Children’s Book Offers Life Lessons Through a Lemonade Stand

Houston, Texas – March 18, 2013 – For many of us, setting up a lemonade stand was something we did on hot summer days to keep busy, that is, until May 2007, the inception of Lemonade Day in Houston when 2,600 lemonade stands popped up around the city, all for a cause.

This year, an expected 250,000 youth in 50 cities across the US and Canada will participate in this community-wide program that teaches children the fundamentals of business, financial literacy and life skills while celebrating a childhood rite of passage. Youths that participate in Lemonade Day are taught how to start, own and operate their own business – a lemonade stand and encouraged to spend a little, save a little and share a little of their profits by donating to a local charity of their choice.

But how did Lemonade Day start? It started with one little girl’s desire for a pet turtle.

Lissa begged her daddy for a pet turtle but was gently denied while reminded that when she began earning her own money, she could then design her own pet collection. She took this advice to heart and decided a lemonade stand could be a means to get that turtle. To her surprise, the business of selling lemonade and earning money was not as simple as she had hoped. Her initial attempts failed, but her daddy took the opportunity to teach her valuable life lessons that not only changed her business trajectory, but also eventually changed the lives of thousands of kids across the country.  Once Lissa’s dad had realized the impact he had on his own daughter, he made it his life’s mission to impart those same life lessons to kids everywhere by creating Lemonade Day.  Now “lemonade lessons” are taught annually to budding entrepreneurs, all in search of their own turtle.

Originally written as a gift for her husband, Michael, It All Started with a Turtle (P&P Publishing, April 1, 2013) describes through colorful illustrations how the desire for a turtle and a lemonade stand created a daddy/daughter day full of teachable moments that sparked a national movement. All proceeds from the sale of the book will benefit Lemonade Day.