Agnes and Clarabelle

November 21, 2016
Over four stories, one for each season, Griffin (the Oodlethunks series) and Sheinmel (the Stella Batts series) introduce friends Agnes, a pig, and Clarabelle, a chicken. Both pals have moments of adventurousness and trepidation at various points, and a slightly daffy air pervades all four tales: Clarabelle is highly involved in planning her own surprise birthday party, and the friends opt to sunbathe in the parking lot during a summer trip to the beach, since Agnes isn’t a fan of unfamiliar places. The story arcs aren’t always entirely satisfying, but there’s plenty to enjoy in this friendship guided by compromise, which gains added cheeriness from Palacios’s full-color illustrations. Available simultaneously: Agnes and Clarabelle Celebrate! Ages 5–7. Author’s agent: (for Griffin) Emily van Beek, Folio Literary Management; (for Sheinmel) Laura Dail, Laura Dail Literary. Illustrator’s agent: Kendra Marcus, Bookstop Literary.

September 1, 2015

K-Gr 2-This new title in the "Read & Bloom" line of Bloomsbury's early chapter books follows two unusual best friends, a chicken named Clarabelle and a pig named Agnes. Clarabelle is afraid of new things and a bit of a worrywart, while Agnes relishes challenges and enjoys helping her feathered friend. The book is divided into four chapters-one for each season of the year. Whether at the beach or shopping for shoes in a large department store, Agnes helps Clarabelle overcome her fear of new situations and find the bright side. Cheerful, full-color illustrations grab the attention of newly independent readers, while the short, episodic chapters move at a good pace. The ratio of illustrations to text varies to include pages of text only, illustration only, and a mixture; the variety helps pull readers along. VERDICT An engaging visual design, charming characters, and funny, relatable story lines make this a lovely addition to chapter book collections.-Janene Corbin, Rosebank Elementary School, Nashville, TN

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