Foodie Friday: Lemonade

School is about to let out for the year here in New Jersey so we visited the library yesterday to stock up on summer reading material. When my kids are on summer vacation they like to read about other kids on summer vacation. That makes sense, but unfortunately it led me to allow a book to come home which promises to be like inviting a migraine headache for a visit. It is Jacqueline Davies' The Lemonade War. It is about a brother and sister who engage in an all-out lemonade stand war. Apparently we will also learn a bit about the multiple intelligences as the brother Evan is "people-smart" and his sister Jessie is "math-smart," according to the back cover. I think some math, advertising, and economics get thrown in as well. Each chapter of this book written for third through fifth grade readers opens with the definition of a marketing term such as "joint venture" and "underselling." All in all, it sounds like a good summer read for my kids. Here's the rub: they are going to start begging me to help them to set up a lemonade stand. I don't know what it is about my children, but the idea of selling food to people fascinates them. My daughter is not and never was a Girl Scout. She has no interest in badges, campfires, and sit upons. But once a year when her friends show up with their cookie order forms she turns green with envy. And every summer all three kids campaign for a lemonade stand. We live on a busy road with no sidewalk and hardly any shoulder. It would be one dangerous and probably unprofitable business venture. Besides, I want to spend my summer lazily sipping Arnold Palmers (equal parts lemonade and iced tea) not mixing them up for strangers. Hopefully they can live their entrepreneurial dreams vicariously through Evan and Jessie as they read The Lemonade War. There is also a website at www.lemonadewar.com for kids and teachers with recipes and ideas that might be worth visiting if they enjoy it.