Interview with Jacqueline Davies, Author of The Lemonade War
Welcome to Smack Dab,Jacqueline! Congrats on the release of the graphic novel adaptation of yourmuch-loved Lemonade War. Please tellus (or, more likely, remind us) about the story in The Lemonade War.
Thanks! I’m so happy to be here and have the chanceto talk about a story that is near and dear to my heart. In the original Lemonade War—and now in the graphicnovel adaptation—brother-and-sister Evan and Jessie get into an argument aboutwho can raise the most money selling lemonade in the five days before schoolbegins. What starts out as an innocent bet between siblings soon becomes afull-blown, winner-take-all war. Marshalling troops, drawing up battle plans,and dirty tricks all play a part in the competition. Will Evan and Jessie finda way to end the war? And will they come to understand that what they’re really fighting about is much biggerthan a lemonade stand?
How did the idea for thisadaptation come about?
Years ago, my editor and I were talking about the newtrend of adapting well-known middle-grade novels into graphic novels. We foundit fascinating. How could such a thing be done?? As an author, I tried toimagine the process, and it seemed incredibly difficult. I suppose I likethings that are difficult—or at least challenging and new. A few years later,when an author friend told me about a 4-day workshop on writing a graphicnovel, I decided to attend. That was my first true glimpse into the intricaciesof writing a graphic novel, and I decided then that I wanted to try adapting The Lemonade War into a graphic novelscript. I didn’t know if I could do it, but I wanted to try. So, the adaptationreally began as a writing challenge to myself.
As authors, we just cannotstop editing. What was it like to revisit your novel? Any desire to revisecertain plot points?
What a great question! I actually had to fight theopposite impulse in the process of adapting the novel to the graphic form.Because I was a complete beginner, I clungto the original version of the story the way a person washed overboard clingsto a life preserver. I didn’t want to change a single thing. If I did, I feared I’d lose my grip and sinkunderwater. And so I found myself simply transferring the dialog, every word ofit, and importing each action, every shrug of the shoulders or roll of the eyes,without altering a thing. About fifty pages in, I realized this wasn’t working!The story, faithfully transcribed from its original form, was too slow andponderous in the graphic novel form. That’s when I started to loosen up. Theplot of the story remains the same, but I gave up trying to carry everythingover.
What was the process likeof adapting this storyline into a visual art form?
I knew it would be hard, and I was right! The mostchallenging part for me was managing the pacing of the story. When my editorreturned the first draft of the script to me with her comments, they were all about combining panels: Could thesetwo panels be combined into one? Could these three panels be combined? Whatabout these four? Her revision comments were a master class for me in how tokeep the action moving forward in a visual medium. I’m good at pacing mymiddle-grade novels. But keeping things moving in a graphic novel, while stilltelling a story that has nuance and depth—that’s a set of skills I needed tolearn.
After a while, I put my editor’s comments aside andcontinued the revision on my own. It’s like I’d been given a special pair ofglasses that allowed me to see something that was invisible to me before. Icould see all that could be accomplished in a single panel: back-and-forthdialog, changes in emotion, sequential action, and the passage of time. I cuteighty pages out of that first script, just by tightening up a little here anda little there and by pushing against the limitations of each single panel. Itwas a revelation!
The Lemonade War has become a much-relied-on teaching tool tointroduce young readers to basic economics. Have the economics lessons changedat all around the core story as the economy has gone through both good and badtimes?
You’re so right that the book has been used to teacha wide range of subjects in the classroom—and that is entirely due to thecreativity and energy of teachers who have sought out ways to integrate readingwith other disciplines. I put the “economics” in the book because as a child I was very interested in earning moneyand that seemed like it would be a central interest of Jessie’s. All thanks goto the teachers who took that childhood interest of mine and turned it intolesson plans that are highly engaging and multidisciplinary. As for the lessonschanging with the economic winds—I don’t think so. The lessons taught arefoundational: supply and demand, profit margin, negotiation. These basic tenetshold in all economies.
The novel also deals withsome complex emotions between siblings–jealousy, competitiveness, etc. Werethere any emotional parts of the story that were illuminated in new ways by newvisual aspects?
One of the most intriguing and fun aspects for me interms of writing the script was how to handle the metaphors in the book. Thereare two in particular that posed exciting opportunities for using the visualsto convey emotion.
In Chapter 1 of the original book, Evan is angry atJessie, and he’s trying really hard not to say all the mean things he’s feelinginside. The pent-up words feel like bats inside his chest, beating their wingsin an attempt to escape. In the graphic novel, we were able to show the bats!We see them bumping inside Evan’s t-shirt; we see a wing appear as one batescapes and then another. In the final page of the chapter, the full-page panelis filled with swooping, out-of-control bats and Evan’s angry words superimposed:“I hate you!” It’s a really powerful way to show the character’s emotion, andit’s a way that couldn’t have been done in the original telling.
