Clementine Rose and the Pet Day Disaster by Jacqueline Harvey

Series: Clementine Rose. Random House Australia, 2013. ISBN: 9781742755434. 160 pages.
Recommended for 6-8 year olds. This is the second book in Jacqueline Harvey's series about Clementine Rose a five year old orphan who was delivered in the back of a mini-van, in a basket of dinner rolls. She now lives in warm loving home filled with colourful characters: her mother Lady Clarissa Appleby, Digby Pertwhistle the butler (more like a loving uncle), Lavender her teacup pig and Pharaoh, Aunt Violet's Sphinx cat.
With such high hopes for her first day of school at Ellery Prep, Clementine Rose wakes up at four o'clock, gets dressed and makes her own breakfast. She knows she'll learn how to read, tell the time and do numbers by the end of this day!
Of course things don't quite turn out as she expected. To Clementine Rose's chagrin, her kindergarten teacher is Mrs. Ethel Bottomley, a martinet with high standards, strong views on discipline and class management. The teacher's grandson Angus Archibald is placed next to Clementine and continually bullies her during lessons.
The novel culminates with all the dramas of Pet Day. Forgotten clothes for the teacup pig, helping Aunt Violet with her runaway cat provide opportunities for Clementine Rose to show her strength of character.
This book is recommended for confident readers from ages 6-8 years of age, who enjoy school and family stories. Jacqueline Harvey is also the author of the Alice-Miranda series that also follows a female protagonist and her boarding school adventures. J. Yi's black and white line drawings enhance the reader's enjoyment of the novel.
Rhyllis Bignell