A Sundae with Judy, by Frieda Friedman

This children's book was first published in 1949. I picked up a reprint from 1969 at a library book sale because it said Judy worked in her father's ice cream shop, and I wanted descriptions of a 1940s ice cream shop. And I got them. The ice cream and homemade sodas, with syrups full of bits of real fruit, sounded delicious.

A Chinese-American girl, Mayling, moves in next door to Judy, and Judy is eager to introduce her to her "Saturday Club" of girlfriends. Mayling is wary, but Judy assures her the other girls will love her. But one of them very much does not, and says the Chinese girl goes or she does! The entire club breaks up over this, then reforms in a new configuration plus Mayling and minus the racist girl.

I was expecting the racist girl to repent, but we literally never hear from her again and the plot then goes in a new direction. A poor family in the neighborhood needs some help, and Judy decides to raise money for them by putting on a show. She not only gets a very diverse group of kids to participate, but when her piano playing flops during rehearsals, she swallows her pride and MCs instead - and learns that she's a much better MC than a musician.

This book is a fun read but most interesting as a period piece. (There's also a great bit where Judy visits the Automat.) The theme is anti-bigotry and pro-diversity, and while some of the language surrounding that is dated and it's a bit rah-rah America, it's refreshing to read in a book from 1949. (Or now, unfortunately.) Nobody talks in dialect. Judy, who's Christian, has a crush on a Jewish boy who plays the harmonica. The happy ending is a multiracial and multi-religious group of kids, who all met because Judy wanted to help out her neighbors, gathered to celebrate their success and eat delicious-sounding ice cream sundaes.