Freckle Juice

One of the earliest lessons young children are expected to learn is to always tell the truth. No one will believe a liar, and earning a reputation as a liar can damage a child’s relationships with other people. Dishonesty is a lifelong temptation. Blume uses Andrew’s misadventures in Freckle Juice to warn young readers that dishonesty might seem like a good idea to get what you want, but it can hurt people in the process.

Sharon is the main culprit in Freckle Juice when it comes to dishonesty and manipulating the truth. She lies to Andrew about having a secret recipe for freckle juice, and when he challenges her by saying that she doesn’t even have freckles, she points out the six on her nose. She explains that “six was enough for me” (11) and that if Andrew uses her secret recipe, he can have as many as he wants. Sharon easily adjusts this lie to work on Nicky at the end of the story. Once she knows that he wants his freckles gone, she tells him that “the secret recipe for removing freckles has been in my family for years. That’s how come none of us have any” (40).