November Book Club: The Lemonade War

Our November meeting of the Ashburn Kids Book Club will be Thursday, November 5, 7-8 p.m. We will be discussing the book, "The Lemonade War" by Jacqueline Davies. This is a very lively book about two siblings, Evan and Jessie. Evan is ten years old and going into fourth grade. Jessie is eight years old and will be in the second grade. The two usually get along well with each other and their natural talents are very complementary---Jessie is more academically inclined while Evan is better at people skills. Everything changes when a letter arrives from their school. It says that Jessie is going to skip third grade entirely and will be together with Evan in the same fourth grade class. Evan views this turn of events as a total disaster! He is sure everyone will think he is really dumb when compared to his younger grade-skipping sister. Evan rejects Jessie who is left feeling bewildered, hurt, and angry. Soon the two are locked in a battle---a battle to see who can sell the most lemonade from their competing lemonade stands by the end of the summer! The author's portrayal of family dynamics rings true and keeps the reader pulled into the action and drama. I'm sure our book club readers are going to enjoy this book! There is also a great website for this book: http://www.lemonadewar.com/

May Book Club: "Love, Ruby Lavender" by Deborah Wiles

Our May meeting of the Ashburn Kids Book Club will be held on Thursday, May 7, 7-8 p.m. We will be discussing the book, Love Ruby Lavender by Deborah Wiles. Ruby is a nine-year-old girl growing up in the small town of Halleluia, Mississippi, a town of "400 good friendly folks and a few old soreheads." Ruby’s best friend is her grandmother, Miss Eula. The book opens with a wonderful scene where Ruby and Miss Eula pull off a daring rescue of "three of the most pitiful-looking, nervous" chickens, chickens bound for slaughter. This starts a summer of adventures, ups and downs, and some growing-up for Ruby. She has to cope with her beloved grandmother going to Hawaii to visit her son whose wife has just had a baby. She has to contend with her "tormenter" Melba Jane. She has to take care of the chickens by herself. And she has to come to terms with her grandfather's death. I thoroughly enjoyed reading this book and found it to be a refreshing and realistic look at small town life and how seemingly insignificant daily events can take on huge proportions in the minds of children. It also illustrates how important love, support, and kindness are in helping children find their way in life. Join us for the discussion of this wonderful book!

April Book Club: Phineas L. MacGuire...Erupts!

Our April meeting of the Ashburn Kids Book Club will meet on Thursday, April 2, at 7 pm. We will be discussing the book, Phineas L. MacGuire...Erupts, by Frances O'Roark Dowell. This book is one of the titles nominated for this year's Virginia Readers Choice (VRC) Award. It tells the story of a 4th grade boy, Phineas, who loves science and experiments more than anything. Phineas says, "If you're a scientist like me, you're always interested when a problem comes around. Because what you learn when you study science is that if you think hard enough and are willing to take risks, almost every problem has a solution. It's just a matter of discovering what that solution is." This philosophy is put to the test, however, when Phineas is forced to team up with a new boy in the class--a boy who has clashed with Phineas from day one--for the 4th grade science project fair. Phineas puts his scientific problem-solving to good use and, in the process, learns quite a lot about himself and others.

Besides our book discussion, we will also be voting for our favorite VRC books. The votes are due by the first week of April to the Virginia State Reading Association who will compile the votes of children all over the state and then announce the winners of this year's award.