{"product_id":"clarice-bean-think-like-an-elf-isbn-9781536223651","title":"Clarice Bean, Think Like an Elf","description":"\u003cb\u003eWith the help of Lauren Child’s wit and visual humor, Clarice Bean kindles the holiday spirit in a full-color illustrated novel perfect for family sharing—and certain to be a keeper.\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003ci\u003eChristmas cannot be Christmas without the Christmas spirit, so it is important to keep an eye on it and not let it float away.\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eClarice Bean loves Christmas, and she’s determined to spread tidings of joy in every possible way. That means making cards to send the neighbors, no matter how unfriendly; assisting a friend in need; stepping in at the Christmas concert; and helping out at home. But as hard as Clarice tries to spread the good cheer, it becomes clear that this holiday season will look different for the Tuesday family. Mom and Dad are too exhausted to even think of hosting their usual big gathering, decorating the tree turns into an evening of calamities, and the dog eats the turkey. But as they say, good things fall apart so better things can fall together. Maybe Clarice’s creative problem-solving—and some surprise help—can inspire the Tuesdays to embrace the holiday mishaps and enjoy a day better than anyone imagined! Lauren Child’s beloved Clarice Bean is back—in a singular celebration of family, joy, and Christmas spirit.On nearly every page, Child’s effervescent mix of sketches and collages stylishly records highs and low on the way to a satisfying, climactic gathering. . . A warm and bustling Christmas story: “exceptionordinarily” joyful.\u003cbr\u003e—Kirkus Reviews\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eVisually, the book is original and appealing, with drawings, photos, and colorful collages illustrating the story and the text printed in red. Clarice’s lively, amusing first-person narrative offers a fresh take on the holiday season as experienced by a child growing up in a quirky but lovable family. A rewarding addition to the Clarice Bean series of transitional chapter books.\u003cbr\u003e—Booklist\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eClarice Bean fans rejoice: the star of highly illustrated chapter books (and of picture books) brings her trademark exuberant stream-of-consciousness narration (with occasional sly authorial snark) to Christmas. . . An enjoyable chapter book full of wit and good cheer.\u003cbr\u003e—The Horn Book\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eChild’s illustrations and collages perfectly complement the text and bring the characters, setting, and Christmas spirit to life. . . . An absolutely charming story for the Christmas season, and an essential purchase for fans of the 'Clarice Bean' series.\u003cbr\u003e—School Library Journal\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eIf you kid loves wit and goofy humor, then they will love this full-color illustrated novel full of wacky hijinks and Christmas cheer.\u003cbr\u003e—Romper\u003cb\u003eLauren Child\u003c\/b\u003e has published many picture books, including \u003ci\u003eThe New Small Person\u003c\/i\u003e,\u003ci\u003e Absolutely One Thing\u003c\/i\u003e,\u003ci\u003e \u003c\/i\u003eand \u003ci\u003eA Dog with Nice Ears\u003c\/i\u003e,\u003ci\u003e \u003c\/i\u003eas well as the hugely popular Charlie and Lola and Clarice Bean series and a spin-off series of novels about Ruby Redfort. About this book she says, “My childhood memories of Christmas are all good—even the things that went wrong were good. Perhaps it’s to do with that childhood wish for it all to be good that somehow makes it so.”\u003ci\u003e \u003c\/i\u003eShe has won numerous awards, including the prestigious Kate Greenaway Medal. Lauren Child lives in London.\u003cb\u003eThe Beginning of Things\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003eOne thing we all agree on in our house is that we like looking forward to Christmas.\u003cbr\u003eMy favorite song for this time of the year is \"The Twelve Days of Christmas.\" I'm not sure exactly what it's about. I used to think it was Christmas shopping, but Betty Moody says it has to do with the twelve days AFTER Christmas.\u003cbr\u003eBut why would someone give you ALL those presents when it is all OVER?\u003cbr\u003eAnd why would they give you so many BIRDS?\u003cbr\u003eIt might be about the holiday sales, but Betty says they DIDN'T have sales in the olden days.\u003cbr\u003eWhen the Christmas season begins, I sing \"The Twelve Days of Christmas\" ALL THE TIME, but I tend not to know what comes AFTER the seven swans are swimming. \u003cbr\u003eSpeaking of seven, we also have seven in our family. Which is: \u003cbr\u003emy mom and my dad; \u003cbr\u003emy older brother, Kurt; \u003cbr\u003emy older sister, Marcie; \u003cbr\u003eMe, Clarice Bean;\u003cbr\u003emy grandad, who is an \u003ci\u003eactual\u003c\/i\u003e live-in older relative;\u003cbr\u003eand my younger brother, Minal Cricket.