The Lemonade War
by Jacqueline Davies
Written in 2007
The book was inspired by Jaqueline's two sons who were arguing about a lemonade stand sitting in their drive way. She then discovered the catchy phrase "lemonade war". The book has also been translated into six different languages for sale in foreign countries.
Summary
The book was about two siblings in rivalry. Evan was the oldest and people smart. His sister Jesse was math-smart. Jesse skipped third grade and will be in Evan's fourth grade classroom the next year. This angered Evan because he felt his sister always shows him up. The two of them usually play together and make a lemonade stand over the Summer. Because of Evan's anger, he decided to do a lemonade stand with someone else. Jesse retaliated by doing a lemonade stand with a girl Evan liked. This began the war. The two of them placed a bet that within the next 5 days, whoever sells the most lemonade and comes up with $100 or closer wins. The winner takes all. Day by day the two went at it causing them to loose focus on what started the war. In the end, they both lost. But they got to the bottom of the real problems and made amends with each other.
Evaluation of Genre
The genre of this book is contemporary realistic fiction. It is common for siblings to compete with one another. It is also common to have a lemonade stand ran by children in a rural residential area. The conflict in this book is well-defined and the story is plausible.
Evaluation of Realistic Fiction
The setting is a rural residential area in the summer. The characters are lively, realistic, and well defined. The plot is a conflict that is handled with sensitivity and without influencing the reader to take sides. The theme is family relationships and self discovery that is well-developed and intrinsic to the narrative. The writing style is structured and supports the development of the characters and the plot.
Motivational Activities
The book was intended for children ages 8 to young adulthood. The book used mathematical process and ways to think them out or solve them to life. I tried solving the problems without going through the process, so the book intrigued my way of thinking.
- Make copies of the math problems in the book for your students. Read the book aloud and highlight the math problems in the book.
- Ask the children if they can think of other ways to figure out the problems?
- Have the class write a story with a personal conflict at its root.
- Have the class create sketches of the main characters, write the plot, the conflict, and the resolution.
Reader Response Questions
- Have you ever felt competitive with someone you are close to, like a sibling or a good friend?
- What was the competition about?
- How was the conflict resolved?
- What was the real reason Evan was so angry with his sister?
- How did Jesse respond to Evan's anger?
- Why did Jesse and Evan hide their anger from their mom?
- How do Evan and Jessie finally resolve the conflict in the lemonade war?
- How do Evan and Jessie finally resolve the conflict in the personal war?
- Ho do you feel about the book?
Reader Comments
The book is excellent for family relationships. It can teach children how to express themselves early to avoid long time conflict. It also shows that the characters only continued to get more angry because they could not express themselves. The book helps children deal with conflict in many different ways. Whether it is with a friend, parent, or sibling. The book enhances the use of math and is an excellent way to teach math to students who are struggling with math. I personally enjoyed the book.
Other Books By The Author
The Bell Bandit
The Lemonade Crime
The Candy Smash
The Magic Trap
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