Clarence's Big Secret

What a wonderful first biography for many children. Clarence is inspirational and shows children no matter the age you are still able to learn...anything! Absolutely charming!

What an inspirational story! I have known people like him, and am sure there are many more, even in this day and age. I think this book should be in every senior center, immigrant centers, and classrooms. So sad not knowing how to read, one misses so much.

What I Loved: This was a great children's non-fiction story written in a way that felt like a story to a child. It was easy for my daughter to understand and she enjoyed the book.

How I Felt: I loved the way the book started with Clarence as a young boy and progressed through his life. It didn't move so fast that you felt like parts of his life were skipped, and it wasn't so slow that if felt like the story dragged. The end of the book wraps up with the triumphant reading of a book to children by Clarence, and it was so nice to see that while, it took him many years, he put effort into something that he wanted and he learned to read.

To Read or Not To Read: This is a great book to provoke a literacy discussion with a child. It's perfect for elementary school children.

What's This Book About Anyway?
Clarence kept a secret for almost his entire life (almost 100 years!). Whenever there was a part of his life that may require him to read, he runs away, which is sad. He has missed so many opportunities. However, he grows up and meets his wife and they have a family. As he grows older, we see how happy he is. Then, his wife passes away, and he doesn't know what to do. She took care of any writing or reading that was required to run the house. he decides to try to teach himself, and then enlists the help of his daughter.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for this ARC in exchange for my honest review.

In Clarence's Big Secret, Clarence is a boy that is big for his age. He is humiliated on the first day of first-grade when his teacher assumes that he is older and tells him to spell his name. Due to this humiliation, Clarence leaves school and never returns. Clarence works on his father's farm, meets a girl and falls in love, and even begins a successful career all without knowing how to read. In fact, Clarence successfully keeps his secret from everybody, except his wife, for nearly a hundred years. Eventually, Clarence begins trying to teach himself how to read. One of his daughters discovers his secret and sets out to help him. After that, Clarence becomes a frequent reader and even visits schools to share his story with children.

I really appreciate that this book addresses illiteracy throughout adulthood. Illiteracy is something that many people are ashamed of and keep secret, however it is a more common issue than many people realize. Sharing this book with children, or even adults, will help bring awareness to the issue of illiteracy and hopefully ease the shame that some people feel due to being illiterate. The story and the illustrations portray Clarence as an intelligent, hard-working, and caring individual that just happens to struggle with reading. Although illiteracy is a major secret for Clarence, he is able to be successful in other areas. I think that readers will be able to identify with Clarence's struggles and his fear that his secret will be revealed. I recommend this book for school, classroom, and public libraries.

I received a free copy of this title in exchange for an honest review.

#NetGalley #ClarencesBigSecret

Clarence's Big Secret tells the story of Clarence Brazier, a man who didn't learn to read until he was almost 100 years old!

This is the type of picture book biography I really like. It tells the main events in the subject's life simply, without embellishment, allowing the facts to propel the story forward. There's a nice author's note at the back about literacy and education, and we also find out a little more about Clarence.

The illustrations are a lovely complement to the text, done in soft watercolours. I've encountered Mathilde Cinq-Mars's illustrations before, and while I wasn't previously that impressed with them, I thought they really worked well here.

Overall, this is a nice little biography that proves you're never too old to learn a new skill!

This is a beautifully illustrated picture book about a real persons life, who didn't learn to read until he was in his 90s.

<img src="https://g2comm.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/10/Clarences-Big-Secret.png" alt="" class="alignnone size-full wp-image-5506" />

He kept quitting jobs, because he did not want to be exposed, and was able to hide his secret because of his wife.

<img src="https://g2comm.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/10/Clarences-Big-Secret2.png" alt="" class="alignnone size-full wp-image-5507" />

And once he did learn to read, he went to classes, and read to them, and told them his story.

What a wonderful, inspiring story, that we are never too old to learn, and to learn how to read.

Thanks to Netgalley for making this book available for an honest review.

I received a free ARC from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review

This is a non-fiction book, but I think kids will be interested and inspired by the main character.. I think non-readers or reluctant readers will appreciate that Clarence never gave up and finally learned to read. The illustrations are very colorful too.