Ida Mae Hancock and the Sweetwater Sugar Bees - Hardcover

by Deborah Kay Mason (Author), Penny Weber (Illustrator), Linda H. Powers (Designed by)

Laughter is the best medicine.

Could you use a laugh today?If so, this new book series is for you.

Join the hilarious antics of twelve-year-old tomboy Ida Mae Hancock, president and founder of the Sweetwater Sugar Bees, the most spirited kids' club in Georgia. Ida Mae is a gifted storyteller and imaginative writer, winning many literary contests. She is brave, funny, and fiercely loyal, but she has a serious problem. Ida Mae's "storytelling" sometimes crosses the line from fiction to downright lies and made-up facts, eroding her credibility with her parents and the community.

When Viola Fanny Bouvé, a twelve-year-old Yankee girl from Boston, moves across the street, Ida Mae's almost-perfect world spins out of control. Viola, a rich, spoiled brat with the disposition of a puff adder, frames Ida Mae for a fight she didn't start. Ida Mae's parents believe Viola's lies, and Ida Mae faces a punishment that may break her heart and her spirit.

The only hope is to get Viola to admit the truth. Ida Mae's devoted club members meet at their treehouse and rally to her rescue, plotting an undercover operation worthy of any spy novel. Ida Mae learns that the people who love you most will go to extraordinary lengths to stand beside you, but no scheme in the world can replace the power of your own integrity.

Set in the summer of 1959 against the lush backdrop of small-town Georgia and the breathtaking beauty of the Smoky Mountains, this book captures the magic of childhood summers with warmth, wit, and a cast of unforgettable characters who feel like family from the very first page.