Clarice Bean Spells Trouble by Lauren Child

Lauren Child is probably best known for her quirky illustrations and is one the most original and exciting children's illustrators to emerge in recent years. She won the Kate Greenaway Medal for her book I Will Not Ever Never Eat a Tomato. Another of her books Beware of the Storybook Wolves was also shortlisted for the award. She has also won Bronze Medal Smarties Award in 2000 and was Highly Commended for the 1999 Kate Greenaway Medal.

The Clarice Bean series of books brings stories of an extraordinary little girl with an hilarious outlook on life to young readers aged 7 or 8 plus.

In Clarice Bean Spells Trouble, Clarice is desperate to achieve a role in the school play and impress Mrs Wilberton in the Spelling Bee but as the title suggests she manages over and over again to get into very big trouble.

Even just being friends with Karl Wrenbury, the naughtiest boy in school, is enough to make everyone think that Clarice is just a bad. Matters are not helped by the pressures of having to take part in Miss Wilberton’s stupid Spelling Bee competition.

Will Clarice get a part in the school play and will her dreams of getting spotted as a child star save her from dull school tasks?

The story is written in a direct conversational style that will appeal to both girls and boys. Each chapter features exciting, humourous drawings, different font styles and sizes and entertaining footnotes to any thing the author feels needs explaining to readers as young as seven and eight.

Clarice Bean Spells Trouble is an ideal “chapter book” for newly emergent readers who like a challenge and something “utterly” unexpected.

Other titles by Lauren Child in the Clarice Bean series include:
What Planet Are You From Clarice Bean?
Utterley Me, Clarice Bean
Clarice Bean, That’s Me

Current Children's Book of the Month
Previous Children's Books of the Month