\u003cbr\u003eIf we were like those families in the books, we would look like THIS, all nicely sitting down, listening to each other in a smiling way—like you see on Christmas cards.\u003cbr\u003eBut usually, actually, we look more like THIS. . . which is talking or NOT talking all at the same time from different rooms.\u003cbr\u003eI live on Navarino Street, number 7, and I know LOTS of the people on our road. At Christmastime there is more helloing and this is because of the Christmas spirit.\u003cbr\u003eChristmas cannot be Christmas without the Christmas spirit, so it is IMPORTANT to keep an eye on it and NOT let it float away.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eONE\u003cbr\u003eChristmas Is Coming, the Goose Is Getting Fat\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003eYou can tell when it’s getting to be Christmas because Mom gets out the Christmas-elf dish towels. We have three of them although we used to have four. Granny sent them to us—they are from New York and along the bottom they say “Think Like Elves” in embroidery.\u003cbr\u003eWe have special Christmas water glasses too, which have reindeers on the sides. They are very old. No one must break them because they are heirlooms of the family and very much the spirit of Christmas.\u003cbr\u003eEvery year Dad says, “We drank from these glasses when I was a small child and NOT one of them has ever been dropped.” \u003cbr\u003eThis makes me very actually nervous. \u003cbr\u003eThere are only six so not quite enough to go around, but Grandad says he’s happy with a less valuable water glass, as he suffers from the collywobbles, which basically means he is liable to drop a glass at any moment.\u003cbr\u003eThe other thing which usually happens is that we all bake gingerbread cookies, which are decorated with icing. They are sort of chewy and NOT necessarily that nice unless you are \u003cbr\u003ein the mood. But I don’t mind because it is another sign that Christmas is coming.\u003cbr\u003eSomething you may also notice is that there is more mail: electric bills with holly printed on the envelope, and cards from people who you can’t remember who they are.\u003cbr\u003eIf I come downstairs to hear Mom saying, “Who are Beryl and Terrance?” and Dad saying, “I haven’t got a clue,” then I know that Christmas has begun. \u003cbr\u003eActually we never know who Beryl and Terrance are. \u003cbr\u003eI’m beginning to wonder if they even know us.\u003cbr\u003eAlso we don’t know who J and P and W (Farrell) are, even though they always write in the card “Really enjoyed bumping into you this summer” or “W is doing really well with his clarinet.”\u003cbr\u003eOnce the Christmas cards begin to arrive, we arrange them on the kitchen table and Mom always says, “It’s so lovely to think of all these people from all these far-off places taking the trouble to write and send us good cheer.”\u003cbr\u003eAnd then when more arrive, we line them up along the living-room shelves and then along the kitchen shelves and Mom says, “Look at that—the spirit of Christmas!”\u003cbr\u003eAnd then when even more come, we crowd them on the window ledges and always a few of them fall into the kitchen sink.\u003cbr\u003eAnd Mom says, “These cards are a blimming nuisance.”\u003cbr\u003eBut really there is nowhere else to put them, so it is unavoidable that some end up getting wet.\u003cbr\u003eWe used to hang them up on a string across the kitchen, but then one year some of them decided to fall into the stir-fry and they got set on fire, and it could have been much worse if Kurt hadn’t thrown a wet dish towel over the wok.\u003cbr\u003eMy Uncle Ted, who is a firefighter, told us our Christmas cards were a FIRE HAZARD waiting to happen. He was right, and we were lucky not to lose more than the Christmas-elf dish towel.\u003cbr\u003eHe said, “You just CANNOT have Christmas cards dangling over open flames. What were you thinking?”\u003cbr\u003eEveryone looked sheepish. So now there is a strict law in our house about cards—when too many arrive the ugly ones get shuffled into the recycling.\u003cbr\u003eI say, “Mom, you do know you are throwing people’s Christmas spirit in the actual trash can?”\u003cbr\u003eAnd Mom whispers, “Whatever you do, don’t tell anyone!”","brand":"Candlewick","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":46304720978149,"sku":"NP9781536223651","price":19.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/1842\/7735\/files\/9781536223651.jpg?v=1767723789","url":"https:\/\/k12savings.com\/es\/products\/clarice-bean-think-like-an-elf-isbn-9781536223651","provider":"K12savings","version":"1.0","type":"link"}