Read For Free When Life Gives You O.J. Authored By Erica S. Perl Issued As Hardbound

of all, I am grateful to Erica S, Perl for writing a book with a nonHolocaust Jewish protagonist, There are just not enough of those, This, sitelinkDave At Night, and sitelinkStarring Sally J, Freedman as Herself are the only ones I know of,

Second, the book is good, if a little predictable, The concept of the OJ jug as a practice dog was fun, and the supporting characters were lively enough to keep things interesting.
I am reading this book with some of myth grade students, and they are all enjoying it, Sweet story I read with my third and fourth grade book club! Zellys family gives her a “practice” dog made out of a plastic jug to learn responsibility before deciding if she can have a real dog of her own.
Along the way, Zelly also learns about friendship and not being ashamed of who you are, Her grandfather Ace is a great character, Agesand up. Zelda Fried, pronounced freed, wants a dog, wants to go to camp Sonrise with her best friend Allie, and she wants to move back to her old neighborhood.
That's quite a bit for an almost eleven year old going int the sixth grade,

When Zelly asks her parents if she can go to camp with her best friends, the answer was no, although her parents congratulated her for making a good case.
The problems is they've recently moved to Vermont to a new house, You see, she recently lost her grandmother whom she fondly referred to as Bubbles, Her grandfather Ace lives with them now, and since everyone is adjusting to the recent loss and move, Zelly and her brother Sam will be spending time with family.


In an effort to connect with Zelly, Ace comes up with a plan to see if Zelly is ready to take responsibility for a pet.
It all starts with a note:

Kid,
See me immediately when you get this,
Do not speak of this to anyone,
not even your parents or your brother,
Ace
p. s. I hope are are ready for this,

Zelly is to take care to feed, water and walk a new makeshift pet, This pet is an old orange juice jug, She is forced to adapt to treating this old jug like a real dog, She makes a face and some spots on her new pet and names it O, J. As she adjusts to this crazy situation she awaits for letters from Allie, makes a new friend and tries to earn the trust of her parents so that she can get a real dog.


This hilarious story of family and friendship will have readers flipping through the pages and sharing the laughter of this Jewish family.
Readers will learn some funny Yiddish terms and grow to love Ace and his antics with Zelly and Sam,

The back of the book has a glossary of Yiddish words like Chutzpah, which means “nerve” or “meshuggener” which is a crazy person.
Parents and teachers will love this lighthearted family tale which will open the door to a culture they will embrace, Really cute book. I appreciated how real the characters were and how believable the issues she was dealing with, I would recommend foryear old girls, or a fun quick summer read for the parent : This book is AMAZING!!! I love it because a girl has to do a bunch of crazy stuff just in order to get a dog.
IT'S SO CRAZY!!! That's basically it but be sure to STAY AWESOME!!!!!! Zelly has always wanted a dog, but her parents aren't interested.
After her grandmother dies the family moves to Vermont from New York to live with Zelly's maternal grandfather, Ace is quite the character fun to read about but not so fun to live with, Then Ace comes up with a brilliant plan: Zelly needs to show her parents that she is responsible enough for a dog of her own.
To do this, Ace suggests that she treat an old orange juice jug like a dog feeding it, walking it, and cleaning up after at! Zelly is embarrassed at the thought of dragging an empty OJ container around with her everywhere she goes but she really, really wants a dog.
Will she find success Or complete and utter humiliation This book is about a girl that really wants a dog and her parents will not agree, so they give her a empty gallon of orange juice and tell her that is her dog.
Evreyday she drags it for a walk, feeds it, and takes it to the bathroom just like a real dog, This book was funny and a great story idea, When her grandfather suggests that Zelly Fried show her parents she's ready for the responsibility of taking care of a dog by making a "practice dog" out of an orange juice jug, Zelly is not entirely sure about the idea.
The premise of this book is greatZelly and her grandfather hatch a plan to convince her folks to let her get a dog, she'll take care of a practice dog made out of an empty O.
J. bottle including feeding, walking, and picking up pretend poo, However the book is not as funny as the premiseit is actually a much more serious book about relationships and family, responsibility and death.
It captures the way that kids really do relate to people who are a lot older then they area little bit of fear, confusion, love, and many other mixed emotions.


And of course there are dogsthough not nearly enough dogs for me, it was still a good dog lovers book! Loved this book! A great look at what is irritating yet lovable about our families through the relationship of Zelly and her grandfather, Ace.
You laugh and you cry at the evolution of the relationship during the course of the book, The additional messages about challenges and changes in friendships make this a great middle grades read for kids, I'd highly recommend it! Zelly Fried moves from Brooklyn to Vermont with her family to support her aging grandfather, More than anything, Zelly wants a dog, Her grandfather, Ace, convinces her to use an orange juice bottle as a practice dog, The rest of the

novel tells how Zelly makes friends, adjusts to life in Vermont, and builds a relationship with her sometimes difficult grandfather.


This middle grade novel reminded me very much of the Kate Messner's The Brilliant Fall of Gianna Z, Both novels include strong girls who are trying to find their place in a their family, I think that When Life Gives You O, J. is a bit stronger Zelly is a more stable character and the plot is more organized and easier to follow, I recommend both novels to girls in gradesdepending on reading ability who are focused on family and friends rather than boys and dating.


