Utterly Me, Clarice Bean Quotes

“Clarice’s extraordinarily ordinary family is under pressure. Dad keeps muttering about how “there might be a reshuffle going on at work”, while mum spends her life “gribbling about pants on the floor and shoes on the sofa”. And as for her brother, Minal Cricket, he “tends to be utterly a nuisance”.”

There were some things I liked about this, and some I didn’t. I love that Clarice Bean is a bookworm, addicted to the Ruby Redford series about a young girl who lives a secret double life as an international spy. I liked the creativity in the text layout, meandering about the page as Clarice’s thoughts meander during class.

“Clarice and her utterly best friend, Betty Moody, are planning to ace their book project about Ruby and win the class prize, until Betty disappears into thin air, and horrible teacher Mrs. Wilberton teams Clarice up with the naughtiest boy in school.”

“Sometimes I stare boredly into space, thinking utterly of nothing. This makes Mrs. Wilberton very irritated. I get on her nerves. I know this because she is always telling me I do. To be honest, Mrs. Wilberton is not my favorite person on the planet of Earth. Unfortunately, I am from Earth and she is my teacher.”

This is me, Clarice Bean. I am not an only child, but I sometimes wish I was. My family is six people, which is sometimes too many. Not always, just sometimes. My dad is mostly in an office on the phone, going, “I can’t talk now — I’m up to my ears in it.”

Will her new partner ruin everything? Will Betty ever come back? And what on earth happened to the silver trophy everyone’s hoping to win? Lauren Child brings her trademark wacky wit and eccentric visual energy to a full-length, fast paced Clarice Bean episode that will charm even the most capricious reader.

It’s not easy to concentrate at school when mysterious things are happening all around you. In fact, Clarice Bean is starting to feel just like her favorite heroine: Ruby Redfort, schoolgirl detective.

“I am the third oldest, and I think it would have been a good idea if I was the youngest, too. I am not quite sure why my mom and dad wanted to have more children after me.”

“Sometimes I stare boredly into space, thinking utterly of nothing. This makes Mrs. Wilberton very irritated. I get on her nerves. I know this because she is always telling me I do. To be honest, Mrs. Wilberton is not my favorite person on the planet of Earth. Unfortunately, I am from Earth and she is my teacher.”

Mom is always gribbling about pants on the floor and shoes on the sofa. She says, “This house doesn’t clean itself, you know. “Who do you think does everything around here? “Mr. Nobody? “I don’t get paid to pick up your smelly socks! If I did, I’d be a rich woman.” etc. etc. non stop.

“They don’t need another one and it’s a shame because he is spoiling it for everyone else. He is called Minal Cricket and he tends to be utterly a nuisance. He is nonstop whining and causing other people to get themselves in trouble.”