Another emotional metaphor in the original proseversion of the book is that Jessie, at times, has a nagging feeling that keepstapping on her shoulder. In the graphic novel, we were able to personify thenagging feeling as a little purple blob that cannot be gotten rid of. Jessie brushes the blob off her shoulder,shakes it away, and even inadvertently flings it across the room. No matterwhat, the purple blob finds its way back to Jessie’s shoulder where itcontinues to tap, tap, tap at her thoughts.
Love the ten tips at theend for turning lemons into profit–but really, it could be advice on turning aprofit on any product. Have you heard stories of young entrepreneurs who wereinspired by The Lemonade War through the years?
Yes! Oh, many times. And again, I owe so much toteachers and librarians who have gone the extra mile to help their studentsenact some of the money-making tips. Many classrooms read the book and thenhave lemonade stands, often with some kind of competition. In this way, kidsfollow the story in real life, doing the things that Evan and Jessie do:collaborating, planning, working, and seeing the fruits of their labor resultin profits. There is no better way to get a reader to engage deeply with a bookthan to have that reader take physical action that mirrors the story.
But there are all kinds of entrepreneurship that havebeen sparked by the book. I’ve met kids who have made and sold home-made comicbooks. One group of girls beaded friendship bracelets and sold them. Anotherreader made origami frogs and sold those. My own daughter made a “lemonade”stand selling dog blankets she had made. Kids everywhere are interested infinding ways to earn money.
One of the biggest lessons, though, centers aroundwhat do you do with your money once you’ve earned it. Jessie likes to save.Evan likes to spend, sharing generously with his friends. And Megan chooses togive her money to charity. It warms my heart every time I read a newspaperarticle or see a local TV news clip or hear from a classroom about kids readingthe book and then raising money for a charity: a local animal shelter, a seniorcenter, their town library, or a family in their school community that’s goingthrough a tough time. Sometimes they give to a national organization, likeAlex’s Lemonade Stand Foundation, which raises money for pediatric cancerresearch. Big or small, local or national, it’s so important that we teach ourkids—through experience and doing—that caring for each other and ourcommunities is the greatest thing we can do, and that every one of us has thepower to make a real difference.
Do you feel as though anyof the math and business concepts have actually been explained in new ways bythe visual version of The Lemonade War?
Actually, there were a good number of drawings (someof them done by me!) in the original book that helped explained the math thatJessie and Evan were doing in the story. Those drawings were brought forwardinto the graphic novel version, but beautifully redrawn by the extraordinarilytalented Karen De la Vega. Karen’s illustrations throughout the book bring newlife to every aspect of the story. She’s so talented, and I feel very luckythat she agreed to illustrate this book.
My favorite part of thisstory is the idea that competition can both motivate and divide. What inspiredyou to include collaboration as a theme? Was this always part of the vision ofthe novel?
From the beginning, I wanted to write a story thatshowed there are two sides to every argument. That’s why, in the original book,the chapters are told from alternating points of view. The first chapter showsus what’s going on in Evan’s head and heart; the second chapter shows us whatJessie is thinking and feeling; and back and forth. For this reason, I wantedthe two main characters to be very close and collaborative (a brother andsister who usually get along really well), but I wanted them to be opposites.(Evan is good with people, while Jessie struggles to understand people; Jessieexcels in academics, while Evan has trouble keeping up in school.) I’ve longbelieved that the people we love the most can lead to the most explosivedisagreements! And once you find yourself in the middle of a war, how do youfind your way back to the place of love?
What’s next? Anyadditional graphic novel adaptations on the horizon?
At the moment, I’m working on another middle-gradenovel. But I would love to try my hand at writing the graphic novel script forthe second book in the series, TheLemonade Crime. I guess we’ll wait to see how the first graphic novel doesin terms of sales! If readers like that one, then we might do more. I also havean idea for an original graphicnovel, and I would definitely like to take on the challenge of writing thatscript.
You offer presentationsand virtual visits. Where can educators or young readers get in touch with youto request a visit or share their experiences with The Lemonade War?
Educators and readers can reach me in any of thefollowing ways:
Website: www.jacquelinedavies.net
Instagram: @jacquelinedaviesbooks_
YouTube: @jacquelinedavies9
Blue Sky:@jacquelinedavies.bsky.social
And please sign up for mynewsletter!Every month, I share news about my books and give away free books to educators. You can sign up here:
https://www.jacquelinedavies.net/landing-pagesignup
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ABOUT JACQUELINE DAVIES
Jacqueline Davies is the bestselling and award-winning author of books for children and young adults, including The Lemonade War series, the Sydney and Taylor series and more. Her books have sold more than 2 million copies and have been selected as an ALA Booklist Editors’ Choice, Bank Street College Best Children's Book of the Year. She divides her time between a town just outside of Boston and a cabin on the wild coast of Maine. In addition, she almost always has a suitcase that is in the process of being packed or unpacked.
