Bibliographical information:

Davies, Jacqueline. The Lemonade War. Boston: Houghton Mifflin, 2007.

Brief summary:

A week before school begins, siblings Evan and Jessie learn that Jessie will be skipped, and will thus be in the same class with her older brother Evan. Jessie, who has struggled socially with her classmates, hopes that Evan's people skills will ease her transition. But Evan is worried that Jessie will make him feel even less skilled academically than he already feels. Their anxieties play out in competing lemonade stands.  The story is interspersed with business terms and concepts (partnership, competition, location, profit margin, etc.), but focuses just as much on the siblings' relationships with each other and with other neighborhood kids.

Comments:

Davies presents both Evan's and Jessie's perspectives, and makes the story of their relationship in the face of various challenges both believable and interesting. Some readers might find the business tips a bit heavy-handed, but my ten-year-old seems to have found them a refreshing change from her general diet of fantasy.

Grade/Age level:

Grades 2-5

Cautions:

If you like this book, you might also like . . .

Gary Paulsen, Lawn Boy

--Lisa Gordis

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