Welcome to the book tour for Sophie Washington: Lemonade Day by Tonya Duncan Ellis! My followers know how much I love this series and I can't wait to share with you the latest installment! Check out an excerpt and my book review and then follow the tour for even more. Best of luck entering the giveaway!
When Life Gives You Lemons…Make Lemonade
Sixth-grader Sophie Washington and friends learn lessons about entrepreneurship and team work when they sign up for a city-wide, Lemonade Day event. Sophie wants to buy her mother something special for her birthday, but she’s short on cash. Her bestie, Chloe, comes up with the perfect solution. Build their own lemonade stand to raise money at Lemonade Day! The girls add friends Carly and Nathan, and Sophie’s little brother, Cole, to their team, and decide to donate some of their earnings to a local animal shelter to help save stray animals. Things are going great, until the family dog destroys their supplies. They get worse when Sophie tries to impress another boy in their class and upsets Nathan. Can they save their business in time for the event?
Read an excerpt:
Mom just started her own consulting company, where she gives advice to people starting their own businesses. And already, I'm messing it up.
My mother's main job is helping out in Dad's dentist office and taking care of me and my eight-year-old brother, Cole. But before she got married and had us, she worked at a bank. Now that we're getting older, Mom wants to start working on her own again. This new consulting business is her chance.
"I'm sorry, Mom." I wring my hands when she crosses her arms around her chest. "We didn't mean to wreck your work. I'll fix these."
I set some files on the table, not sure what order they go in. Paper crinkles as Alexis imitates what I'm doing and mixes things up even more.
Mom rushes over to stop her.
“Why don’t you girls sit on the couch?”
My mother is meeting with Alexis' mother, Mrs. Gentry, to talk about ways to sell more of the scented candles she makes. Since Mrs. Gentry couldn't find a babysitter for Alexis she asked me and Chloe to keep an eye on her.
Mom made the big announcement about her consulting company at dinner last week.
"I know so many women with great business ideas who aren't sure how to get started," she explained to my father. "I want to help them get bank financing so they can be successful."
"Is that like Shark Tank?" asked Cole.
"Sort of." Mom smiled and rubbed his afro.
"What's Shark Tank?" I asked.
"That television show where people try to get investors to pay for their business ideas," Dad explained. “We watched it when you had a sleepover with your friends last weekend.”
It's a good thing that my father took my brother to his basketball practice this morning. If Cole saw this mess in the family room, I'm sure he'd have jokes.
I'll admit, the one he told at breakfast this morning made me laugh.
"What's a nosy pepper do?" he read from his joke book. "Get jalapeno business!"
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**My thoughts**
Tonya Duncan Ellis knocks it out of the park once again with Lemonade Day. You become immersed in the world of Sophie Washington and her friends as their latest adventure is learning how to become young entrepreneurs with a lemonade stand. It's quite different than when I was a kid! This group has to come up with a business plan, get a sponsor and a mentor, and donate part of their earnings to a charity. It's incredible the amount of work they have to put into it and they learn a lot. Kids reading this will also learn a lot about working hard and working together to achieve their goal. They may also feel encouraged to try to do something like volunteering with shelter animals!
As always, there are also lessons on friendship and how to navigate some sticky situations both with peers and with families. There's even a moment between Sophie and her mother having a brief, but real conversation that parents could learn from.
It's no secret that this is one of my favorite middle grade series to read and I often recommend it. This installment is no different and I continue to look forward to what's to come with Sophie and her friends.
Thank you to Goddess Fish and the author for a requested review copy. All thoughts and opinions are my own.
Click on a title to read my review!
The twelve book Sophie Washington series stars a sweet and sassy African American preteen from Houston, TX and her diverse group of friends. Each funny and heartwarming story teaches lessons about friendship, responsibility, truthfulness, and perseverance.
Tonya loves to travel and has visited 49 American states, 20 countries, and three continents, but some of her best journeys have been between the pages of a novel. As a girl she could always be found with a book in her hand, and reading is still one of her favorite hobbies. When she's not reading or writing, the author likes to ride her bike, swim, and spend time with her husband and three children. She lives in Missouri City.
Tonya Duncan Ellis will be awarding a $25 Amazon or Barnes and Noble GC to a randomly drawn winner via rafflecopter during the tour.
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Thanks for hosting!
ReplyDeleteThanks so much for all your support of my series! It's great to be featured on your blog again! :)
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