The Lemonade War by Jacqueline Davies

My 5th graders loved The Lemonade War. When I had the book as an option during novel study, it was a top 2 or 3 pick for over half the kids. When I looked at top books towards the end of the year, this was one of them. I didn't have much of a chance to read it during the school year, but brought it home in hopes of getting to it. Now I have!

The plot revolves around Evan and Janie, brother and sister who are best friends. Well, they were best friends until Janie gets a letter from the school telling her family that she is now going to be in Evan's class in the upcoming school year. Why? The school is small and they are merging some classes, and Janie gets moved up since she is very bright for a soon to be 3rd grader (well, now 4th grader!).

Along the way a few things come out. First is that Evan and Janie are part of a single parent family, as their dad left a while back (a non-central issue in the story). Second is that Evan is not quite as bright as his sister, and he is at the age where he knows it- this is consistently shown as Evan struggles with math problems. Janie does not see Evan as less smart, and is the consummate idealist.

As Evan is angry about the impending doom of having his sister in his class, he challenges his sister to a lemonade war. Sell the most by Labor Day when they go back to school. You learn quite a bit about sibling relations/rivalry, math, and the economics of selling lemonade. I found the story to be approachable to kids if not a little low for many of my readers. That might have been why they liked it, a break from some of the usual stories in a fun and almost thoughtless way- almost like a beach book we read during the summer.

Rating: 3 of 5. Easy to read, not a difficult plot to follow. Good for readers with siblings, or those who like a little competition.