How to use this Page

Ruby Redfort: Look Into My Eyes. by Lauren Child. March 27, 2012. Candlewick Press. 387 pages. ISBN: 9780763651206

Ruby Redfort is known to fans of the Clarice Bean series as the heroine of Clarice Bean’s favorite detective series. Now, in her own story, Ruby Redfort has the chance to take center stage and show readers just how she came to be such a genius code-cracker. With the help of Hitch, her family’s butler, and with no help whatsoever from her clueless, superficial parents, Ruby becomes a member of a secret society called Spectrum and finds herself in pursuit of a truth others have died trying to uncover.

I have read all of the Clarice Bean books and almost all of the Charlie and Lola books, but I feel perfectly confident saying that Look Into My Eyes is Lauren Child’s best book book to date. The previous books have all been quirky and fun in their own way, but whereas Charlie’s and Clarice Bean’s voices sound very similar to one another, Ruby stands out as a truly original character. It really impresses me how Child was able to take the few throwaway details Clarice Bean mentions about Ruby and build a full-fledged universe from them.

I think it was a great decision to tell Ruby’s “origin story.” I loved seeing her acquire the various gadgets Clarice Bean so envies, and it was neat to see how Hitch and Clancy Crew figure into the equation. I also think Child did a great job of portraying an American character. I caught maybe one or two Briticisms, but otherwise, it seems like she got a handle on how Americans talk. By the same token, though, I didn’t see this as a purely American book, and that was a good thing as well. I liked how much it reminded me of James Bond (and the Austin Powers parodies of the Bond movies) and enjoyed being immersed in the wry, spunky tone and somewhat hyperbolic atmosphere of Ruby’s world.

Not only is this title a great read-alike for Ally Carter’s Gallagher Girls books, it will easily reach beyond that audience and might even attract boy readers as well. Ruby isn’t an especially girly girl. At no point in this story does she become bogged down in all the stereotypical middle grade topics - catty girl fights, boyfriend drama, school issues, etc. She exists entirely outside of those situations, and instead deals with real issues of life and death. She also has a great collection of tee shirts bearing smart-alecky phrases, which is a detail I love, and her parents are these wonderful caricatures, whose every move is ridiculous and entertaining.

Finally, I was pleased to see the complexity of the codes and mysteries in this book. The reader has an opportunity to solve a code early on in the story, and I’ll admit I spent probably a good hour on that alone! The narrative also works in a lot of important clues that savvy readers are able to catch before Ruby even realizes they’re there. I always think the best mysteries are the ones the reader can solve along with the main character, and this one does an especially good job of making that possible.

Recommend this book to readers who enjoy Fake Mustache by Tom Angleberger (also a 2012 release), the Gallagher Girls series, as mentioned above, and of course, Nancy Drew.

I borrowed Ruby Redfort: Look Into My Eyes from my local public library. 
Add a Comment

Clarice Bean Spells Trouble. by Lauren Child. 2006. Candlewick. 189 pages. ISBN: 9780763629038

I love Lauren Child’s Charlie and Lola picture books, so it seemed only natural that I would also enjoy Clarice Bean. Interestingly, I did not enjoy Utterly Me, Clarice Bean, the first chapter book in the series, but came back for more anyway. And it’s a good thing because this book is a thousand times better!

Clarice Bean Tuesday begins this book with an ominous hint toward something terrible she’s done, then flashes back to tell the reader the whole sordid story. The situation involves an impending spelling bee, certain to embarrass Clarice Bean beyond her wildest imaginings, the class “bad boy” Karl Wrenbury, whose behavior continue to escalate the longer his father is away, a class production of The Sound of Music, and the wisdom of Ruby Redfort, Clarice Bean’s favorite literary character, about whom a movie will soon be released. Based on Ruby’s advice about friendship, Clarice Bean does something to help Karl, which in turn lands her in hot water, but also somehow makes her a better person and more likeable character.

What I like so much about this particular book is that Clarice Bean isn’t a perfect goody two-shoes, but she also isn’t an inherently “bad” kid. She falls in that in-between area where I think so many kids would place themselves. She tries to obey authority, but finds it difficult when an authority figure is unfair, and her empathy for a friend keeps her from being able to ignore his feelings. She is kind of a combination between a character like Junie B. Jones, who also has a lot of smart-mouthed things to say about her experiences at school, and Just Grace, whose quests to save her friends from disaster often end in unexpected ways.

Whereas Clarice Bean sounded a lot like Lola in the first novel, in this one she has her own voice, which is filled with great phrases like “nosy parker” and a strong sense of humor. I also found the Ruby Redfort references to be far less annoying in this book, possibly because they related more closely to the plot.

All in all, this is a fantastic chapter book that exposes American kids to a slightly different writing style and use of language. Kids who have grown up with Charlie and Lola and the Clarice Bean picture books will ease right into the chapter book series, and fans of other spunky middle grade girls will also take to Clarice Bean right away.

I borrowed Clarice Bean Spells Trouble from my local public library. 

Add a Comment