{"product_id":"always-clementine-isbn-9781536236095","title":"Always, Clementine","description":"\u003cb\u003e“A heartwarming and hopeful story. . . . A reminder that there is a lot of goodness and friendship in the world.” —\u003ci\u003eSchool Library Connection\u003c\/i\u003e (starred review) \u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eClementine is different from other mice: she can calculate the speed of light and she dreams in Latin. The scientists say she’s a genius and put her through test after test. Clementine is proud of being a good lab mouse, but she’s lonely. Her only snatches of friendship occur during her late-night visits with a chimpanzee named Rosie. When a compassionate lab technician frees Clementine, the mouse discovers an outside world full of wonders: Brussels sprouts, games of speed chess, television fame, and a chance for a real home. But for Clementine, it’s not enough to be free when she knows that Rosie and the other mice are not. This tender, lively adventure story, narrated in letters from a mouse to a chimpanzee, shows us that goodness is something we have to define for ourselves—and that courage and wisdom aren’t proportionate to size.\u003cb\u003eDroll and delightful\u003c\/b\u003e. . . Rollicking? Yes, plus great fun, while the broadside against lab testing on animals won’t be lost on even the most naïve of readers.\u003cbr\u003e—The New York Times Book Review\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eSerious themes lightened by comedic touches; \u003cb\u003ethe strong emotional attachments will linger with readers\u003c\/b\u003e.\u003cbr\u003e—Kirkus Reviews (starred review)\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eGenius rodent Clementine finds her purpose with the help of friends and the game of chess in Sorosiak’s (\u003ci\u003eI, Cosmo\u003c\/i\u003e) \u003cb\u003eheartfelt, adventure-filled\u003c\/b\u003e tale. . . . Maintaining a strong emotional core through Clementine’s voice, Sorosiak explores themes—including animal cruelty, duty, empathy, and intelligence—with a deft, light touch.\u003cbr\u003e—Publishers Weekly (starred review)\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eThis heartwarming and hopeful story is told through letters written by Clementine to Rosie as she finds her purpose in the world. Sorosiak successfully allows the reader to get to know the characters through these letters while still telling a story full of adventures and bravery. . . . \u003cb\u003eThe serious themes in the book are dealt with carefully and thoughtfully\u003c\/b\u003e, making this a good choice for group discussion particularly for older readers. . . a reminder that there is a lot of goodness and friendship in the world.\u003cbr\u003e—School Library Connection (starred review)\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eThe escape-from-the-lab premise is a favorite within the animal-fantasy genre, but Sorosiak keeps it fresh in her latest endeavor. . . \u003cb\u003ethis sweetspirited adventure will easily find fans\u003c\/b\u003e.\u003cbr\u003e—Booklist\u003cb\u003eCarlie Sorosiak\u003c\/b\u003e is the author of the novels \u003ci\u003eI\u003c\/i\u003e,\u003ci\u003e Cosmo\u003c\/i\u003e and \u003ci\u003eLeonard (My Life as a Cat)\u003c\/i\u003e, as well as the picture books \u003ci\u003eEverywhere with You\u003c\/i\u003e, illustrated by Devon Holzwarth, and \u003ci\u003eBooks Aren’t for Eating\u003c\/i\u003e, illustrated by Manu Montoya. She lives in Georgia with her husband and their American dingo.\u003cb\u003eOpenings\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e  \u003cbr\u003e \u003cb\u003eLetter 1\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e Dear Rosie,\u003cbr\u003e   There once was a mouse. That’s me. Hello!\u003cbr\u003e   As you can probably tell, I’m not sure how to begin. This is my first time writing a letter. And it’s not even writing! It’s more like thinking. I am \u003ci\u003ethinking \u003c\/i\u003ea letter.\u003cbr\u003e   This would be so much easier if I could just see your face: your white chin whiskers, your amber eyes. Did you know that one hundred minutes have passed since we last spoke? You probably do.\u003cbr\u003e   Let me start again. My brain is firing in many, many directions—and it’s hard to concentrate my thoughts. This often happens. I will focus them here. Inside a mailbox.\u003cbr\u003e   Rosie, I’m stuck inside a mailbox!\u003cbr\u003e   Sound it out with your fingers. \u003ci\u003eMail-box.\u003c\/i\u003e It’s a place where people deposit their letters, their ideas, their wishes for one another. In this mailbox, every letter is addressed to the same person. The envelopes smell of paper and taste like—wait a second—oh, they do not taste good. (\u003ci\u003ePew!\u003c\/i\u003e I’m spitting them out now.)\u003cbr\u003e   Despite everything that’s just happened to me, Rosie, I am an optimist. A very difficult thing to be, sometimes, at three inches tall. But my tail is still curling at the \u003ci\u003eboom-boom-boom\u003c\/i\u003e of thunder outside. Oh! It’s so shaky! So loud! All I can do is tuck myself into the shadow of a letter, looking up to see—yes, that’s interesting, the stamp is exactly the size of my head. \u003cbr\u003e   Are you afraid?\u003cbr\u003e   Are you missing me, too?\u003cbr\u003e   How long before I see you again?\u003cbr\u003e   As I’m tucking, as I’m tail-curling, I’m trying to figure out a way back to you. We’ve never been apart for this long. I am your mouse. You are my chimpanzee. Will you be taller, seconds or minutes or days from now? Will you still let me climb onto your shoulder, up the black hair of your arm? I like that! I like how you laugh when I press my paws to your nose.\u003cbr\u003e   Until then, I’ll write these letters. \u003ci\u003eThink \u003c\/i\u003ethese letters. That way, when you lift me into the bare palm of your hand again, all my memories will be right there. And I can tell you everything.