I also really liked that Zelly and her family are Jewish, When I was growing up, I didn't really know any Jewish kids, Perl describes Zelly's modern Jewish life in a way that both Jewish and nonJewish readers can relate to, Children's librarians can be neatly divided into two categories with relatively little difficulty, Basically, they either love and adore dogs and all things doggie related or they don't, I don't. I was never the kid begging her parents for a hound, I did not dream of fluffy golden retriever puppies or watch the Westminster Dog Show on television with undiluted envy, As an adult, I've maintained my caninerelated neutrality admirably, I don't dislike dogs, but I don't obsess over them, So when folks hand me children's novels that hinge on wanting one, I know right off the bat that I'm not going to be able to relate.
Still, I read them because there will be a whole host of children out there who can relate and I need to know if this book will be any good for them.
If the When Life Gives You O.J.'s going to be dog this, dog that I'm going to have a hard time, Far better to have a story with vibrant characters, unpredictable plotting, and conflict involving amongst other things and just a hint ofst century antiSemitism.
Sure, When Life Gives You O, J. is a dog book in the strictest sense of the term, but I'd go out on a limb and say that there's stuff here for child readers of all stripes.
Not just the dogobsessed.

That Zelly wants a dog is no secret, That her parents are not inclined to give in to her demands is understood, She begs. They refuse. So when she receives a note in her room one day that makes no sense, she has no idea what she's getting into.
It reads: "KID, SEE ME IMMEDIATELY WHEN YOU GET THIS, DO NOT SPEAK OF THIS TO ANYONE, NOT EVEN YOUR PARENTS OR YOUR BROTHER, ACE. P. S. I HOPE YOU ARE READY FOR THIS, " Ace is Zelly's grandfather who is now living with her family ever since the death of Zelly's beloved bubbe grandmother, He's a bit nutty and his plan seems to follow suit, Handing his granddaughter an empty orange juice container, Ace tells Zelly that all she has to do is treat it like a dog.
You know. Take it for walks, feed it a disgusting combo of dog food and water, clean up its poop see: disgusting combo of dog food and water, etc.
Of course, Zelly's parents aren't on board with this plan, and she has other things on her mind distracting her, There's the fact that her new friend went away to Bible camp and never wrote her, There's a new boy who's Jewish like she is and super friendly, And let's not forget the bully who would never let Zelly forget it if he saw her walking a wet dog food filled orange juice jug.
Things aren't easy for Zelly and getting a dog appears to be the hardest thing of all, A glossary of Yiddish words appears at the end,

Grandparents in children's literature appear in a variety of ways, but I think I can safely say that I've never encountered anyone quite like Ace before.
Sometimes he reminded me of the grandfather in Louis Sachar's sitelinkThe Cardturner, but generally speaking Ace is an original, Perl's smart too. She starts off her book without giving you a clue as to who or what "Ace" really is, All you know is that Zelly has woken up to find a note swearing her to secrecy and attached to an empty orange juice jug on her nightstand.
If I were a teacher handing out writing assignments I would have my kids read that first page, take in that information, and then write their predictions as to what the book is going to be about.
I bet you'd get a range of genres, with some kids thinking there was an otherworldly connection as others imagine spy novels and secret messages.
It's one heckuva opening and when you actually meet Ace he doesn't disappoint, That's where capitalized words his preferred method of speech will get you, They're noticeable.

The book provides an interesting examination of sacrifice, The context considers what kids can do to persuade their parents to give them what they want not what they need, Consistently throughout this book Zelly is told that she's not committed enough to her desire to have a dog, She talks the talk but can she walk the walk Similarly her friend Jeremy knows a little something about giving up the thing you love the most and tries to council Zelly.
That's on the surface. Dig a little deeper, though, and I couldn't help but think that the book does a pretty fabulous job at showing kids that if you're willing to appear just a little bit insane, not so much that your parents put you on Seroquel but enough to give them the shivers, as well as dedicated to that insanity, you can conquer the world.
Not a message I see in books for kids as often as I'd like,

A fellow librarian once pointed out to me that if you read a lot of contemporary children's fiction you would fall under the distinct impression that any and all humans of the Jewish persuasion disappeared after WWII.
Which is to say, name me a couple chapter books starring contemporary Jewish kids where the whole point of the book ISN'T that they're Jewish.
It can be done but it takes some doing, The only author I've run across lately who does it with consistency is Brenda Ferber sitelinkJemma Hartman Camper Extraordinaire, etc, . Perl's book can now be added to that lamentably short list, Now when Kirkus reviewed this book they pretty much said that it was written for a niche audience, Which is to say, the book incorporates Yiddish words in the text and doesn't explain them until you reach the glossary at the end.
I'm not sure what "niche" Kirkus thinks is going to read that, though, since I suspect that kids who don't run into Yiddish on a daily basis will have no difficulty whatsoever following the storyline.
But even those that do aren't going to read this book because of that fact either, They're going to read the book because it involves a girl who lugs her orange juice container behind her like a dog, Which is to say, because it's funny,

One element in the book did confuse me a bit, Zelly enters into this crazy plan of Ace's with the full knowledge that her parents aren't on board, Riddled with doubts, she nonetheless continues to "walk" and "feed" O, J. I'm not sure that I ever had a clear understanding of why this was, Insofar as I could tell her parents give her a pretty clear denial that any of this ridiculousness will lead to pet ownership.
She does eventually reach the point I mentioned earlier where the dedication of near insanity tips the scales, but before that I wasn't sure what it was that kept Zelly going.
A minor point.

If I were feeling ambitious I could try to draw some correlation between contemporary Jewish children's books sitelinkAny Which Wall, sitelinkJulia's Kitchen, etc.
and themes of fitting in, attacking the impossible with humor, etc, That's a fitting topic of a thesis and could not receive adequate attention in a mere review, Still, for all that When Life Gives You O, J. seems to be a silly story about a girl lugging an orange juice container around her block, it has the ability to make the reader think big.
About familial relations and how we hold the living accountable for not being the idealized dead, About fitting in with the people you thought understood you, About getting what you want at any cost, even the high price of looking ridiculous, Erica Perl has placed a fascinating little title in a seemingly simple package, Top drawer all around.

For ages. .