Scholastic Fest: #20, The Lemonade Trick

• Title: The Lemonade Trick
• Author: Scott Corbett
• Illustrator: Paul Galdone
• Publisher: Scholastic Book Services
• Year: Fourth printing, February 1970
• Text on back cover:

  "It is a strange present from a strange old lady.
  
  "It looks just like an ordinary chemistry set.
  
  "But it doesn't take Kerby long to find out that it is anything but ordinary. Kerby mixes two drops of a chemical, adds some water, and takes one sip. POW!
  
  "He is a changed boy.
  
  "Before this dizzy tale is done, the mysterious chemistry set changes lots of other people — including Bumps, the town bully."
  

• Notes: This book had a pretty good run of being in print in several editions between the early 1960s and mid 1990s. Younger Papergreat readers might remember the 1988 paperback edition, which is available as a penny book on Amazon. ... I like the cover. The style reminds me of the Henry Huggins paperbacks of that era (which I might need to gather in a vintage collection some day). ... The book is a quick read at just 94 pages. ... This is probably the best-known book by Corbett (1913-2006), a journalism graduate from the University of Missouri and World War II veteran who wrote books aimed at both adults and children. According to Wikipedia, "many of Corbett's books were written while at sea, as he and his wife traveled extensively via freighter." He wrote other books about Kerby's magical adventures; a full Corbett bibliography can be found at Damfino.com. ... Meanwhile, illustrator Galdone (1907-1986) was also a World War II veteran and had an extensive list of illustration credits, including Basil of Baker Street, which became the movie The Great Mouse Detective.