Cody: Clementine Revisited

You may have noticed that I'm doing these reviews in alphabetical order. I may have even mentioned that earlier, but I'm not going back to check.

In any case, that puts the Cody series right after the Clementine series. Somewhere in between the two I read that those who like the Clementine series will probably like Cody too.

I sorta wish I hadn't read that because it set up some expectations for Cody that it probably shouldn't have.

And Cody didn't live up to them.

The Cody books are fine, but they're not as good as Clementine. They're not quite as witty. They somehow feel looser (for lack of a better term) than Clementine.

I only read one Cody book - Cody and the Fountain of Happiness - because I'd had enough of that style of writing for a while. That says something about how similar Clementine and Cody are.

I would recommend Cody for children, but I would give Clementine an even stronger push.

Clementine: She's Not a Fruit

Clementine is the first in a series of 7 books written by Sara Pennypacker between 2006 and 2015. I read the original, Clementine, and the 4th, Clementine, Friend of the Week.

I was already quite sure after reading the first book that this would be a series to highly recommend, but I just wanted to double-check by reading another one of them.

Usually I read a chapter or two in a sitting. Near the end of Friend of the Week, I had to read about 5 chapters because I really wanted to find out what had happened to Moisturizer, the kitten.

The book was that good.

Here is a list of all the titles in order of creation.

1. Clementine
2. The Talented Clementine
3. Clementine's Letter
4. Clementine, Friend of the Week
5. Clementine and The Family Meeting
6. Clementine and the Spring Trip
7. Completely Clementine

Clementine is a 3rd grade girl who lives with her mom, dad, and younger brother in Boston. These books will have a wider appeal than just the 3rd grade girl demographic. Hey, I loved them.

Sara Pennypacker is wonderfully witty. I wish I could write like she does. Actually, I think I would write much like she does, if I were to write a similar type of book.

In Friend of the Week, there was one short passage that especially got to me for some reason.

Clementine's classmates were to write something they appreciated about her in a book that would be given to her at the end of the week when it was her turn to be "Friend of the Week".

"Once, when I was in first grade, I lost my crayons, Joe had written. Clementine broke every one of hers in half, so I could color."

Aw.

The Chronicles of Narnia: All 7 of Them

Yes, it's been almost 3 months since my last review, but I have a good excuse.

I'm not the fastest reader, so it takes time to get through 7 books, even if each one isn't as long as The Fellowship of the Ring.

I just now finished reading all 7 books of The Chronicles of Narnia, in order.

1. The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe
2. Prince Caspian
3. The Voyage of the Dawn Treader
4. The Silver Chair
5. The Horse and His Boy
6. The Magician's Nephew
7. The Last Battle