Ice Cream Summer
Ice Cream Summer
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Publisher's Hardcover ©2017--
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Aladdin
Just the Series: Orchard Novel Vol. 1   

Series and Publisher: Orchard Novel   

Annotation: Lizzie and Sarah, neighbors and best friends, look forward to running the ice cream stand at Lizzie's family's New England orchard, but their plans go awry.
Genre: [Humorous fiction]
 
Reviews: 4
Catalog Number: #144647
Format: Publisher's Hardcover
Publisher: Aladdin
Copyright Date: 2017
Edition Date: 2017 Release Date: 05/02/17
Illustrator: Andrewson, Natalie,
Pages: 263 pages
ISBN: 1-481-49047-8
ISBN 13: 978-1-481-49047-4
Dewey: Fic
Dimensions: 19 cm.
Language: English
Reviews:
ALA Booklist (Thu Jun 01 00:00:00 CDT 2017)

What could be better than spending the summer managing an ice cream stand with your best friend? Eleven-year-olds Sarah and Lizzie are ecstatic to prove their capabilities to Lizzie's parents and raise extra cash for a zombie hayride at Halloween. But when twins Olive and Peter and their fathers move to New Amity for a year, Sarah begins to doubt her friendship with Lizzie. Further complications arise when the twins start working at the ice cream stand and a day's profits go missing. Can the four kids find their way from suspicion and jealousy to trust and friendship? Atwood has created a delightful friendship story, replete with a well-developed cast of multicultural characters. The dynamics among the tweens (and, in some instances, their parents) move the story along at a satisfying pace, and Sarah's insecurities and personal growth are relayed in a relatable fashion. This first in a series is sure to be a good summer vacation read, especially for readers on the younger end of the age range.

Kirkus Reviews

A slight mystery casts a shadow over New Amity.Sarah and Lizzie are 11-year-old BFFs in a small New Hampshire town where Lizzie's family owns an orchard. This summer, to their great delight, they get to run the ice cream stand. If they net $5,000, they will have enough money for their dream: a Halloween zombie hayride. Things start to go awry for Sarah when twins Peter and Olive show up and join the formerly two-person team. Sarah frets constantly that Lizzie will no longer be her friend; sharing is an unwelcome thought. Then a crisis occurs when the ice cream earnings disappear from the safe. Atwood characterizes her cast with descriptive but underdeveloped diversity. Sarah's grandparents are from Iran, and she has "beige-brown skin." Lizzie has "pale skin." The twins have "huge brown eyes, medium-dark-brown skin, and curly hair," and their two dads are Mr. and Mr. Wu. The whole town is something of a multicultural Platonic ideal. Hakeem observes Ramadan, and Aaron wears an apron that reads "KISS ME, I'M JEWISH." Sveta and Dani Alvarez are a local power couple. None of the children use cellphones or computers. Readers may very well ponder why a town that holds Sunday morning Community Spirit meetings is so gung-ho to finance a Halloween activity and not a worthy cause. Digitized line drawings introduce each chapter in this first of a series for each season. Enjoy a scoop of ice cream instead. (Fiction. 8-11)

Publishers Weekly (Fri Oct 06 00:00:00 CDT 2023)

In this first book in the Orchard Novel series, 11-year-old Sarah is overjoyed that she and her best friend Lizzie will be spending the summer operating the ice cream stand at Lizzie-s family orchard. Sarah hopes that the job will bring her closer to Lizzie, since they -didn-t always like the same things anymore,- but those hopes are dashed when Lizzie invites two other children, twins Olive and Peter, to help out. Normally welcoming, Sarah turns petty toward the twins, which only widens the gap between Lizzie and her. Atwood-s (the Dear Molly, Dear Olive series) story follows a well-worn trajectory of friendship ups and downs, and although there-s quite a bit of sobbing, -snort-laughing,- and ice cream similes (-The news hit them like an ice cream cone splatting on a sidewalk-), it emphasizes the importance of open-mindedness, empathy, and inclusion. Andrewson-s swoopy b&w cartoons channel the energy of a sugar high while visually establishing the multicultural community Atwood has assembled. Ages 7-11. Author-s agent: Ammi-Joan Paquette, Erin Murphy Literary. Illustrator-s agent: Jen Linnan, Linnan Literary Management. (May)

School Library Journal (Mon May 01 00:00:00 CDT 2017)

Gr 3-5In this series opener, Sarah can't wait to work the ice-cream stand this summer with her best friend, Lizzie, whose parents own it along with an orchard. Lizzie's parents agree that if the girls raise $5,000 at the ice-cream stand, they can fulfill their dream of running a zombie hayride in the fall. When twins Olive and Peter move to town for the year with their dads, Lizzie invites them to work the ice-cream stand, too. Sarah immediately disapproves of this idea, as she fears losing her best friend. She becomes jealous when Lizzie bonds with the twins over their mutual love of old movies. To make matters worse, a couple of weeks into summer, Sarah goes to count the money in the safe to see if she, Lizzie, Peter, and Olive are on track to meet their goal and discovers all the money is gone. As the four work together to solve the mystery of the missing money, Sarah learns what it means to be a good friend. Each chapter starts with a full-page illustration and a silly ice-cream flavor that riffs on the plot. The town is comprised of diverse characters. Readers looking for friendship stories will relate to Sarah's fears about growing apart from her best friend, but those hoping to find a mystery will be disappointed that the missing money plotline is secondary and is resolved unsatisfactorily. Additionally, the book doesn't have a clear audience. The drama is fairly light and will appeal mostly to a lower elementary audience, but the length of the chapters and book as a whole, combined with a large cast of characters, will be intimidating to all but the strongest young readers. VERDICT A friendship tale as sweet as ice cream; notable for its casual diversity, but unfocused in terms of audience.Jenna Friebel, Oak Park Public Library, IL

Reviewing Agencies: - Find Other Reviewed Titles
ALA Booklist (Thu Jun 01 00:00:00 CDT 2017)
Kirkus Reviews
Publishers Weekly (Fri Oct 06 00:00:00 CDT 2023)
School Library Journal (Mon May 01 00:00:00 CDT 2017)
Word Count: 30,346
Reading Level: 4.3
Interest Level: 3-6
Accelerated Reader: reading level: 4.3 / points: 4.0 / quiz: 189691 / grade: Middle Grades
Reading Counts!: reading level:3.4 / points:8.0 / quiz:Q76863
Lexile: 610L
Ice Cream Summer


Excerpted from Ice Cream Summer by Megan Atwood
All rights reserved by the original copyright owners. Excerpts are provided for display purposes only and may not be reproduced, reprinted or distributed without the written permission of the publisher.

Four friends live and work together on a New England apple orchard in this first novel of a brand-new series about the bonds of friendship.

Welcome to the Orchard!

Every summer the Garrison Family Apple Orchard opens its ice cream stand and lets two kids run the show. Now it’s best friends Lizzie and Sarah’s turn.

Then new kids Olive and Peter join their ice cream team. Sarah had big plans and she’s not too happy about sharing the stand or her best friend. But a disaster at the grand opening results in a mysteriously empty cash register, these four kids have to become good friends—and expert detectives—before this Ice Cream Summer turns into the Worst Summer Ever.


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