If you’re not as entrenched in the kid-lit world as I am, you might be wondering what early readers are. Early readers are a bridge between picture books and middle grade readers. They’re sometimes referred to as chapter books. There’s some debate as to what characteristics these books have, but here’s how I usually distinguish them: early readers are closer to picture books with not a whole lot of text but more than what would be found in a picture book. Chapter books sometimes have pictures and sometimes don’t.
Jaden Toussaint, the Greatest Episode 3: The Muffin Wars, by Marti Dumas, definitely fell into the early reader category for me, with charming illustrations and simple language that an emerging reader would understand. This was the first of the Jaden Toussaint books that I read, and I was immediately hooked. Jaden has a great personality and is so fun to get to know throughout the book.
In Episode 3 of the Jaden Toussaint series, Jaden’s cousin, Muffin, is coming to visit. He’s excited, but the problem is that she’s just as awesome as he is—maybe even more so. He feels a little threatened by her awesomeness, actually. So he sets out to try to prove that he’s better at something than she is.
The Muffin Wars is full of humor, personality and wisdom. I think early readers will identify with Jaden in his quest to be the best at everything and in the lesson he ultimately learns.
The Lemonade War, by Jacqueline Davies, is a chapter book for readers a little farther along the reading spectrum than Dumas’ Jaden Toussaint series. The Lemonade War is actually a book I picked up because my 9-year-old read it in class last year, and he put all of Davies’ other books in this series on his summer reading list this year. So I wanted to find out what had drawn him so deeply into the series. And once I read The Lemonade War, it was easy to see.
The book is about a brother and sister duo, Jessie and Evan, who are out for the last days of their summer break. Evan is mad at Jessie for a reason she can’t understand. The book is told from both of their points of view, so we get to understand what she doesn’t—and the reason he’s mad is that Jessie is skipping the third grade and will be joining his fourth grade class once school starts. So now he’s afraid that she’s going to embarrass him—but not for the reasons you might think. And I’m not going to give away any spoilers.
So instead of joining together to sell lemonade, Jessie and Evan have a war—whoever makes the most money at a lemonade stand will get to take the other’s money. The book is full of all their efforts to create a successful lemonade stand.
I love that The Lemonade Wars was full of marketing and business advice that Jessie and Evan used for their entrepreneurial efforts. I also love that Jessie and Evan were entrepreneurial kids. You don’t see that a whole lot, and now I understand why my son wants to do a lemonade stand or an art stand or a selling-Minecraft-ideas stand every day. It’s encouraging for kids to read about other kids who are taking initiative and creating their own businesses.
What I loved most about The Lemonade Wars was the bond between Jessie and Evan, even though the whole premise of the novel is that they’re fighting. But even in their fighting, it’s clear to see that they care about one another. They have a competition that actually serves to bring out the creative side of both of them and helps them realize that even though they may have completely different abilities and strengths, they are still valuable to the world.
Here’s my favorite line from the book:
“On good days, Jessie’s mom called her persistent. On bad days, she told her she just didn’t know when enough was enough.”
I love this, because it sounds a whole lot like my 9-year-old.
I hope you enjoyed these book recommendations. Be sure to pick up a free book from my starter library and visit my recommends page to see some of my favorite books. If you have any books you recently read that you think I’d enjoy, contact me. I always enjoy adding to my list. Even if I never get through it all.
