This is a mighty book. Great story about a late bloomer and being open to try new things. It is age appropriate however specific to one kid of person. Most will not fully understand the point of the book

This was a different type of book about growing up and the path to getting there. The illustrations were odd but I really enjoyed them.

I received a free ARC from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

For the most part I did like the colorful illustrations, although I wasn't a fan of the way the lemons were drawn. It presents a good message about being yourself and doing what you believe, but it ends sort of abruptly.

An interesting book with amazing illustrations . The ending seemed a little bit abrupt, but the message about being open to new things and experiences came through loud and clear. Recommended for reading time with young elementary schoolers or children who are unsure of themselves or hesitant to try new things.

What a quirky little book about the lemons on a lemon tree and one green lemon, Tony that isn't like the rest. Has pretty advanced vocabulary for a picture book. It does stop rather abruptly. I feel like I am missing the last 4th of the story.

Lemon Child is a strange story about a green lemon. I was not a fan of this book, but the illustrations were decent.

Thank you NetGalley and North South Books Inc for this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

This was an odd and difficult to read book. The way it was for,attend did not work for my device (iPad running kindle). The pages were out of sequence and the font far too small to comfortably read. The illustrations were nice but the image quality was low so impossible to see the intricate details.

This story had "The Ugly Duckling" vibe. Because he looks different, he was bullied and he lost confidence in himself. Because of it, he stayed where he has always been. It was a good story to be read to kids for them to see that there's nothing wrong with being different or unique. Everyone has an specific characteristic that makes us special. Kids will surely enjoy reading it as I did.

A wonderfully illustrated book with a confusing narrative told in large blocks of text in on-and-off rhyme. The narrative itself wasn’t quite clear—is the story about finding one’s place in the world, accepting one’s self, the virtues of not fitting in, the promise in abandoning others one views as different from themselves, the desire to seek a positive feedback loop? I’m afraid the delightful illustrations are going to be missed by readers because of the taxing, muddied text.

Off-putting, Message Unclear

I found this book a little peculiar. I'm not quite sure what its message is supposed to be. At first, I thought it was about not wanting to change or grow up. Then I thought it might be about going your own way or living your life on your own terms, so to speak. The ending page was a surprise, and I kept thinking there had to be something else beyond it. But there wasn't. The end pages showing different kinds of citrus fruit were nice; those may be the best parts of the book! I also thought that the font of the book was very small. I imagine the book is meant to be read to children, either by parents or caregivers at home or librarians at storytime. That would be hard to do given that the font is so tiny. I've seen that in a lot of children's picture books lately, and I'm not quite sure why it's a trend. It would certainly be very hard for an older adult to read this book to a child. I also thought the illustrations weren't inviting. In fact, I thought some of them could look a little scary to children. All in all, I found this book off-putting, and I don't recommend it.

This is a beautifully illustrated and quirky little story! The ending had me a bit perplexed as it didn't quite fit in with the overall theme of the book (bravery, adventurous, try new things, etc) and I had to change my mindset with what the actual message of the book was? Still is such a lovely book to flip through!

I received an e-ARC of this book from Nele Brönner and North South Books Inc. through NetGalley in exchange for my honest opinion.

I really love the illustrations of all the different types of citrus fruits with their names on the end papers. This story was fun to read; Tony is a grumpy Gus who wants to be left alone, then when he is alone, he feels lonely. I feel like kids will be able to relate to the feelings Tony is having throughout this book.

Such a lovely book! Beautiful, charming illustrations that wonderfully support the thoughtful text. Will be a first purchase for my branch library.

Thank you, NorthSouth Books and Net Galley for providing me with an advanced copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Lemon Child is a bizarre little story about a lemon named Tony who doesn’t want to turn yellow and leave the tree. He’s quite bitter about his lemon siblings growing up, and he would much rather stay in the shade and stay green. Eventually, once all the other lemons are gone, some animals persuade him to finally leave the tree by telling him about all the things a lemon can become. Tony decides to leave the tree, and a boy picks him up and puts him in his window, the end.

I had to reread this book a few times to wrap my head around what was going on. Each time I finished the book, I desperately tried to see if there were more pages because the story just ends. I think that this book is supposed to be about growing up and maturity, but it just didn’t work for me. I didn’t like that Tony was told that he could be anything that he wanted to be and the put in a window because any adult reading this book knows that he’s likely going to rot away and not achieve anything. I would have liked this book better if it had a few more pages, and it showed Tony turning yellow in the window, and then being used for lemonade and lemon zest and having his seeds planted in the garden.

I also wasn’t a fan of the illustrations in this book, mostly because the lemons looked kind of scary. I don’t want to be dramatic, but I won’t be surprised if they haunt my dreams. I did like that at the beginning and end of the book; there were pages of illustrations of different citrus fruit and citrus things, and I thought it was a cute touch. I thought that the font used was a bit too small; however, I was reading this as a PDF, and it might be bigger in the printed book.

What a cute picture book about a lemon learning to love himself, and take risks, and accept change. The illustrations were very cute and I liked all of the colours! The story was quite unique, and a bit of fun! I'm not sure if it will appeal to many children though.

This is a unique and quirky story about a green lemon named Tony. His view of the world become repetitive and lonely, leaving him to wonder of there can be more. The illustrations is what really make this story intriguing, but the ending is a bit lackluster.

I'm in love with the endpapers in this book! The text has a sweet message about accepting change and moving on to bigger, better worlds of opportunity without being preachy or even overtly obvious.

I found the illustration work to be 1. absolutely lovely and 2. unintentionally (?) creepy. But I love that about it.

This quirky, little book made me smile. When all the lemons on the tree start turning yellow, Tony stays green. He likes the shade. When his brothers and sisters start twisting about and falling to the earth, Tony stays still. He likes to be left alone. Finally. Some peace and quiet. As he meets friends, though, he learns that the world might be a litle bigger than the thought. He starts twisting and turning and goes head first into the ground. He’s afriad that the boy who comes along won’t notice him, but once he gets his attention, the boy picks him up and takes him inside. He places Tony on the window so he can see all the goings on outside.

As a hard introvert and late bloomer myself, I fully identify with Tony. I’m never the first to try something. I want to see how others make out before I jump into something new. I never buy first gen technology, and I’m perfectly happy to be alone, too. Sometimes, though, even us loners need a little push to step outside of our comfort zones. Tony did that and ended up in an even better situation. This is an important story about how trying new things might make you even happier.

This one came out at the beginning of this month, so look for it at your local bookstore or library.

Well, that was weird.

This is a book about a reluctant lemon named Tony. While all his brothers and sisters are ripening and falling from the lemon tree, Tony's content to remain green and stay stuck to his branch. But when all of his family is gone, Tony finds that he's a bit lonely. So he decides to take the plunge...

I was engaged with the story up until the ending. After Tony falls from the tree, he isn't really "rewarded", as the synopsis says... unless "rewarded" has a different meaning that I don't know about. He ends up placed on a windowsill where he'll have the same view of the world until he rots. But the lack of a change of scenery was the reason he let himself fall from the tree in the first place!

The illustrations are amusing, and the whole concept is sort of wonderfully absurd. The ending kind of weakened the whole reading experience for me, but I'm not sure what kind of ending the book should've had. When we're talking about an anthropomorphized food, getting placed on a windowsill is probably the least horrifying of options.

Overall... this is weird. But it might appeal to some readers. Check it out for the pictures, anyway.