\u003cbr\u003e   (If I’m not gone forever first.)\u003cbr\u003e Always,\u003cbr\u003e Clementine\u003cbr\u003e  \u003cbr\u003e \u003cb\u003eLetter 2\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e Dear Rosie,\u003cbr\u003e   It has been seventeen seconds since my last letter. How are you?\u003cbr\u003e   Rain is hammering the mailbox! This mailbox is supposed to help protect me. Protect me from what, I do not know. But each \u003ci\u003erap \u003c\/i\u003eand \u003ci\u003edrop \u003c\/i\u003eof rain prickles my fur. My tail stiffens.\u003cbr\u003e   Thunder is the second-loudest noise I’ve ever heard.\u003cbr\u003e   We’ll get to the first later. Right now, considering that I’m stuck (and not afraid!), I’d like to busy my brain. Shouldn’t we start at the beginning? I was planning on telling you this someday! My origins. My life before you. I don’t know yours, so I’d like you—at least—to know mine.\u003cbr\u003e   I remember the day I was born. Maybe this is strange, to remember the exact moment you entered the world. But I do. It was warm, wood shavings were soft around me, and I thought to myself: Breathe.\u003cbr\u003e   Then I thought: \u003ci\u003ePrime numbers are asymptomatically distributed among positive integers, and light travels proportionally through the vacuum of space.\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003e   More interesting ideas would come.\u003cbr\u003e   Keep in mind, though, I didn’t have any fur yet. My eyes hadn’t opened. My ears—small and velvety pink—couldn’t hear a single noise. That’s why it took me twenty-five days (plus or minus seven seconds) to discover that I was the smartest mouse in history.\u003cbr\u003e   “She could be the smartest mouse in history,” said one of the researchers. That was a clue. As was the fact that I understood human language. The other lab mice didn’t follow conversations the way I did. They didn’t sit dreamily at the edge of our cage, forepaws tucked under their chins, and just listen.\u003cbr\u003e   Different. I wasn’t sure I was different. How can you really know? You can’t ask the other mice, \u003ci\u003eWhen you’re drinking from that water bottle, are you solving equations at the same time? If you dream at night, is it in Latin? Do you have a thinking cap (a miniature pom-pom from a human’s sweater)?\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003e   No.\u003cbr\u003e   We cuddled in a pile. We played. Our fur grew in at the same time. I have a heart-shaped spot, just above my tail, and so did one of the other mice. A lab is a place for scientific tests, and we were all a big part of those tests; yet, in most ways, we seemed unalike. My cage-mates peered at me strangely as I threw myself into activities. Waiting around, waiting for the next part of the experiment, is uninteresting. So I saved all my food pellets in the corner of the cage, hiding them beneath the water bottle, then stuffed them in my mouth—all at once. I developed theories about how far my cheeks could balloon. And I noticed that the harder I thought, the more my fur smelled of rasp­berries. (Apparently this was a side effect of the experiment. Although the rest of the mice just smelled like mice.)\u003cbr\u003e   \u003ci\u003eWait!\u003c\/i\u003e What was that noise? That noise, right now? Is someone outside the mailbox? Is that a tree branch or a human or just the rain? I lift onto my hind toes, ears vibrating, whiskers whiskering.\u003cbr\u003e   Hmm. It’s gone.\u003cbr\u003e   Now, where was I?\u003cbr\u003e   Oh! The maze.\u003cbr\u003e   The maze changed everything.\u003cbr\u003e   Lab mice are supposed to follow the jumble of trails. I did that—one time. But why go \u003ci\u003ethrough \u003c\/i\u003ethe maze if you can simply . . . leave? Standing on my hind paws, I wobbled a bit, calculated the trajectory, then sprung over the wall, landing with a gentle \u003ci\u003ethump \u003c\/i\u003eon the table.\u003cbr\u003e   “Did you see that?” a researcher said, grabbing me.\u003cbr\u003e   “See what?” asked another.\u003cbr\u003e   “This mouse. She hopped out of the maze like some sort of pogo stick! None of the others have done that.” He lifted me in his palm until he met my stare. My mind was wandering toward electromagnetic waves and the Pythagorean theorem and also brussels sprouts, which are delicious. “Her eyes look so \u003ci\u003ehuman\u003c\/i\u003e. Don’t they look human?”\u003cbr\u003e   A human eye is half the size of my body. How odd would I look if my eyes were that large?\u003cbr\u003e   And why didn’t the humans ever ask \u003ci\u003eme \u003c\/i\u003equestions? Why couldn’t we brainstorm the experiment together? The lab was studying how to increase intelligence in mammals by altering our DNA. I had so many ideas to help! Like, miniature lab coats for all of us mice. And brussels sprouts sandwiches every twenty-six minutes. And improved analytics for their statistical models.\u003cbr\u003e   “Just run it another time,” the first researcher said.\u003cbr\u003e   In half a second (so quick! ha! ha-ha-ha!), I was out again.\u003cbr\u003e   That night, new questions arrived. \u003ci\u003eDidn’t the maze bore the others? Why were they so intent on burrowing when our cage was solid and could not be burrowed through?\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003e   I was missing something. Some important secret about the world.\u003cbr\u003e   It was lonely, Rosie.\u003cbr\u003e   I was lonely every day, until the night I met you.\u003cbr\u003e Always,\u003cbr\u003e Clementine","brand":"Walker Books US","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":46304278413541,"sku":"NP9781536236095","price":8.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/1842\/7735\/files\/9781536236095.jpg?v=1767721361","url":"https:\/\/k12savings.com\/products\/always-clementine-isbn-9781536236095","provider":"K12savings","version":"1.0","type":"link"}