Book Spotlight: The Lemonade Club

I have a confession. I love books. I mean really, really LOVE them. Love them so much my husband may have told me I need to get rid of some books on more than one occasion. I have books shelves in my classroom and home that are filled to overflowing and I just cannot part with many at all. So with my love of books, I felt it was time to spotlight a book over here every month. I had so much fun with my last book spoghtlight, that I am making it a regular feature on my blog. 

Let's look at the book I chose for this month's spotlight. The book I chose is by Patricia Polacco and is called The Lemonade Club. Let me share what I love about this book.

First, I love Patricia Polacco, the author. Her books are real and challenge your thoughts. They give you lots to consider and put you in the shoes of those who are often looked down upon.

Second, I love that this book features characters who embrace and support one another. It gives my students a view of how to rally around the other students no matter what they are going through. 

Third, this book has such strong characters and I love how the characters who started as a problem changed overtime and began to show support like the others. It shows a great example of empathy. Students need to see themselves in others. 

Fourth, there are great examples of overcoming. The young Marilyn who has cancer overcomes her diagnosis. Of course the bullies overcome their character flaws and turn into cheer leaders, supporting Marilyn though her sickness. Even the teacher rises up to make her dreams a reality while also overcoming her own battle with cancer.

Fifth, this book is beautifully written. Patricia just has a way with words and reading her books always changes something in me. She leaves me better than I was before. I want to pass on books like that to my students. Books that challenge you to be a better version of yourself are so needed.

This is the perfect book to examine characters. Through this book, you can examine how some of the characters change over time. From the classmates, to the teacher, the characters are not the same at the end of the book as they were in the beginning. The characters are strong, but they have moments of weakness. They are interesting and make for the perfect type of characters to closely examine in class. 

This is a great book to use at the beginning of the year (or anytime) because it lends itself to discussions about what makes a great friend. You can see strong examples of good friends as well as some that are not. One fun thing to do with this book is to come up with recipes for friendship. 

Be sure to check out this book. Also, if you are interested in some activities to pair with your study of this book, check out the resource below by clicking on any picture.