Clarice Bean Spells Trouble

Clarice Bean is very bad at spelling. She thinks it is far better to be able to mend a hem using a stapler, or jump out of a moving helicopter safely, than to be able to spell 'grapefruit' correctly.

Her teacher, Mrs Wilberton, disagrees, and arranges for the whole school to take part in a spelling bee. To avoid this awful event, Clarice decides to be 'discovered' as a child star, and throws herself wholeheartedly into acting, with the help of her best friend Betty Moody.

Although Czarina, the flamboyant teacher, assures Clarice Bean that she shows much promise, when she auditions for the school play, "The Sound of Music", she is only cast as nun number seven – who has no lines.

This is the fifth book about the inimitable Clarice Bean, whose innocent observations about her family, friends and teachers continue to be hilariously astute. Lauren Child brings both Clarice and her stories to life with quirky collage and line drawings, which, in true Clarice Bean style, are haphazardly scattered throughout the book.