Literature & Fiction
![Jacqueline Davies - [object Object] author](https://res.cloudinary.com/readsomnia/image/upload/authors/a_B001IGFHC6.jpg)
The Lemonade War (The Lemonade War Series, 1)
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 also subtly explores how arguments can escalate beyond anyone's intent.
For a full hour, he poured lemonade. The world is a thirsty place, he thought as he nearly emptied his fourth pitcher of the day. And I am the Lemonade King.
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.
The five books in this fun-to-read series are:
The Lemonade WarThe Lemonade CrimeThe Bell BanditThe Candy SmashThe Magic Trap
For a full hour, he poured lemonade. The world is a thirsty place, he thought as he nearly emptied his fourth pitcher of the day. And I am the Lemonade King.
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.
The five books in this fun-to-read series are:
The Lemonade WarThe Lemonade CrimeThe Bell BanditThe Candy SmashThe Magic Trap
Editorial Reviews
"A funny, fresh, and plausible novel with likeable characters, and is suitable for reluctant readers." - School Library Journal
"The basics of economics take backseat to Evan and Jessie's realizations about themselves and their relationship. Does a good job of showing the siblings' strengths, flaws, and points of view in this engaging chapter book." - Booklist
"A straightforward plot teaches an important lesson on sibling relationships." - Washington Times
"This compelling tale about growing up and getting along is appealing and engaging." - Book Links
"The basics of economics take backseat to Evan and Jessie's realizations about themselves and their relationship. Does a good job of showing the siblings' strengths, flaws, and points of view in this engaging chapter book." - Booklist
"A straightforward plot teaches an important lesson on sibling relationships." - Washington Times
"This compelling tale about growing up and getting along is appealing and engaging." - Book Links
Readers Top Reviews
Alvaro VargasShar
Just the book I needed when my 9 YO hit a bit of a reading dry spell - she zoomed right through it and couldn’t put it down! It was an easy, engaging and fun read. Involves some sibling rivalry, some early economics, and a lot of humor and charm amongst other things. Would love to get my hands on the whole series!
impulsesleuthcatv
I haven't read the entire series, but I'm very impressed with the quality of this first novel in the series. Kudos to the author for presenting a positive view of entrepreneurship, in an age when children are brought up on a diet of movies about the evil developer who wants to build a shopping mall on the wildlife preserve. That alone makes this book a stand out. The author skillfully weaves several sub-plots and themes into the story. When I teach this book, my students learn about "reading between the lines," skilful and well-paced exposition, fresh and imaginative metaphors, as well as neurodivergent children, learning disabilities, conflict resolution and first crushes. Terrific book, highly recommend.
Castle impulses
I picked up the Lemonade War series for my sons (ages 10 and 8) this past summer for bedtime reading. The dynamic between Evan Treski and his younger sister, Jessie, changes several times through the book as the two siblings compete to earn the most money from separate lemonade stand sales. Both employ friends and clever sales tactics to gain the upper hand. However, their competitive nature (and moral dilemmas) ultimately undermines their relationship and their hard work. Jacqueline Davies crafted an ending that repairs the main characters' relationship while managing to leave the final challenge unresolved. I recommend parents purchase the
Short Excerpt Teaser
Evan lay on his back in the dark, throwing the baseball up in a straight line and catching it in his bare hands. Thwap. Thwap. The ball made a satisfying sound as it slapped his palm. His legs flopped in a V. His arms stretched up to the ceiling. And the thought that if he missed he'd probably break his nose made the game just interesting enough to keep going.
On the floor above he heard footsteps-his mother's-and then a long, loud scraping-groaning sound. He stopped throwing the ball to listen. His mother was dragging something heavy across the kitchen floor. Probably the broken air conditioner.
A week ago, right at the beginning of the heat wave, the air conditioner in his mother's attic office had broken. The man from Sears had installed a brand- new one but left the old one sitting right in the middle of the kitchen floor. The Treskis had been walking around it all week.
Scra-a-a-ape. Evan stood up. His mom was strong, but this was a two- person job. Hopefully she wouldn't ask him why he was hiding in the dark basement. And hopefully Jessie wouldn't be in the kitchen at all. He'd been avoiding her for two days now, and it was getting harder by the minute. The house just wasn't that big.
Evan had his hand on the railing when the scraping noise stopped. He heard footsteps fading to silence. She'd given up. Probably the heat, he thought. It was that kind of weather: giving-up kind of weather.
He went back to lying on the floor.
Thwap. Thwap.
Then he heard the basement door open. Psssshhh. Evan caught the ball and froze.
"Evan?" Jessie's voice sounded echo-y in the darkness. "Evan? You down there?"
Evan held his breath. He lay completely still. The only thing that moved was the pins-and-needles prickling in his fingers.
He heard the door start to close-long breath out-but then it stopped and opened again. Footsteps on the carpeted stairs. A black outline of Jessie standing on the bottom step with daylight squirting all around her. Evan didn't move a muscle.
"Evan? Is that you?" Jessie took one short step into the basement. "Is that . . . ? She inched her way toward him, then kicked him with her bare foot.
"Hey! Watch it, would ya?" said Evan, swatting her leg. He suddenly felt stupid lying there in the dark.
