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The Lemonade War
ISBN 0618750436 • 160 pages
$15.00• Ages 7-12
Houghton Mifflin

Evan Treski is people-smart. He’s good at talking with people, even grownups. His younger sister Jessie, on the other hand, is math-smart—but not especially good at understanding people. She knows that feelings are her weakest subject. With just five days left of summer vacation, Evan and Jessie launch an all-out war to see who can sell the most lemonade before school starts. As the battleground heats up, there really is no telling who will win—and even more important, if their fight will ever end.

Here is a clever blend of humor, math wizardry, and business know-how. As it captures the one-of-a-kind bond between brother and sister, this poignant novel subtly explores how arguments can escalate beyond anyone’s intent.

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Editorial Reviews

Jacqueline Davies' earnest but entertaining story deals with feelings and money, and how both can get complicated. A business war erupts between Evan and younger sister Jessie over who can make the most money selling lemonade. Evan, who's heading into fourth grade, is "people smart" but struggles with long division. Jessie, who's skipping third grade, is "math smart" but has trouble figuring out people. They work out their sibling rivalry, and along the way learn lessons about joint ventures, underselling and crisis management. Good reading for young capitalists. —Bob Minzesheimer, USA Today

Gr. 3-5. Evan Treski and his younger sister, Jessie, get along well in many ways. They play together, and their natural talents are complementary. Jessie is a whiz in math and other school subjects, but "feelings were her weakest subject." Evan is competent in the social arena, but he is not such a good student. Their relationship changes the summer between Evan's third and fourth grades, when a letter arrives announcing what the boy sees as total disaster for him. He and his bright, skipping-third-grade sister will be in the same class. Thus begins the Lemonade War over which child can make the most money during the last week before school. The story is highly readable and engaging, filled with real-life problems that relate to math, getting along with siblings and friends, dealing with pride, and determining right from wrong. It even gives a glimpse into the marketing world. Each chapter begins with a marketing term, defined, but implemented as only competing children can. The result is a funny, fresh, and plausible novel with likeable characters, and is suitable for reluctant readers. —Maria B. Salvadore, School Library Journal, May 2007.

The author offers a compelling story of sibling rivalry and grade-school friendships in this novel about a brother and sister whose close relationship turns sour now that brainy little sister Jessie, who is skipping third grade, will be in the same classroom in the fall as Evan. Evan has lots of friends and great social skills but struggles in school. Jessie is good at math but bad at "feelings." This lively story about he siblings' rival lemonade stands offers a life lesson about the value of communication—and practical lessons about running a business. Also by this author: The Boy Who Drew Birds: A Story of John James Audubon. —Jean Westmoore, Buffalo News, April 11, 2007.

At the tail end of summer, Evan discovers that his younger sister, Jessie, who has just skipped third grade, will be not just in his grade, but in his fourth-grade classroom. Normally buddies, they find themselves at odds over trifles and increasingly determined to earn more money than the other before school starts. Lemonade stands, entrepreneurial schemes, and dirty tricks find their way into the competition before Evan and Jessie fess up to the concerns that are really worrying them. Each chapter begins with a business-oriented definition such as "underselling: pricing the same goods for less than the competition," and the book ends with a poster entitled "Ten Tips for Turning Lemons into Loot." However, the basics of economics take a backseat to Evan and Jessie's realizations about themselves and their relationship. Davies, author of Where the Ground Meets the Sky (2002), does a good job of showing the siblings' strengths, flaws, and points of view in this engaging chapter book. —Carolyn Phelan, Booklist, March 15, 2007.