51 pages • 1 hour read
The Lemonade War
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Chapters 6-8Chapter Summaries & Analyses
Chapter 6 Summary: “Underselling”
As the war between Jessie and Evan gets more heated, Jessie is sure that Evan is plotting something, especially with all of the phone calls he made the night before. Evan asks to borrow Jessie’s foam core that she’s been saving for a Labor Day business competition, but Jessie refuses. Shortly after, three of Evan’s friends arrive at the house, and together they make twelve cans of lemonade. They make 96 cups of lemonade total, which worries Jessie.
When Jessie arrives at Megan’s house to start working for the day, Carly Brownell, another girl from Evan’s class, answers the door. The three girls have an awkward conversation: Megan is upset that Jessie didn’t invite Evan, and Carly keeps giving Megan mean looks. Jessie can’t decode what the looks mean and is frustrated by how girls communicate.
Jessie thinks back to the mean girls from second grade who had always been “exchanging looks” (71). In Jessie’s former class, four mean girls had formed a special club called the Wild Hot Jellybeans Club or “WHJ.” Soon, everyone in the second grade class, including Jessie, had WHJ pins and stickers. By the end of the day, the teacher had intervened, but not before one of the girls, Becky, explained that “WHJ” actually stands for “We Hate Jessie,” and that “everyone in class [was] a member” (73).
Jessie realizes that Carly is probably a mean girl and hopes that Megan will still want to play with her. Megan agrees to do the lemonade stand, and Carly leaves. Jessie shares the idea of “value-added” (78) with Megan: They will add snacks to their lemonade stand to draw customers. The pair have many customers, but don’t sell much lemonade. When Jessie investigates what could be causing the dip in sales, she finds a series of signs that the boys have put up advertising the “cheapest lemonade in town!” (81). They’re selling their lemonade for 10 cents.
Jessie finds the boys relaxing in the basement and making plans to play basketball. Evan’s friend Paul explains that they made $45, and Jessie is shocked. The boys made so much money because of good will. The customers had appreciated the discount, and thus paid the boys more than the asking price. Evan tells Jessie that his friends agreed to let him keep it all.
Chapter 7 Summary: “Location, Location, Location”
Evan is very concerned about his ability to earn the additional $53 he needs to win the bet. He tries to calculate how much he needs to earn for each of the remaining three days but struggles. He knows that Jessie could do a math problem like this. He remembers that his teacher had told him to draw pictures to help, so he draws dollar signs, counting as he draws. Evan figures out that he needs to earn $17 a day. He’s proud of himself for solving the problem.
Evan pulls his loaded wagon to the town center and buys some frozen lemonade from the store, which he sells for two dollars a cup. His progress halts when Officer Ken explains that Evan can’t sell in the town square without a permit; lemonade stands are only tolerated in residential neighborhoods. Officer Ken spends five dollars at Evan’s stand, then Evan begins loading up. He counts his money and realizes that he’s earned $65, putting him past his $100 goal.
Chapter 8 Summary: “Going Global”
Jessie wakes up tired on Saturday. All of the value-added initiatives, like braiding har and polishing nails, had exhausted the girls the day before. Jessie opens up her secret lock box and takes out her saved slips of paper describing business terms: value-added, goodwill, and the newest, profit margin. Next, Jessie counts $40 and realizes that the profit margin is too small and calculates that she would need to sell 375 cups of lemonade to beat Evan. She reads more of her mother’s pamphlet, “Ten Bright Ideas to Light Up Your Sales,” and comes up with a plan.
Jessie looks through the phone book, trying to decide which girls to call. She feels too scared to call these girls she doesn’t know well. Evan comes into the kitchen and grabs an apple, sending a cloud of fruit flies into the air. The siblings talk briefly. Jessie tries to figure out what Evan is up to, and he explains that he is going to relax today. She is shocked and newly motivated. After Evan leaves, she runs through a list of girls, putting a check next to some. Megan arrives.
Jessie explains her plan to build a franchise with the other girls. Megan is doubtful and doesn’t understand why Jessie wants her to make all the phone calls. Jessie explains how girls don’t really like her and how she has trouble making friends. Megan makes Jessie a comment card, or a card where you write something positive about a person and then give that person the card. Megan’s card reads: “You’re a really nice person and you have good ideas all the time. You’re fun to be with and I’m glad you’re my friend” (113). Jessie saves the index card in her lock box, feeling that it’s her lucky charm.
The girls quickly arrange 13 franchises and deliver cans of lemonade to each of the girls’ houses who are participating. Later, as they go back around to collect, they bring homemade brownies and pay tips to the girls. Every stand quickly sells out of the lemonade.
Megan and Jessie earn a profit of $64 each. Jessie is elated but fears that Megan won’t approve of her war with Evan. She tells Megan she plans to donate her money to the Animal Rescue League. Megan offers her money to Jessie to donate as well. Jessie is sure she has won the bet, and Megan invites Jessie to the beach for the last day of vacation. Megan also invites Evan, but Jessie tells her that Evan’s busy.
Chapters 6-8 Analysis
A significant thread of the plot of The Lemonade War is the way that the children navigate social norms and behaviors. Both Evan and Jessie articulate their shifting understandings of the ways that their peers interact with one another and with them. Davies inserts several strategies for positive social and emotional growth throughout the story. For example, Megan explains to Jessie about comment cards, an activity that Megan had done in third grade. Through this interaction, Jessie learns a new strategy for dealing with feelings of loneliness or rejection and builds her friendship with Megan. Similarly, Evan narrates his feelings about different boys in his class, identifying Scott as mean and his other friends as more supportive. Being able to analyze the behavior of one’s peers and make decisions about who to have relationships with is a critical part of development.
The Lemonade War introduces a number of core business tactics as Jessie and Evan battle for the most lemonade sales. Jessie uses references from a book she got from her mother, applying these references to her lemonade stands. As Jessie’s understanding of these business practices expands, so does the reader’s knowledge. Both Evan and Jessie attempt to be innovative businesspeople as they adapt what they know about selling lemonade with new strategies. Evan tries to sell in a new location, while Jessie integrates the theory of goodwill and value-added to her practice. As each child takes on these new challenges, they engage in an important process of trial and error, developing a new understanding of the business world.
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