Today’s post is sponsored by Alechia Dow and Just A Pinch of Magic!
Title Just A Pinch of Magic
Author Alechia Dow
Intended Target Audience Middle Grade
Publication Date October 10th 2023 by Feiwel & Friends
Find It On Goodreads ● Amazon ● Chapters ● Blackwell’s ● Barnes & Noble ● IndieBound
Just A Pinch Of Magic, Alechia Dow’s middle-grade debut, is as warm and sweet as a cinnamon bun, bursting with magic and sure to please the pickiest readers.
Wini’s family of enchanters runs a little bakery, but with the prices of magical ingredients skyrocketing, they’re going under. Desperate to save her family’s business, Wini takes a risk by casting a (sort of illegal) spell that would allow them to gather their own supply of their most needed magical ingredient: Love. But the spell doesn’t work. And Wini soon discovers that it didn’t just not work, it backfired. Badly. Now the whole town is in danger, and the Enchantment Agency is sniffing around for whoever cast the wayward spell.
It’s just been Kal and her dad for as long as she can remember. They’ve weathered everything together, including Kal’s mental health struggles. But just as they’re about to move to a new town for a fresh start, Kal’s grandfather ― who mysteriously vanished years ago ― has suddenly reentered their lives with a desire to make amends. He joins them in opening their bookstore in the new town, but Kal can’t help but wonder if he has anything to do with the whispers around her new home about wicked magic. And it’s not just the whispers of the magical books in their shop.
When Wini and Kal cross paths ― both hoping for the chance to finally make a friend without worrying about their family histories following them ― the girls bond over being fellow outcasts. Together they search for the solution to fixing the magic gone awry in their beloved town ― and just maybe get their dads to go out on a date.
Includes five recipes!
As challenging as the last few years have been, one thing I am grateful to the pandemic for is allowing me the time at home to finally learn how to cook. While I’ve always enjoyed baking, I’ve never truly felt comfortable or confident in the kitchen and this was something that only practice and a lot of trial and error was able to fix. Spending time in the kitchen over the last three years has allowed me to grow to love foods and flavours I now can’t imagine living without – zucchini, roasted brussel sprouts and roasted red pepper pesto, just to name a few – and few things bring me more joy than cooking something for those I love and watching them enjoy it. Cooking has also inspired a sense of independence and self-sufficiency I didn’t have before, which are skills valuable for those of all ages. Whether the young reader in your life likes to cook, bake, or eat, I sincerely hope they’ll be able to find at least one book in this list of 60 middle grade titles to delight and inspire them on their own culinary journey!
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Upcoming publication dates listed below may be subject to change.
Publication Date December 5th 2023 by Random House Graphic
Goodreads ● Amazon ● Chapters ● Blackwell’s ● Barnes & Noble ● IndieBound
How did cheese happen? Who pickled the first pickle? Explore the history of innovative food in this non-fiction graphic novel filled with facts, legends, and recipes.
Have you ever wondered how some of our favorite foods came to be? How was cheese created and who realized it belonged on everything? Was soda always meant to be a drink? A team of whimsical food sprites are excited to show you the yummy history of food expirements from all over the world!
Learn about the true stories behind pickles! Get a recipe for how to make your favorite pizza! With a story and recipe for every chapter, this graphic novel will give you something to read and taste.
Publication Date November 7th 2023 by Union Square Kids
Goodreads ● Amazon ● Chapters ● Blackwell’s ● Barnes & Noble ● IndieBound
Find out how pizza became the world’s favorite comfort food in this nonfiction book, part of the How It Happened! series.
Did you know that every hour, more than one million slices of pizza are eaten in the United States? But this cheesy flatbread had a long journey before becoming a global comfort food. This fact-filled book delivers the deep dish on pizza culture, history, and science. Whether you like thin crust or Sicilian-style, this book is one that pizza lovers won’t want to miss!
Publication Date October 24th 2023 by Amulet Paperbacks
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A sweet and magical new middle-grade graphic novel about a boba café, an earthquake-causing monster, and an unforgettable summer.
In the fog laden hills of San Francisco sits a sleepy independent boba café. Run by Jing Li and guarded by her kitty Bao, it comfortably fades into the background. But inside the boba café, there’s a secret. Jing is the keeper of the monster of San Francisco. Each day she prepares one giant boba for nine hours to feed it.
