Clara and Clem Take a Ride

Clara and Clem Take a Ride
By Ethan Long
Penguin Young Readers, c2012. 32 page easy reader.

Siblings Clara and Clem build a car out of a pile of blocks, and set off on a make-believe adventure. They race through intersections, and up and down hills. They fly with an eagle, and race down a mountain. When they crash into a pile of rocks, the block car falls apart and their riotous ride is over. The book ends with them building a block person, indicating that more adventure is to come. Long's artwork is playful and imaginative. The text is just right for an early reader, with simple rhyming, sight, and opposite words.

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