Tuesday, September 27, 2011

September Meeting Wrap-Up

The Book Buddies Book Club met yesterday afternoon to discuss the book The Lemonade War and to interview the author, Jacqueline Davies! We had a terrific meeting and a wonderful time talking with the author! And, of course, we had snacks and lemonade to drink.

Everyone liked the book and the sibling rivalry between Evan and Jessie. We talked about our own experiences with siblings, having our own lemonade stands, what it would be like to skip a grade in school, and what we would do if we each had $100 to spend, save or donate. We liked the format of the book, told in alternating chapters from Evan's and Jessie's perspectives and the inclusion of graphs, receipts and charts. We would all recommend this book to our friends and look forward to reading the sequel, The Lemonade Crime.

Following our discussion we had the privilege of interviewing the book's author, Jacqueline Davies. She was absolutely delightful to speak with and thoughtfully answered all of our questions.

The most exciting thing she told us is that there will be 5 books total in The Lemonade War series! The third installment will be out in the Spring of 2012 and takes place over New Year's Eve when Evan and Jessie visit their grandmother. We can't wait!

Ms. Davies told us that there are parts of her in both Evan and Jessie but that she's probably a little more like Jessie. Some of her children's traits are mixed in to their characters as well. She never bases a character entirely on one real person because it would be too difficult to do.

She did not have a conscious reason for eliminating Evan and Jessie's dad from the story but she knew she wanted the focus to be on the kids with limited adult interference. However the dad's character does keep coming up and will be come important and the series progresses.

Ms. Davies does not write everyday because she is busy with her family, school visits, research and traveling and also because she has to be in the right frame of mind to work creatively. But she writes as often as her schedule allows and yesterday when we spoke with her, she told us she had written for 4-5 hours that day!

In her free time she likes to read, go to plays, watch basketball and football, knit, garden, run and spend time with her friends.

She also has very detailed advice for young writers:
1- READ as much as you can and read widely - not just books you think you'll like but ones you ordinarily wouldn't choose as well
2 - WRITE as often as you can and try different kinds of writing like non-fiction, poetry, etc.
3 - SHOW your writing to someone else and LISTEN to what they have to say - feedback is critical so get the tips you need to make it better!

A BIG thank you to Ms. Davies for her time and willingness to participate in our book club. It was a thrill to speak with her and hear about her life.

A great start to the school year! See you next month!

Tuesday, September 20, 2011

Meeting Reminder and Author Phone Call!

Just a reminder that the Book Buddies Book Club will meet this coming Monday, September 26th @ 3:30pm to discuss the book, The Lemonade War by Jacqueline Davies. If you plan to come (and you're not already registered), please send me an email (cantonio@newportlibraryri.org) so I know how many to plan for! It's going to be a lot of fun so please come and bring your friends!


In addition to our book discussion and snacks (lemonade, anyone?) we are going to be interviewing the author! Ms. Davies has agreed to speak to us via telephone about the book and her life as an author! So be thinking of some great questions we can ask her. If you have any ideas ahead of time, go ahead and post them to the blog!

See you Monday!

Thursday, September 15, 2011

The Lemonade War Website & The Lemonade Crime

The Lemonade War has its own website! Read more about the author, letters from readers and visit the pod lounge! There's also a Lemonade War book trailer to watch.

In addition, the sequel to this amazing book has just been released. The Lemonade Crime is now available. Find out more about the new book and read it today!

Monday, September 12, 2011

Author Jaqueline Davies

Jacqueline Davies is the author of our September book, The Lemonade War. She has written many books for children including Tricking the Tallyman and The Boy Who Drew Birds: a Story of John James Audubon. She lives in Needham, Massachusetts with her family and has a fantastic website with lots of information about her life and her books.


Tuesday, September 6, 2011

The Lemonade War


Our first book of the year will be The Lemonade War by Jacqueline Davies.

Evan and his younger sister, Jessie, react very differently to the news that they will be in the same class for fourth grade and as the end of summer approaches, they battle it out through lemonade stands, each trying to be the first to earn 100 dollars.

We will meet to discuss The Lemonade War on Monday, September 26th @ 3:30pm. Stop by the Children's desk today and pick up a copy!