I was excited to read a digital ARC of this graphic novel via NetGalley. The graphics are nice and boldly colored. I wasn’t familiar with this story going in, though it sounds like the book upon which it’s based has some traction. I liked how the book teased out different elements of a business plan modeling how to maximize profits. I did not like the tense sibling rivalry and overall negative tone of the book. This book feels very true to human nature but also carries a lot of cringe in its moments of miscommunication and sabotage. I did feel very deeply for brainiac Jessie who just wants to make friends and not be shamed for her academic success. I certainly feel for the difficulty of Evan’s position, but it just makes the book all the more painful to read. I think this book effectively conveys the social difficulties of awkwardly navigating adolescence.

Thank you @jacquelinedaviesbooks_, @harpercollinschildrens, and @netgalley for the opportunity to read an early copy of The Lemonade War graphic novel!

This adaptation of the beloved book is a fantastic way to engage reluctant readers. As a teacher who has frequently used the original novel during my 4th-grade unit on economics, I’m thrilled to add the graphic novel to my classroom library.

Both versions are excellent tools for exploring math and economics concepts, while also diving into themes like conflict resolution and sibling dynamics. I highly recommend picking up this new release alongside the original—it’s perfect for teaching comparisons between text formats and deepening understanding of these timeless lessons.

Thank you to NetGalley for allowing me to read this book in exchange for an honest review!

As someone who never read the chapter book this graphic novel is adapted from, I really found it adorable. I think the story is one that kids will be able to relate to, with characters that leap off the page. The art was spectacular and totally captured the feeling of a PBS cartoon. I loved Jessie and Evan, their struggle was relatable as a gifted sibling of a gifted sibling. I found the font easy to read and the use of vocabulary words as chapter introductions to be a great tool for teachers or even the interested reader.

Overall, this was a charming read. I’m sure it will do amazing in the market when it releases, even better in schools (a potential sell out in Book Fairs).

Thanks to NetGalley and Clarion Books for the digital copy of this book; I am leaving this review voluntarily.

I had not read The Lemonade War as a child, but one of my children was assigned it when they were the right age. They lost their copy of the book, so I ran around town looking for a copy so they could finish their assignment. Then, since I bought the book, I read it and really liked the lessons being taught. The “new” math that I had a hard time understanding, basic business concepts, an empathy for others, and encouraging fundraising for a cause that meant something to them.

This graphic novel adaptation of the classic book does a really good job of highlighting Evan and Jessie’s strengths and skills in brightly colored panels and easy to understand illustrations and text. You can feel Evan’s frustration with his little sister, and you can see Jessie’s lack of understanding of people’s feelings.

I think this adaptation makes the concepts taught in the book more accessible for those who are reluctant readers, or those who prefer to learn visually. This is a valuable graphic novel for those who want to teach kids some lessons without beating them over the head with them. Kids won’t even realize they’re being taught something because the book is just that engaging and relatable.

Highly recommend! ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

I don't have a sibling but Lemonade War showed me the dynamics I'm missing. I loved the business terms scattered throughout this book, I think it will be an awesome learning tool for younger readers. And our two main characters trying to understand each other with a great ending made me enjoy it a lot.

Hmm.. Well having read the lemonade war in its original form I’m not sure if this did the job of capturing the fun and allure of the original.

Because of the nature of a graphic novel the “choppy” clipped prose by way of dialogue just doesn’t work for me and comes off boring. One thing that the original did was take business concepts and made it fun for the younger reader. This unfortunately comes off as “school work” that is trying to be fun.

The illustrations are fine but in all honestly having the one black character be drawn with “demonic” red eyes even if it’s trying to convey a random movie line, comes off horribly. Also if it’s going to be redone for 2025 maybe updating the book to a current average price for a lemonade stand would
Be appropriate so the kids can connect with it as 50¢ isn’t cutting it any longer

I still gave it four ⭐️ as I think many will love the nostalgia of the beloved series in a new form.

I am thankful to have gotten an eARC for free from Harper Collins through NetGalley to read which gave me the opportunity to voluntarily leave a review.

My rating system since GoodReads doesn’t have partial stars and I rarely round up.

⭐️ Hated it
⭐️⭐️ Had a lot of trouble, prose issues, really not my cup of tea (potentially DNF’d or thought about it)
⭐️⭐️⭐️ Meh, it was an ok read but nothing special
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ Really enjoyed it! Would recommend to others
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ Outstanding! Will circle back and read again

Loved it!! I never read the original as a kid, so I’m happy I get to read the graphic novel now as an adult. Love the siblings and their lemonade rivalry but deep down their emotions are due to other things going on. I love the way they really had to think and plan how to make money, so it’s a great way for kids to learn about planning, business tactics, and the value of money. It’s also an emotional and deep story, and the art is so colorful and beautiful!

I loved The Lemonade War when I was growing up, and this graphic novel does a great job of updating the original! The dynamics between our 2 siblings are fantastic, and it is great to see each of their skills highlighted in different ways. I also love the fun ways that math was incorporated throughout the book!

Thanks to NetGalley, Jacqueline Davies, and HarperCollins Children's for the chance to read and review. My opinions are my own!

i have to say, though, that if this book does one thing well is incorporating different financial concepts in a way that's accessible to all readers, which i think is a good opportunity for kids to start learning about money in an easy way.

i also believe it deals with problems children this age might be dealing with but don't know how to articulate so, in that sense, it is a good book to help them deal with newer emotions.

i don't really know what prompted me to request this book on NG. i guess i thought the cover was cute or something, and it is, but i also know this book is not for me. it is, ultimately, a children's graphic novel, and that's what it delivers. a nice, funny book for children to enjoy. would i recommend it to someone in my inner circle, no, but simply because i don't have any young kids in my family. however, it is not a bad graphic novel, just not for me.

i also didn't know this was an already published book prior to its graphic novel publication, which in hindsight is my fault, but had i known that, maybe i would've not requested this one and let someone else enjoy it before its publication.

thank you NetGalley, and HarperCollins Children's Books for giving me the opportunity to review this earc.

