The Lemonade War

The Lemonade War

Author: Jacqueline Davies

Jessie is skipping from second grade to 4th in the fall--the only problem is that her older brother Evan is in 4th, and in the last few days of summer the family gets a letter saying that there will be only one 4th grade class. Evan is devastated--now his friends will know that his sister is smarter than he is. She has a gift for math and is generally bright, if compulsive about organization, and not good at reading people never specified, but a near-certain ADD profile.

Their dad left a few months ago, and they have sworn not to annoy/fight in front of their mom, so when tempers flare and they snowball into a competition over selling lemonade, they are stuck trying to resolve it themselves. Jessie has always relied on Evan to explain feelings to her, and he's not talking, so she is baffled.

Math included and explained in steps, even Evan working out a problem with pictures. Well broken down. Jessie uses a brochure her mom wrote about growing your business with tricks and ideas--each chapter starts with a principle. This is a great non-fiction book for any child but really, good for those children with brother's and sisters. This book brings so many memories of me and my sister fighting over the craziest things. 

Sample Questions

• What book does Jessie use to calm herself down?
• Where does the math problems surface in the book?
• Why is Evan mad at Jessie?

Activities and Discussions

• Pretend that you are going to open your own lemonade stand. Create a list of those supplies you will need.
• Write down a list of those things that you can do to calm down when you are angry.
• Write down and draw a picture of a time when you got mad at you brother, sister, or friend and what you did to calm down.

About the Author

Jacqueline Davies

Other Books Written by Jacqueline Davies

Candy Smash: The Lemonade War

Where the Ground Meets the Sky

The Bell Bandit: The Lemonade War

Reference

Davies, J. (2007). The Lemonade War. Boston: Houghton Mifflin.

The Watcher: Jane Goodall's Life with the Chimps

The Watcher: Jane Goodall's Life with the Chimps

Author: Jeanette Winter

From an early age, Jane Goodall loved the outdoors, carefully observed the animals around her, and dreamed of a life in Africa, “a life living with, and helping, all animals.” Goodall’s childhood passions and dreams are the subject of this perfectly paced picture book biography by cartoonist and author McDonnell. Mixed media illustrations include images of pages from Goodall’s childhood journal, ornamental engravings from the late nineteenth century, and photographs. In a series of three clever page turns, the book concludes with the young Jane falling asleep in bed with her stuffed animal chimpanzee, then waking as a young adult in a tent in Africa, and finally portrayed in the famous photograph, reaching her hand out to a young chimp. The back matter includes a more complete biography and a letter from Jane Goodall, herself. With its accessible, yet evocative text this beautiful book will inspire readers of all ages to pursue their dreams.

The book is written and illustrated by Jeanette Winter and has several sentences on each page. I'd guess the book is geared toward children 4-8 years old. There are a few quotes from Jane herself and they are taken from her autobiographies. We are able to learn about Jane's life, about the layout of Gombe National Park in Tanzania, along with some of the observations Jane makes of the many chimpanzees. 

The illustrations are done in acrylic paint and pen. They show Jane starting as a cute little blond hair girl through her watching the chimps initially, all the way through when she is gray haired, returning to Africa often to spend time with her chimps. I liked the artwork. There are individual leaves on the trees, lines of fur on the chimps, and many stars in the sky. We see the area she stayed in and even some of the particular apes she works with, like David Greybeard.
 

Sample Questions

• Who did Jane like to read about as a child?
• What did Jane watch in her window while living in London?
• Why did Jane want to save the Chimps?

Activities and Discussions

• Make a pair of tube binoculars to watch animals you are interested in.
• Draw a map of Jane's journey from London to the African jungles.
• Draw a picture of you in the middle of a piece of construction paper and list those things you are interested in around your self portrait

About the Author

Jeanette Winter

Other Books Written by Jeanette Winter

Mr. Cornell's Dream Boxes

Henri's Scissors

Biblioburro

Reference

Winter, J. (2011). The watcher: Jane Goodall's life with the chimps. New York: Schwartz & Wade Books.