When Jing’s granddaughter, Aria, comes to stay with her for the summer she makes it her mission to turn the café around. Aria is quickly aided by Bao, who gives birth to eight perfect kittens. Aria spreads the news of the boba cat café on social media and overnight it is overrun with excited customers. Each day Nainai Li (Grandma Li) finds reasons to close the café but the demand only increases.
When she opens, the hill monster is left hungry and small earthquakes begin to plague the city. When Aria secretly follows her Nainai to the hill monster cave she isn’t sure what awaits. Will Aria be able to reason with the monster or become its new favorite meal? Or will she disturb its underground existence and cause the Big One?
Publication Date October 10th 2023 by Feiwel & Friends
Goodreads ● Amazon ● Chapters ● Blackwell’s ● Barnes & Noble ● IndieBound
Just A Pinch of Magic, Alechia Dow’s middle-grade debut, is as warm and sweet as a cinnamon bun, bursting with magic and sure to please the pickiest readers.
Wini’s family of enchanters runs a little bakery, but with the prices of magical ingredients skyrocketing, they’re going under. Desperate to save her family’s business, Wini takes a risk by casting a (sort of illegal) spell that would allow them to gather their own supply of their most needed magical ingredient: Love. But the spell doesn’t work. And Wini soon discovers that it didn’t just not work, it backfired. Badly. Now the whole town is in danger, and the Enchantment Agency is sniffing around for whoever cast the wayward spell.
It’s just been Kal and her dad for as long as she can remember. They’ve weathered everything together, including Kal’s mental health struggles. But just as they’re about to move to a new town for a fresh start, Kal’s grandfather ― who mysteriously vanished years ago ― has suddenly reentered their lives with a desire to make amends. He joins them in opening their bookstore in the new town, but Kal can’t help but wonder if he has anything to do with the whispers around her new home about wicked magic. And it’s not just the whispers of the magical books in their shop.
When Wini and Kal cross paths ― both hoping for the chance to finally make a friend without worrying about their family histories following them ― the girls bond over being fellow outcasts. Together they search for the solution to fixing the magic gone awry in their beloved town ― and just maybe get their dads to go out on a date.
Includes five recipes!
Publication Date October 3rd 2023 by HarperCollins
Goodreads ● Amazon ● Chapters ● Blackwell’s ● Barnes & Noble ● IndieBound
From the acclaimed author of Small Town Pride, Phil Stamper, comes a heartfelt coming-of-age middle grade novel about grief, love, loss, and finding your way forward in the vein of Kate Allen’s The Line Tender and Jules Machias’s Both Can Be True.
The last few months have been pretty tough for Eli. He moved to New York City and left his small town in Minnesota with his extended family and everyone he knows. He hasn’t made any new friends. And his mom died unexpectedly, shattering his whole world. He misses Mom more and more every day, but Dad refuses to talk about her, leaving Eli alone in his grief.
Then Eli finds a stash of instructional cooking videos his mom made, revealing her dream of being a celebrity chef. With the help of the cute new neighbor boy, Mathias, Eli decides to follow his mother’s recipes using her videos. If he can recreate his mom’s special dishes, then maybe a part of her can stay with him forever. But what happens when the videos run out?
Publication Date July 18th 2023 by Scholastic Press
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Award-winning author Wendy Wan-Long Shang brews a frothy and bright story, filled with humor and heart, about friendship, first crushes, and finding one’s own way in Bubble Trouble.
How many problems can a delicious cup of bubble tea cause? Plenty, if you’re Chloe Wong. For starters, Chloe wants to go on the class trip to Broadway – an expense Chloe’s not sure she and her dad can afford since her mom passed away – and those yummy cups of boba cost money. And then there’s the fact that the incorrigible Henry Lee is the bobamaster at Tea Palace, and when he’s not annoying Chloe, he’s usually coming up with the perfect drink for every occasion. For Chloe, lover of neatness and control, the arrival of bubble tea is nothing but trouble!
