The Lemonade War

A major theme of The Lemonade War is effective business practices. Both Evan and Jessie experiment with different strategies, learning from their mistakes and capitalizing on their successes. Mrs. Treski, a public relations consultant, has given each of the children a copy of her pamphlet, Ten Bright Ideas to Light Up Your Sales. While Jessie reads and quotes directly from the pamphlet, Evan remembers different tips from it. Both children try out the ideas in their lemonade stand ventures.

While each child experiences some failures selling lemonade, they make these into positive learning experiences. In the poster at the end of the novel, they demonstrate their knowledge by citing key business tips like: “#1, Location: It all starts with where you put your lemonade stand” (174). Though Jessie had successfully identified good locations in the past based on foot traffic, she is at one point undersold by Evan; similarly, though Evan identifies that the downtown area is one of the best locations to make the most money, he is quickly shut down for not having a permit. Thus, each of the Treski children comes away with a clear understanding that location is a very important part of business.