"I thought you were a sleeping bag," she said.
"I couldn't see. What are you doing down here? How come the lights are off?"
"It's too hot with the lights on," he said. He talked in a flat voice, trying to sound like the most boring person on the whole planet. If he kept it up, Jessie might just leave him alone.
"Mom's back in her office," said Jessie, lying down on the couch. "Working." She groaned as she said the word.
Evan didn't say anything. He went back to throwing the ball. Straight up. Straight down. Maybe silence would get Jessie to leave. He was starting to feel words piling up inside him, crowding his lungs, forcing out all the air. It was like having a chestful of bats, beating their wings, fighting to get out.
"She tried to move the air conditioner, but it's too heavy," said Jessie.
Evan tightened up his lips. Go away, he thought. Go away before I say something mean.
"It's gonna be hot a-a-a-all week," Jessie continued. "In the nineties. All the way up 'til Labor Day."
Thwap. Thwap.
"So, whaddya wanna do?" Jessie asked.
Scream, thought Evan. Jessie never got it when you were giving her the Big Freeze. She just went right on acting as if everything were great. It made it really hard to tell her to bug off without telling her to BUG OFF! Whenever Evan did that, he felt bad.
"So, whaddya wanna do?" Jessie asked again, nudging him with her foot.
&nsbp; It was a direct question. Evan had to answer it or explain why he wouldn't. And he couldn't get into that. It was too . . . too complicated. Too hurtful.
"Huh? So, whaddya wanna do?" she asked for the third time.
"Doin' it," said Evan.
"Nah, come on. For real."
"For real," he said.
"We could ride our bikes to the 7-Eleven," she said.
"No money," he said.
"You just got ten dollars from Grandma for your birthday."
"Spent it," said Evan.
"On what?"
...
On the floor above he heard footsteps-his mother's-and then a long, loud scraping-groaning sound. He stopped throwing the ball to listen. His mother was dragging something heavy across the kitchen floor. Probably the broken air conditioner.
A week ago, right at the beginning of the heat wave, the air conditioner in his mother's attic office had broken. The man from Sears had installed a brand- new one but left the old one sitting right in the middle of the kitchen floor. The Treskis had been walking around it all week.
Scra-a-a-ape. Evan stood up. His mom was strong, but this was a two- person job. Hopefully she wouldn't ask him why he was hiding in the dark basement. And hopefully Jessie wouldn't be in the kitchen at all. He'd been avoiding her for two days now, and it was getting harder by the minute. The house just wasn't that big.
Evan had his hand on the railing when the scraping noise stopped. He heard footsteps fading to silence. She'd given up. Probably the heat, he thought. It was that kind of weather: giving-up kind of weather.
He went back to lying on the floor.
Thwap. Thwap.
Then he heard the basement door open. Psssshhh. Evan caught the ball and froze.
"Evan?" Jessie's voice sounded echo-y in the darkness. "Evan? You down there?"
Evan held his breath. He lay completely still. The only thing that moved was the pins-and-needles prickling in his fingers.
He heard the door start to close-long breath out-but then it stopped and opened again. Footsteps on the carpeted stairs. A black outline of Jessie standing on the bottom step with daylight squirting all around her. Evan didn't move a muscle.
"Evan? Is that you?" Jessie took one short step into the basement. "Is that . . . ? She inched her way toward him, then kicked him with her bare foot.
"Hey! Watch it, would ya?" said Evan, swatting her leg. He suddenly felt stupid lying there in the dark.
"I thought you were a sleeping bag," she said.
"I couldn't see. What are you doing down here? How come the lights are off?"
"It's too hot with the lights on," he said. He talked in a flat voice, trying to sound like the most boring person on the whole planet. If he kept it up, Jessie might just leave him alone.
"Mom's back in her office," said Jessie, lying down on the couch. "Working." She groaned as she said the word.
Evan didn't say anything. He went back to throwing the ball. Straight up. Straight down. Maybe silence would get Jessie to leave. He was starting to feel words piling up inside him, crowding his lungs, forcing out all the air. It was like having a chestful of bats, beating their wings, fighting to get out.
"She tried to move the air conditioner, but it's too heavy," said Jessie.
Evan tightened up his lips. Go away, he thought. Go away before I say something mean.
"It's gonna be hot a-a-a-all week," Jessie continued. "In the nineties. All the way up 'til Labor Day."
Thwap. Thwap.
"So, whaddya wanna do?" Jessie asked.
Scream, thought Evan. Jessie never got it when you were giving her the Big Freeze. She just went right on acting as if everything were great. It made it really hard to tell her to bug off without telling her to BUG OFF! Whenever Evan did that, he felt bad.
"So, whaddya wanna do?" Jessie asked again, nudging him with her foot.
&nsbp; It was a direct question. Evan had to answer it or explain why he wouldn't. And he couldn't get into that. It was too . . . too complicated. Too hurtful.
"Huh? So, whaddya wanna do?" she asked for the third time.
"Doin' it," said Evan.
"Nah, come on. For real."
"For real," he said.
"We could ride our bikes to the 7-Eleven," she said.
"No money," he said.
"You just got ten dollars from Grandma for your birthday."
"Spent it," said Evan.
"On what?"
...
