Cooler Than Lemonade

Posted on 03/27/2023

‎ Source Books Jabberwocky | 978-1728254296

 

Eva has no end of ideas. She’s a problem-solver, a solution-finder, and a maker.

“One summer day,
when everyone seeks relief from the scorching sun,
a new idea SNAPS into Eva’s head!
It SIZZLES with possibilities
and SPROUTS into something bigger until…
it LAUNCHES!”

 

CLICK TO ENLARGE © text by Harshita Jerath, illustrations by Chloe Burgett

Soon, Eva’s lemonade stand is open for business. She has all she needs: “the freshest ingredients, a welcoming smile, and a can-do attitude.” The only problem? Competition! Jake has opened his lemonade stand just across the street.

Fortunately, Eva excels at finding solutions. Unfortunately, so does Jake. He ups his offerings, lowers his price, and manages to attact more customers.

But Eva is no quitter! A new idea SNAPS, SIZZLES, SPROUTS! Her plan successfully manages to win back customers. But not for long. What will Eva do next??

Cooler Than Lemonade: A Story About Great Ideas and How they Happen by Harshita Jerath, illustrated by Chloe Burgett,will encourage young readers to embrace Eva’s can-do spirit and inspire them to meet new challenges with a determined, positive attitude. It’s persistence, idea generation, and young entrepreneurship at its best.

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It’s my pleasure to introduce friend and local Arizona author, Harshita Jerath, to ReaderKidZ! 

DIANNE: Welcome, Harshita! Thanks for visiting ReaderKidZ.

You dedicate the book to your son, Neel, “whose idea bucket is always swirling with possibilities.” Eva’s idea bucket swirls with ideas, too.  What was the inspiration for COOLER THAN LEMONADE?

HARSHITA: COOLER THAN LEMONADE was inspired by my son, Neel. It was a scorching summer day of July 2019 when he pleaded to open a Kulfi, ice -cream stand at a farmers’ market. That is when the very first seed for this story was planted. 

 My son is a lot like Eva, the book’s main character. He keeps coming up with ideas, from selling his artwork to opening a lemonade stand. And while offering him guidance, I realized few children’s books provided entrepreneurial insights. 

All the above combined led to the creation of this picture book.  

DIANNE: This is a book about persistence in the face of challenges. But it’s also a book with layers. It’s about problems and solutions, innovation and entrepreneurship. Can you talk more about how the story “grew” as you revised? Did you always have in mind to include these additional elements, or did the layers come as a result of multiple revisions?

CLICK TO ENLARGE © text by Harshita Jerath, illustrations by Chloe Burgett

HARSHITA: The initial draft was set up in a farmers’ market, and a considerable part of the story was about the mom, whereas Eva seemed like a sidekick. Once I removed the mom, the story became buoyant and flowed. 

 As I continued revising, I realized the story was not about opening the Kulfi stand but highlighting Eva’s entrepreneurial spirit. And that is when I started to have fun with the story.  

I immersed myself in entrepreneurial books and magazines. I became excited to introduce the concepts of idea generation, taking action, a friendly competition, marketing, promotion, embracing failure, pivoting when needed, and not giving up.  

After I included all these ingredients to the story, I realized I had missed a crucial part of the story—the family influence. That is when I added a layer of sibling connection and introduced Aru, Eva’s younger brother and an ardent supporter of her innovations.  

So, the different layers resulted from numerous revisions over several months. 

DIANNE: Are you more like Eva – full of ideas and inspiration – or her brother, Aru, who helpfully supports and encourages Eva as she faces each new challenge?

HARSHITA: What an interesting question, Dianne! In the book, Eva comes up with innovative problem-solving ideas, while Aru, her little brother, is always by her side, rooting for her.  I am more like Aru, who supports his sister Eva’s endeavors. 

DIANNE: Can you share what you’re working on now? What can your readers look forward to?

HARSHITA: My next book is a Random House’s early reader Step into Reading book, that’s slated to come out in Fall 2024. The story is about a dog who gets a little too excited by the sweets laid out for the Diwali celebration. It’s a story about friendship and acceptance and is hundred percent inspired by my childhood pet.

Thank you, Dianne, for inviting me to your blog. I enjoyed responding to your thoughtful questions. If readers have any questions, they can always reach out to me at: me@harshitajerath.com.

DIANNE: Thanks, Harshita!

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