Dairy Queen takes place in rural Wisconsin on a dairy farm where the Schwenk family is running into a few problems. Dad had surgery and is unable to do the milking chores or any other chores for that matter. He is learning how to cook, which leaves D.J. to do most of the farm work from bailing hay and milking cows twice a day to painting a barn. Her two older brothers are away at college playing football, who had a huge fight with their dad and now don't call home, and her younger brother Curtis is playing baseball, who never talks. So D.J.'s summer is spent running the farm until one day she is asked to help train the next towns quarterback, Brian. D.J. learns what it takes to support her family, figure out how to be a good trainer, what it means to be a friend, and how she can go out for football herself in the fall. I would give this book to young girls or any student in my classroom who are taking a chance on something. In the story, D.J. is going out for football in a small town, where her dad used to be the assistant coach, before having to run the family farm business. Her thought process on how to make this happen and believing in herself and what she can do is a great message to anyone taking a risk on something.
CRAFT TECHNIQUE The character development in the book is perfect for discussing change over time and the causes of the character changes. Students could find and discuss what and when you see the characters change, why they changed and what led to that change. D.J. and the rest of her family, her crush Brain, and her best friend Amber have a change and finds out more about who they are as a person.
CONNECTION TO MN STATE STANDARDS6.4.1.1 Cite textual evidence to support analysis of what the text says explicitly as well as inferences drawn from the text.6.5.3.3 Analyze in detail how a key individual, event, or idea is introduced, illustrated, and elaborated in a text (e.g., through examples or anecdotes).
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