Utterly Me, Clarice Bean is the first full-length novel in the highly distinctive and popular series, fully immersing the reader in the inventive, funny, and sometimes chaotic inner world of Clarice Bean. Clarice is a girl with a penchant for solving mysteries and a slightly bewildering view of the adult world, which is constantly getting in the way of her highly important thoughts. The narrative centers on Clarice’s attempts to cope with her busy, disorganized family—her constantly worried mother, her preoccupied father, her annoying brother, and her moody sister—while also dealing with the pressures of school life. Her escape and inspiration come from her favorite fictional book series, 'Ruby Redfort,' a spy who always solves the case. When Clarice’s best friend, Betty Moody, is upset, Clarice decides to employ her inner Ruby Redfort to solve the "mystery" of how to make things right. Child’s unique visual style, which blends text, different fonts, and quirky illustrations, perfectly mirrors Clarice’s stream-of-consciousness and hyper-observational nature. The book is a brilliant, witty, and charming celebration of childhood imagination, the importance of reading, and the enduring quest to make sense of a confusing world.
