Lauren Child evokes the (mostly) joyful chaos of family life—through the eyes of an observant young narrator.

I know lots of people, most of them in my family.

Some of them live in our house,

and some of them just visit.

We are always raising a ruckus,

but that's the way we (mostly) like it.

When your annoying little brother shares your room, your older brother is in the tunnel of adolescence, your dad hides in his office eating rocky road ice cream and swaying to Frank Sinatra, and your mother listen to foreign language tapes in a candlelit bathtub, what can you do to get away from it all? Meet the feisty Clarice Bean and sympathize with her search for just a little peace and quiet amidst a family many of us will recognize only too well. In a brilliant picture book debut, Lauren Child's witty text and jazzy illustrations capture the wonderful wacky chaos of a large extended family from the hilarious vantage point of one of its youngest members.