But bubble tea really wreaks havoc when Chloe finds herself banned from Tea Palace (for dumping boba on someone who really deserved it!). She comes up with the idea to make her own boba and sell it, with the help of her best friend Sabrina, her inventor dad and (whether she wants it or not) her rescue dog. Suddenly neatnik Chloe will have to contend with sticky drinks, the complications of running her own business and…maybe the messiness of admitting that she actually like-likes someone? Will Chloe be able to step out of the bubble she has built around herself and into an exciting new adventure to go along with her boba tea?
Publication Date July 18th 2023 by Running Press Kids
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From soda to water to milk and juice, this refreshing follow-up to There’s No Ham In Hamburgers is full of fun facts and origin stories of some of America’s most popular drinks.
People have been inventing drinks for thousands of years. Kinda weird when you consider that humans only need two liquids to survive — water and milk — and we don’t need milk once we can eat solid foods. So, why did humans, unlike other mammals, begin concocting new beverages? It likely started with safety — boiling water to make it safer to drink, and then adding in berries or leaves or roots to make it taste better. Sometimes, it was thought that enhancing drinks made them healthier (i.e. bubbly water restored vitality). Did you know that some of the most popular sodas were created by pharmacists? Americans spend approximately $150 billion on soft drinks, coffee, and tea each year. Why? This book offers some possible answers!
Publication Date June 27th 2023 by Fitzroy Books
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Ben Snyder is ready for middle school. But his super picky eating, which has never been a big deal before, is about to take him down. Suddenly everybody’s on his case about what he’s eating and what he’s not — his old friends, his new friends, his weird lab partner, the girl he’s crushing on, and a bully — and Ben finds himself in social free fall, sliding toward the bottom of the middle school food chain. Even worse, there’s an upcoming three-day class trip to a colonial campsite.
Knowing he can’t handle the gag-worthy menu, Ben prepares for the outing like it’s a survival mission. Armed with new and unexpected information about his eating habits that could change everything, he sets out with three tactical goals: impress the girl, outsmart the bully, and avoid every single meal. But when epic hunger threatens to push him over the edge, Ben must decide how far he will go to fit in and if he has the courage to stand out.
Publication Date May 9th 2023 by Clarion Books
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When a celebrity chef’s new restaurant threatens Mila’s family’s food truck, she plans to expose them for the recipe thieves they are — even if that means dabbling in the Filipino folk magic she’s tried to avoid. Fans of Tae Keller and Lily LaMotte will cheer for this charming story about food, family, and finding the place you belong.
Mila may have moved to Coral Beach months ago, but it still doesn’t feel like home. She wants to belong, but a few awkward incidents with her new friends make her wonder if she’ll ever neatly fit into the super-samey small town.
Mila feels the only place she can be herself is at her dad’s Filipino-Indian food truck, The Banana Leaf. But when celebrity chef twins the Fab Foodie Brothers open a restaurant nearby, it turns out the food they are serving is exactly the same as The Banana Leaf’s – right down to the recipes!
Suspicious of the similarities, Mila teams up with family friend Ajay to investigate. She soon realizes that she needs to take the beloved Fab Foodie Brothers down before they run her family’s tiny truck out of town. But that means dabbling in the Filipino folk healing and magical traditions that she has shied away from her whole life…as well as alienating her new friends.
Does Mila have to choose between her family and fitting in? Or, like the best recipes, will a blend of the traditional and the unexpected mix into something truly special?
Publication Date April 11th 2023 by Quirk Books
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When You Reach Me meets Love Sugar Magic in this unforgettable middle grade novel where time travel, family recipes, and family secrets collide.
Maya’s grandmother, Halmunee, may be losing her memory, but she hasn’t lost her magic touch in the kitchen. Whether she serves salty miyeok-guk or sweet songpyeon, her stories about Korea come to life for Maya.
Then one day, something extraordinary happens: one delicious bite transports Maya and Halmunee into one of Halmunee’s memories. Suddenly they’re in Seoul, and Halmunee is young.
This is just the first of many secrets Maya will uncover: that she and her grandmother can travel through time. As Maya eats her way through the past, her questions multiply — until a shocking discovery transforms everything she thought she knew about family, friendship, loss, and time itself.
Brimming with heart and interspersed with seven family recipes that readers can make themselves, this is a story to savor by rising Korean American author Flora Ahn.
