Erin Soderberg Downing


"Both Bittersweet & Uplifting simply sparkles with life."



-Kirkus Reviews



Sweet summer has taken a rotten turn...



After a tough year, Lucy, Freddy, and Herb Peach are ready for vacation. Lucy wants to read all of the books on the summer reading list. Freddy wants to work on his art projects (when he isn’t stuck in summer school). Herb wants to swim every day. Then their dad makes a big announcement: one of the inventions their mom came up with before she passed away has sold, and now they’re millionaires!


But Dad has bigger plans than blowing the cash on fun stuff or investing it. He’s bought a used food truck, and the Peaches are going to spend the summer traveling the country selling pies. It will be the Great Peach Experiment - a summer of bonding while living out one of Mom’s dreams. Summer plans, sunk. And there’s one more issue Dad’s neglected: none of them knows how to bake. . . .


A perfect blend of humor, heart, and family antics, When Life Gives You Lemons, Make Peach Pie is a delectable treat to be gobbled down or savored slowly. (Slice of pie on the side, optional, but highly recommended.)



"Hilarious & Heartwarming." - School Library Journal

"Deliciously plotted...by turns poignant, humorous, & Empowering." - Kirkus Reviews



Much to their surprise, the Peaches had a great summer running their food truck business, but they’re happy to be back home in Duluth, Minnesota, where they can settle into a routine just in time for the new school year. That is, until Great Aunt Lucinda drops a big surprise on them: She wants to gift them her historic mansion. But there are conditions: they’re to turn it into a cozy and welcoming bed-and-breakfast, something the Peach kids’ mom always dreamed of before she passed away. And they only have until Thanksgiving to do the renovations and prove they can make the business work. It looks like it’s a new chapter of The Great Peach Experiment!


But as the Peaches roll up their sleeves, they quickly realize the house is more of a pit than a welcoming escape. And as the family juggles builders, possible hauntings, doggie obedience training, a treasure hunt, and the demands and worries of work and school, they soon realize that there are wonderful secrets hidden within the house’s walls, if only they can take the time to see them...


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A Frozen Family "Business Trip" leads the Peach Family to Sweden's Icehotel!



For their third Great Peach Experiment, the Peach family will travel to chilly Sweden to stay at the world famous Ice Hotel, where they will learn everything they need to know about running a popular tourist hotel from the very best of the best. While on their frozen adventure, Herb, Freddy, and Lucy also get to experiment with sled dog racing, ice carving, and will participate as a family in the Ice Hotel's annual Frozen Olympics to try to be crowned the Frozen Best!


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WHAT CRITICS ARE SAYING:


“Many, many mishaps and adventures follow the Peaches through their Midwest foray, each relayed with understated insight, while the adroit characterization of the self-absorbedly neglectful dad is heart-rending. On occasion, the plot twists veer to the delightfully quirky, and the whole tale is filled with both authenticity and originality… Both bittersweet and uplifting simply sparkles with life.”

- Kirkus Reviews


“Erin Soderberg Downing is exquisitely tuned in to her middle-grade readers. In addition to her sometimes poignant, often comical scenes, she includes Freddy’s drawings and commentary, Lucy’s droll letters to Great-Aunt Lucinda, an excellent seventh-grade book list and maps of the Peach family’s progress through the Midwest. In When Life Gives You Lemons, Downing gently but honestly takes on the diverse ways a family grieves.”

- Shelf Awareness





When it comes to writing (and road trips!), I'm definitely a planner!



Before I started writing each of the books in the Great peach experiment series, I did a lot of planning. Much like actual road trips, writing a book is a journey with a beginning, a middle, and an end - and I like to have some sense of where I might like to stop and spend some extra time exploring along the way, to make sure I don't miss or skip past anything exciting.


But these books are a little trickier to map out than some of my other stories, since there isn't one *main* character, but actually *three* main characters (the chapters in each book rotate perspectives, shifting from Lucy, to Freddy, to Herb - so you get to know all of the Peach kids equally well!). Each Peach (tee-hee!) has his or her own challenge or quest that flows through each story - in addition to the family's overarching mission or journey.


Since I'd get very lost if I just started writing and let each of their stories lead me (much like if I started driving across the country without a map, and a whole bunch of people shouting out suggestions from the back seat!), I like to plan out my route so I know I won't take any terribly wrong turns along the way.



Book ONE PLANNING



Note: Careful observers might notice that Freddy's name was Howie at one point in time!! (So many things change in revision!!)



Book Two Planning





Introducing: The Peach Kids



Lucy's Summer Reading List



In When Life Gives You Lemons, Make Peach Pie, Lucy decides she's going to make it her summer goal to read *ALL* the books on her school's 7th Grade Suggested Summer Reading List during their family's epic road trip adventure.


Looking for a great next read? Check out this list for some of my personal favorites!!




ART CREDITS:
Great Peach Experiment Design/Art: Michelle Cunningham
Controlled Burn: Oriol Vidal
Quirks Illustrations Kelly Light & Colin Jack
Puppy Pirates Covers: Luz Tapia
Puppy Pirates Interiors: Russ Cox
Daring Dreamers Club: Anoosha Syed
Close This Book Tight: Lesley Vamos
Moon Shadow: Julia Blattman