This was a great adaptation of a classic book for kids. Moving it into the graphic novel world will open it up to so many more readers.
The story follows siblings Evan and Jessie as they have a battle of the lemonade stands. It does a great job of incorporating financial concepts in a way that's accessible to all readers.

I read the Lemonade War with my son when he was in elementary school because he won it in a reading contest, and we both enjoyed it. I think that the challenge with the graphic novel was that it just didn't do the book justice. It wasn't awful, but it was not as good as I was hoping for it to be and not the best adaptation of a book that I have read to date. It was still a fun read, and the artwork is well done, but the story just lost some of the emotional depth. I also felt as though the lessons learned by the two main characters, lessons that happen throughout the story, got a little buried in the back and forth of trying to capture so much content in a graphic format. I do feel as though the book will transition well for future adaptations of the series, but the first book was a rocky start or rockier than anticipated.

I do like how the internal monologue and the different challenges that Evan and Jessie are struggling with in school (him = not as strong academically; her = not as strong socially) were captured in this book and presented to the reader. I also appreciate that this is probably hitting the right note for reluctant readers to entice them to get into this story and to learn from it.

All in all, not a bad read. Just not a wow!

The Lemonade War Graphic Novel is a fantastic adaptation of the original novel. This sibling competition clearly describes effective business strategies for young entrepreneurs, while rooting for the character they want to see win.

Thank you to Harper Collins Children’s Books | Clarion Books, Jacqueline Davies, Karen De La Vega, and NetGalley for this advance reader copy.

i loved these books growing up and being able to get to read it as a graphic novel as an adult was so fun and brought back the nostalgia i needed

Not only does this book teach you math and vocabulary words but it’s so cute and fun to read! Two siblings rival to see who can win the most money selling lemonade in the course of 3 days, we learn that he is upset that his sister will be skipping a grade and going to his class and he feels useless because his sister is a little more smarter than him. These siblings really talked it out at the end and honestly not many do, I loved it.

The Lemonade War has long been a staple of 4th/5th grade summer reading lists, but has otherwise fallen off in recent years. It's nice to see a graphic novel bring this math-forward chapter book back into the spotlight. I know many others are weary of the constant stream of graphic novel retellings, but the more the merrier. I particularly appreciate the benefits of the graphic novel format to help demonstrate the math concepts woven into the story.

The Lemonade War follows a brother and a sister on their "war" to be the first to sell $100 worth of lemonade. Tensions are high after a recent family separation and the news that younger sister Jessie will be skipping a grade and joining older brother Evan in 4th grade the next year. To make matters worse, budget cuts mean that there will only be one 4th grade class, and Evan is struggling in school.

I think students will definitely enjoy this new take on the story.

"The Lemonade War Graphic Novel" is a middle grade graphic novel reimagining of Jacqueline Davies' book, written by Davies and illustrated by Karen De La Vega. Evan is stressed out when he learns that his younger sister Jessie is skipping a grade and will be in his fourth grade class. Jessie doesn't understand why Evan is so mad at her. Their frustration leads to them agreeing to a lemonade war, to see who can sell the most lemonade in the last few days of summer. The novel does a good job of showing the strengths and weaknesses that Evan and Jessie have and depicts sibling rivalry well. I enjoyed the illustrations showing the math calculations for how much lemonade they'd need to sell to make a certain amount. A recommended purchase for middle grade graphic novel collections.

I received an ARC from the publisher in exchange for an honest review

The Lemonade War Graphic Novel written by Jacqueline Davies and illustrated by Karen De La Vega is a graphic novel adaptation of the beloved modern children’s classic, The Lemonade War. Siblings Evan and Jessie start rival lemonade stands instead of discussing their feelings around Jessie skipping a grade and joining Evan’s class next year. The pair goad each other further and further until it’s almost too late to turn back.

I have not read the original book as it was released after I had stopped reading books aimed at a fourth grade audience, but I have heard of The Lemonade War. I was really excited to see this pop up because I’ve heard positive things and I was curious to see how the lessons in math and economics would be conveyed in this format. This is definitely more for an elementary school audience, but its lessons on sibling rivalry, admitting when you’re wrong, and struggles with insecurity could appeal to any age.

Most of the math is presented via image and dialogue from the characters, so young readers can both see physical representations of the math being used as well as an explanation. There’s also definitions of different economic terms in easy English and each is introduced at the start of the chapter. From an educational standpoint, there’s a lot of opportunities for teachers and guardians to create new problems for students to solve and connect them to the book.

The strongest themes are sibling rivalry and insecurity. Evan is really struggling with coming to terms with his younger sister joining his class next year (because of the amount of kids in the incoming class, there will only be one fourth grade class) and making it more obvious to everyone that he’s having a hard time in school. Jessie is also insecure because she’s had bad situations with girls in her old class she thought were her friends and she doesn’t really understand why Evan is so upset. It takes a big event for Evan to finally open up to Jessie about how he’s feeling, but it’s also obvious that no matter how frustrated he is with the situation, he does still love his sister.

I would recommend this to fans of the original The Lemonade War series and those looking for graphic novels exploring math, economics, and sibling rivalry for younger readers