Publication Date April 4th 2023 by Aladdin
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Better Nate Than Ever meets Love Sugar Magic in this sweet third novel in the Fearless middle grade series from Hamilton and Broadway star Mandy Gonzalez about a young thespian who feels caught between his love of baking and theatre.
Twelve-year-old Hudson Patel has two great loves: Broadway and baking! In addition to giving his all to his role in the hit show Our Time, Hudson takes pride in keeping his castmates and fellow Fearless Squad members well-fed with all the delicious treats he creates.
When the call comes in for a big baking show — with the winner receiving a spot at a kiosk in Times Square — the Squad encourage him to enter. They just know that kiosk should be his. But Hudson struggles to create a showstopper, and his friends realize if Hudson goes all-in with the baking, he may not have time to spare for his stage role.
Hudson goes to his grandmother for help, and she suggests going back to his roots, to be proud of who he is, and to show that in his culinary creation. With time running out, can Hudson find the magical ingredient that will put him in the spotlight having to choose between his passions?
Publication Date February 28th 2023 by Quill Tree Books
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Perfect for fans of Kelly Yang and Jessica Kim, this joyful, moving middle grade contemporary follows a big-hearted Taiwanese American girl as she aims to gain her family’s acceptance and save her favorite boba tea shop by selling her handcrafted amigurumi dolls.
Pearl Li is ready to spend the summer before seventh grade hanging out with her two best friends, crocheting the cutest amigurumi dolls, and visiting her favorite tea shop, Boba Time. Its quirky owner, Auntie Cha, is the only adult Pearl can confide in about her art — if only her tech-obsessed family would understand her love of crafts!
After Pearl learns of Boba Time’s financial troubles, she decides to sell her amigurumi to raise money for the shop. But as she navigates the ups and downs of running a business, Pearl realizes that monetizing her passion is more complicated than she could’ve ever imagined. Can Pearl save Boba Time before it’s too late?
Featuring fun backmatter — including a delicious boba tea recipe — this is a heartfelt story about advocating for your passions and uncovering big truths about friendship, family, and entrepreneurship along the way.
Publication Date February 14th 2023 by Knopf Books for Young Readers
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It’s a bird! It’s a plane! It’s a…pancake? Here is a delightfully clever and endearingly funny graphic novel about a pancake named Peggy, who accidentally develops superhero abilities and must defend her home of Breakfast Town.
Life in Breakfast Town is pretty uneventful for Peggy Pancake. Her parents are always on her case, she’s stuck in her perfect brother’s shadow, and she just can’t seem to avoid the Bacon Bullies at school. That is until one day, after an accidental mixup, Peggy finds herself with superhero abilities…Now Peggy can flip! She can fight! She can FLY!
With the help of her new friend, Luc Croissant, Peggy must master her newfound skills. But danger is lurking in the Maple Mountains, where the evil Dr. Breakfast Sandwich and his wicked Henchtoasts are plotting something sinister. Can Peggy harness her powers and save all that is dear? Find out in: SUPER PANCAKE!
Publication Date February 14th 2023 by Katherine Tegen Books
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An empowering and big-hearted sequel to the bestselling and critically acclaimed From The Desk of Zoe Washington by Janae Marks!
Two years ago, Zoe Washington helped clear Marcus’ name for a crime he didn’t commit. Now her birth father has finally been released from prison and to an outpouring of community support, so everything should be perfect.
When Marcus reveals his dream of opening his own restaurant, Zoe becomes determined to help him achieve it — with her as his pastry chef of course. However, starting a new place is much more difficult than it looks, and Marcus is having a harder time re-entering society than anyone expected.
Set on finding a solution, Zoe starts a podcast to bring light to the exonerees’ experiences and fundraise for their restaurant. After all, Zoe knows full well the power of using her voice. But with waning public interest in their story, will anyone still be listening?
Publication Date January 17th 2023 by Little, Brown Books for Young Readers
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A fun, fast-paced novel about friendship, family, fighting for what’s right, and standing out from the crowd while standing up for yourself.
Twelve-year-old Brooklyn Ace is ready to take the Valentine World Scouts by storm and build her own cookie empire. She nearly won the top cookie selling spot last year and is determined to make her mom — who recently passed away — proud by coming in first this time around. With her fabulous best friends by her side, Brooklyn knows she’ll become Santa Monica’s District Cookie Queen. The crown is practically in the bag.
