Lemonade Jones: The First Day Back & The Zoo That Comes To You by Davina Bell
Illustrations by Karen Blair
Published by Allen & Unwin
Date: September 2018
R.R.P. $19.99
I was quite delighted to read Lemonade Jones – The First Day Back and The Zoo That Comes to You. I have been able to recommend it to a few families at the Library I work at and I feel that it is a fresh new book that will engage newly independent readers.
Lemonade Jones likes to ask ‘why’, is not much of a fan of rules, finds the first day in grade 1 a bit of a challenge, and we see her go through a range of emotions that come with new things, She is bubbly, and excitable but sometimes her imagination means she stretches the truth a little, and other times she learns that biting is not OK – not even when you are feeling very very mad. But mostly, Lemonade Jones is full of fizz, inquisitive, and curiously loud just like most children.
The themes in this book are familiar to new readers – friends, family, curiosity, birthdays, school and learning to be independent. The illustrations are a lovely addition to both the stories and the cover gives us a great sense of who Lemonade Jones is before we even read a word about her. I fully encourage and recommend newly independent readers to take a look at this book.
Thank you Allen & Unwin for the opportunity to read and honestly review this book
Little Big Reads 