They hated this book. Seriously: not one of them liked it. Apparently it was “the most boring book EVER.” A couple of them stopped halfway through (and they only got that far because they thought I would make the snacks contingent on their passing a quiz – something I’ve done before, because I’m evil). The rest finished it out of sheer determination, but apparently hated it the entire time. Oops. I thought it was cute. (Whatever – they voted for it, so they can’t complain too much.) With that said, the situations in this book yielded a lot of interesting discussion – everyone has opinions about siblings and money – so it was worthwhile anyway.
And for the record, they did like the math contest.
The Lemonade War, by Jacqueline Davies
1. Why was Evan so upset about having Jessie in his class? How would you feel if your younger sister or brother skipped up to your grade?
2. Did either of them go too far in their attempts to win the contest?
3. What do you think about Megan? Is she a nice girl? Do you think she and Jessie will stay friends during the school year?
4. At the beginning of the book, Evan is good at making friends and talking to people, but not so good at school. Jessie is great at math and other school work, but doesn’t have many friends and has a tough time understanding people’s feelings. Do either of them change during the book? How?
5. Evan and Jessie try very hard to hide their fights from their mother. Why do they do this? Do you think it’s a good or bad thing that they keep their arguments private?
6. Evan puts his money into an iPod fund; Jessie decides to donate hers to charity. If you made $100 through your own hard work, what would you spend it on?
Activities
1. Comment cards! When Megan and Jessie become friends, Megan writes her a “comment card†that talks about what she likes about her new friend. Write some nice things about your assigned person on a comment card. Then we are going to SHARE THEM.
2. MATH PROBLEMS! This is a book all about math, soooo…we’re going to have a math contest. And you’re going to like it. 😀
Helpful stuff: There are a lot of teacher’s guides with discussion questions and activities at the book’s website, Houghton-Mifflin’s website, and some other random places.