NOMINATED for Florida's Sunshine State Young Readers Award Junior list!

NOMINATED for the MD Black-Eyed Susan Award 2020-2021

Age range 3 & up 

When Grandma gives you a lemon tree, definitely don't make a face! Care for the tree, and you might be surprised at how new things, and new ideas, bloom. 

When life gives you lemons, make lemonade.

In this imaginative take on that popular saying, a child is surprised (and disappointed) to receive a lemon tree from Grandma for her birthday. After all, she DID ask for a new gadget! But when she follows the narrator's careful — and funny — instructions, she discovers that the tree might be exactly what she wanted after all. This clever story, complete with a recipe for lemonade, celebrates the pleasures of patience, hard work, nature, community...and putting down the electronic devices just for a while.

'Rocha's colors and characters leap right off the page, encouraging readers to get out into the world and create life, beauty, and some great-tasting lemonade (recipe included). The community is diverse and urban, with no lack of personality and detail… Charms from cover to cover.' — Kirkus Starred Review