your Clementine series? 

“Uh-oh!” “Funny” and “Honest”

Can you give us your best one sentence pitch to convince readers, especially reluctant readers, to give this series a try?

I predict that you will laugh while you’re reading it, and that at the end, you’ll feel like you’ve met a new friend.

Grab a copy of Completely Clementine and answer the following:

favorite chapter? The last one

favorite page? Page 53. I love Principal Rice!

favorite illustration? The very first one, where Clementine and Moisturizer are waking up.

favorite place/setting? Clementine’s kitchen, with the whole family in it. Always.

flip to a random page and give us a 1-2 sentences teaser: “I just remembered I might have left a bologna sandwich in my desk in September,” I said. “So I’d better go clean it out now.”

What inspired the Clementine series? 

Kids. Specifically, kids who are told to pay attention a lot. My son was a kid like that, and I came to understand that he actually was paying attention - to some pretty important things, like how beautiful and interesting the world is, and coming up with creative ideas, and caring about how other people are feeling.

Can you tell us a bit about your heroine, Clementine? What makes her special and sets her apart from other middle-grades heroines? 

What I love best about her is her attitude. She gets herself in trouble a lot (although always it’s because she’s trying to do something good, and just hasn’t thought it through enough!) but she never stays down about it. She says, “Okay, fine,” which to me means she accepts herself as a mistake-maker and knows she’s going to do better. Like most kids, Clementine sometimes does need to work on paying attention and not being impulsive or distractible, but she’s got so many great qualities.

No wait – what I really love best about her is how funny she is...Clementine just cracks me up!

What do you hope young readers learn from and/or walk away with after reading your Clementine books? 

Definitely this: That they are not the only ones. All human beings make mistakes, and we can laugh about that and feel better.

As a middle-grade author, why do think MG is so important and popular?

At the middle-grade age, kids have solid reading skills and they love stories and characters. Stories show them both people like themselves and people who are completely different – it’s such an important way to learn about human experiences and possibilities. Middle grade books open up the world to people who are hungry for that at just the right time.

What do you love about MG? 

The readers. Mid-grade readers read more books per year than any other group – it’s not unusual for them to read a whole book in a day. Grown-ups almost never do that!  It’s an honor to write for people who care about books so much.

What are some of your favorite middle-grade reads?

There are so many great ones! Some are really old - A Wrinkle in Time; My Side of the Mountain; Shiloh; The Borrowers; Charlotte’s Web. I like Harriet the Spy more every time I read it. I love all of Roald Dahl’s mid-grades.

Some new ones include Brown Girl Dreaming; Okay for Now; Wonder; Because of Winn-Dixie; Moonbird; Bomb; When You Reach Me; Higher Power of Lucky; Ninth Ward...Oh, I have to stop. I could name a hundred more – I love this genre.

Fill in the blanks:

I’m really awesome at Ping-Pong.

I’m really embarrassed to admit that sometimes my Smart-phone makes me feel dumb!

The last great book I read was The Little Prince..I just read it again for about the 10th time. Perfect!

If you were to bake a cupcake inspired by Completely Clementine, what would it look and taste like and what would you call it?

What a great question! Well, it would be based on a Boston Crème Pie – vanilla cake, custard filling, dark chocolate icing – which is a delicious combination. It would be topped with a clementine slice, of course. Uh-oh...I WANT ONE RIGHT NOW!!!!!

website * goodreads * twitter * facebook

Sara Pennypacker is an author of children's literature. She has received many awards for her books including the Christopher Award for Clementines's Letter and the Golden Kite Award for Pierre In Love.

Win the ENTIRE Clementine Series!

Disney-Hyperion has generously offered one set of all seven books in the series, for one winner.

Details

-US only

-ends 4/3

-one winner will get books 1-7

(please read full rules below rafflecoper)

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