The Lemon Drop Jar

by Christine Widman, Christa Kieffer (Illustrator)

During a visit to her great-aunt in the country, a little girl discovers a wonderful cut-glass container in the kitchen, a discovery that leads to Aunt Emma's story about how she received the family treasure, a lemon-drop jar, many years before.

Genres: Family, Picture Books, Love

32 pages, Hardcover

First published September 30, 1992

Reviews

[Amanda · Rating 5 out of 5]

Recommended by a relative stranger after I made a random comment in passing about my grandmother's glass candy dish. Impossible to sneak candy at grandma's because you couldn't successfully get the lid on or off without the clink of glass. Not that I didn't keep trying and not that my grandma wouldn't let us have candy whenever we asked for it. Just something about the thrill of the attempted heist. And hearing my grandmother respond from the kitchen, "Amanda-Dear, all you need do is ask!" Now I have a glass candy dish... different make and model but still with the lid that clinks EVERY. TIME. Definitely refilling with lemon drops next round.

Christine Widman's book is a familiar glimpse into those lucky relationships between generations. Stories are told; moments are shared; memories are made. Rinse and repeat in perpetuity. What I love about Christa Kieffer's illustrations is they lead me to more questions beyond the story itself. I want to know the whens and wheres; to hear more stories, share more moments, make more memories.

[Sadie Smith · Rating 4 out of 5]

“The Lemon Drop Jar,” by Christine Wildman, tells about how family memories are a part of people’s lives. Remembering others can help brighten our day, just like the memories of the lemon drop jar brighten a girl and her great-aunt's day. Illustrated by Christa Kieffer, this realistic-fiction book was published in September 1992 by Simon & Schuster Children’s Publishing. It is a great book for kindergarten through third-grade students.

[Julie Biles · Rating 5 out of 5]

On reading this book aloud in the middle of a long winter with my granddaughters, age 4 and 6, we were inspired to make our own lemon drop jar as we, like the characters in the book, were needing reminders of the sun. So the habit of an afternoon teatime followed. What remarkably significant things can happen when we read good books together!

[Brooke Sherrow · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good way to talk about different cultures

[Jess Whiting]

I would use this book in my classroom for a free read aloud or to match it up with a lesson about the sun and its warmth or seasons.

[Kimberly · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is great. It tells a story within a story like the style of Shakespeare. It ends very similarly to The Hello Goodbye Window. Maybe the only downside is limited opportunity for vocabulary. An argument could be made that where it lacks vocabulary, it makes up for in possibility of research opportunities for even older students. What time period did the great aunt grow up? Use the clothes she wore. How common was it to go to boarding school? ...

[April Evans · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was my favorite book as a child. It is about family. A little girl goes to her aunts house and asks why she has a lemon drop jar. The aunt got the lemon drop jar from her mother when she was a young girl away for school to remind her of the sun at home. I love this book because children that are away from family members and missing them can relate to it.

[Kay · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a neat book about family, memories, and tea. It has great art work.

[Whitney Zollman · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a sweet book about a young girl going to visit her great aunt. She loves her aunt's lemmon drop jar because it brightens the cold wintery days.

[Liz · Rating 4 out of 5]

On a visit to great aunt Emma's the lemon drop jar comes out. With the yellow lemon drops come memories. The yellow of the fall leaves and the story of the sun makes this a wonderful cozy story.

[Little Champs]

2050

[Marilyn · Rating 4 out of 5]

This reminds your mom of Florida.