Then Piper Parker arrives.
Piper has a rich dad, a fancy hotel, and a drive to steal the cookie crown right off Brooklyn’s head. Before long, most of the seventh grade is under Piper’s spell. But Brooklyn is in it to win the biggest cookie war the school has ever seen. With the help of her cookie squad, her rockstar grandmother, her super cool therapist, and a lot of self-love and inner growth, maybe — just maybe — Brooklyn can end up a winner after all.
Publication Date January 3rd 2023 by Scholastic Inc.
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Let the good times roll with this rom-com about sushi rolls, secret crushes, and chasing your dreams!
Susannah Mikami dreams of becoming a famous sushi chef like her dad. And this summer, she plans to learn everything about his traditional kitchen. Only he refuses to teach her, and won’t tell her why. Is it because he doesn’t want her to embarrass him in front of the documentary crew filming at his restaurant? Or worse, because she’s a girl? Either way, Sana decides he’s not the only one who can keep secrets.
So when she meets Koji, a cute boy who wants to help her cook up some trouble in the kitchen – and film online tutorials to show the world her mad skills – Sana is all in. But sneaking around means lying to her parents, something Sana’s never done before. Can she take the heat, or will she get out of the kitchen for good?
Publication Date December 6th 2022 by Applesauce Press
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Introduce young cooks to the kitchen with over 100 delicious recipes made with new foodies in mind.
Learning to cook is easy and fun with Kid Chef! Written in kid-friendly language for easy use, these recipes will help young ones master cooking basics and gain confidence in the kitchen. These healthy, kid-approved meals are sure to be crowd-pleasers to even the pickiest of eaters. Friends and family will keep coming back for more! Inside you’ll find:
● Over 100 easy-to-follow recipes for breakfast, lunch, snacks, dinner, and dessert
● Step-by-step instructions and essential cooking tips
● Important tutorials on food and kitchen safetyWith foolproof and yummy recipes, this cookbook has everything young cooks need to succeed in the kitchen. Inspire chefs of all ages and encourage families to cook together with Kid Chef.
Publication Date May 24th 2022 by Little, Brown Books for Young Readers
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Winner of the NAACP Image Award For Outstanding Literary Work – Youths/Teens
It’s a summer of family, friendship, and fun fiascos in this acclaimed novel that’s as irresistible as a fresh-baked cookie.
Ellis Bailey Johnson has the summertime blues. Instead of hanging out with friends, listening to music, and playing his harmonica, Ellis has to help bring his dad’s latest farfetched, sure-to-fail idea to life: open the world’s first chocolate chip cookie store.
They have six weeks to perfect their recipe, get a run-down A-frame storefront on Hollywood’s Sunset Boulevard into tip-top shape, and bring in customers. But nothing goes according to plan, especially when family secrets start to surface. Can Ellis bake up a happy ending?
Partially based on Shawn Amos’s own experiences growing up the son of Wally “Famous” Amos, and packed with humor, heart, and fun illustrations, this debut novel sings with the joy of self-discovery, unconditional love, and community.
Publication Date March 1st 2022 by Bloomsbury Children’s Books
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Highly-acclaimed author of Caterpillar Summer, Gillian McDunn explores boyhood in a funny, big-hearted story about a kid trying to find the best way to be his best self.
Elliott has been struggling since his closest friend moved away, and he’s not too sure where he fits into his own family, especially since his newly remarried dad and stepmom are expecting a baby. His grades aren’t too great, he’s always forgetting things, and he doesn’t really like sports. All together, the result is someone the complete opposite of his dad – a fact they’re both very aware of. Elliott’s only solace is cooking, where he can control the outcome, testing exciting recipes and watching his favorite cooking shows.
When he’s paired with the super smart and popular Maribel for a school-wide project, Elliott worries they won’t see eye to eye. But Maribel is also looking for a new way to show others her true self and this project could be the chance they’ve both been waiting for. Sometimes the least likely friends help you see a new side to things…and sometimes you have to make a few mistakes before you figure out what’s right.
Publication Date February 8th 2022 by Feiwel & Friends
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A clever young girl looking for adventure gets more than she bargained for when she stumbles into a nest of robbers in this tale baked with magic, fun, and friendship!
Evie Baker is a great story-teller, an avid prankster, and a fantastic baker. And while she loves her parent’s bakery, she has no plans to stay in their small town and become stuffy or static. Evie wants to go on adventures and she knows just what she needs to do it!
With her best friend, Cecily, by her side, Evie sets off into the Old Forest to find one of the Fel, a group of crow-like magical creatures who can’t lie. She is sure her family’s irresistible raspberry tart and a carefully crafted deal will get them to take her on a magical adventure ― without getting her eaten or worse. But the forest hides many dangers and when they finally find their Fel, they also discover a nest of robbers!
Having seen the Robber Lord’s face, Evie is whisked away into hiding for her own protection. But even in the queen’s own city, trouble has a way of finding her…
YA novelist Caitlin Sangster makes her middle-grade debut in A Baker’s Guide To Robber Pie, a fun fairytale filled with adventure, friendship, baking, and the power of a tale well-told.
Publication Date January 4th 2022 by Scholastic Inc.
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A slice-of-life rom-com about pizza and first crushes that readers will gobble up!
Maya Reynolds has practically grown up in her family’s Brooklyn pizza shop, Soul Slice, and is a true city girl. When her family moves to a small town in Pennsylvania to open another pizza place, everything changes.
Being the new girl is hard enough. At Soul Slice 2.0, Maya is assigned delivery duty. And her first delivery is a disaster. Can you make a worse impression than tripping…and falling face-first into a rude boy’s pizza order?
When that same rude – and, okay, cute – boy shows up at her school, Maya’s convinced nothing can go right. But she may be in for some surprises. Could good friends, secret crushes, and creative pizza toppings turn Maya’s new home into her own slice of heaven?
Publication Date November 30th 2021 by Random House Graphic
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Cake is delicious, and comics are awesome: this exciting nonfiction graphic novel for kids combines both! Explore the history of desserts through a fun adventure with facts, legends, and recipes for readers to try at home.
Have you ever wondered who first thought to freeze cream? Or when people began making sweet pastry shells to encase fruity fillings? Peri is excited to show you the delicious history of sweets while taking you around the world and back!
The team-up that made ice cream cones!
The mistake that made brownies!
Learn about and taste the true stories behind everyone’s favorite treats, paired with fun and easy recipes to try at home. After all, sweets — and their stories — are always better when they’re shared!
Publication Date November 2nd 2021 by Clarion Books
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A hilarious and heartwarming debut about picky eating, finding your people, and standing proud.
In Muffuletta, being good at eating is the key to success. French fries and grilled cheese? Beginner food! Haggis and truffles? Delicacies!
After failing a school eating test, picky eater Minerva is placed in the lowest eating track of all: Remedial Eating to Change Habits. RETCH class is full of kids with weird personalities and even weirder food preferences. And to make matters worse, Minerva’s best friends, in the Gifted and Gourmet class, no longer speak to her.
But soon Minerva finds she is not alone in her pickiness, and forms friendships with her new classmates. And together, they find a way to stand up for themselves — picky and proud!
Publication Date October 19th 2021 by Scholastic Inc.
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Scrumptious recipes…a family secret…and one smart cookie ready for a challenge!
Mina is excited to start her mentorship at A Batch Made In Heaven, the bakery in her hometown that’s famous for their inventive cookies. Mina dreams of becoming a baker herself someday. But there’s a problem. Flynn, the (undeniably cute) son of the owner, won’t let Mina into the kitchen: the top secret Cookie Vault. If Mina can’t bake, then she can’t enter the big cookie competition…and if she can’t enter, she’ll never win the money to help her dad open the restaurant he’s always wanted.
What secret is Flynn hiding? And will Mina’s entire plan crumble like an overbaked cookie, or can she find a way to help her family and her heart?
Publication Date September 14th 2021 by Aladdin
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Fresh Off The Boat meets Junie B. Jones in this adorable chapter book series following Mindy Kim, a young Asian American girl – in this sixth novel, Mindy enters a delicious pizza competition!
Mindy Kim loves food — from her beloved Korean staples to pizza! When a local pizza place advertises a trivia competition, Mindy can’t believe that the big prize is unlimited pizza for a whole year!
Mindy is confident she and her dad can take the top spot. But Dad is worried he might not understand all the cultural references. And he wants Mindy to know that the most important thing is to always try your best, even if you don’t win. Can Mindy and her Dad have fun together, win or lose?
Publication Date September 14th 2021 by Versify
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In this heartfelt middle school drama, Hannah’s schemes for throwing her own bat mitzvah unleash family secrets, create rivalries with best friends, and ultimately teach Hannah what being Jewish is all about.
Hannah Malfa-Adler is Jew…ish. Not that she really thinks about it. She’d prefer to focus on her favorite pastime: baking delicious food! But when her best friend has a beyond-awesome Bat Mitzvah, Hannah starts to feel a little envious…and a little left out.
Despite her parents firm no, Hannah knows that if she can learn enough about her own faith, she can convince her friends that the party is still in motion. As the secrets mount, a few are bound to explode. When they do, Hannah learns that being Jewish isn’t about having a big party and a fancy dress and a first kiss – it’s about actually being Jewish. Most importantly, Hannah realizes that the only person’s permission she needs to be Jewish, is her own.
Publication Date August 31st 2021 by Yellow Jacket
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A delicious tale of rivalry, friendship, heartache, and dessert! Fame-obsessed Jack and somber Jillian, who is mourning the loss of her mother, become a mismatched duo selected to compete for $150,000 in a high-stakes baking contest jam-packed with hilarious high jinks.
Exploding with loud, rock ‘n’ roll attitude, eleven-year-old Jack Fineman dreams of becoming the greatest pastry chef who ever lived. His plans are thrown off course when his butterscotch basil brownies are upstaged at his sixth-grade holiday party by a simple plate of chocolate rugelach brought in by Jillian Mermelstein-the new girl at school whose mother has just died and who only wants to be left alone.
These budding bakers’ lives are mixed together when they are selected to compete as teammates in a nationally televised competition. For Jack, this is his chance to advance one step closer to culinary greatness. For Jillian, it’s an opportunity to help her father by winning her share of the $150,000 top prize.
Preparing to face bakers from the city’s other middle schools, Jack and Jillian struggle to find the right recipe for working together. Along the way, they make the world’s most irresistible oatmeal cricket cookies, battle Jack’s checkered-pants-wearing brother for miniature golf supremacy, and discover the troubling reasons why each of them was chosen for the contest.
Publication Date August 17th 2021 by Union Square Kids
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Third-grader Aven Green has been baking for a really long time…since last week!
Now Aven is ready to shake things up by entering the exciting world of competitive baking with her friends Kayla, Sujata, and Emily. Aven knows she’s an expert baker. So what if she doesn’t have arms? That’s just the way she was born. And honestly, she’s a whiz at mixing and measuring with her feet. The one skill Aven hasn’t mastered in the kitchen: working together with her friends. Before long they are fighting over whose dessert is the best. Will adding friends to the mix turn into a recipe for disaster for Aven?
Publication Date July 6th 2021 by HarperCollins
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Family and food take center stage in this heartfelt middle grade story perfect for fans of John David Anderson and Antony John.
For as long as he can remember, Curtis Pith has been obsessed with becoming a chef like Lucas Taylor, host of Super Chef. And Curtis has a secret: Taylor is actually his long-absent father.
So when Taylor announces a kids-only season of Super Chef, Curtis finally sees his chance to meet his dad. But after Curtis wins a spot in the competition and arrives in New York to film the show, nothing goes as smoothly as he expected.
It’s all riding on the last challenge. If Curtis cooks his heart out like he knows he can, he just might go home with the top prize — and the truth.
Publication Date May 11th 2021 by Puffin Canada
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When Alice agreed to appear in a reality cooking show with her father, she had no idea she’d find herself in the middle of a mystery! Will Alice and her new friends be able to save the show? A light-hearted and funny middle grade novel for fans of Rebecca Stead and Linda Mulally Hunt.
Alice Fleck’s father is a culinary historian, and for as long as she can remember, she’s been helping him recreate meals from the past – a hobby she prefers to keep secret from kids her age. But when her father’s new girlfriend enters them into a cooking competition at a Victorian festival, Alice finds herself and her hobby thrust into the spotlight.
And that’s just the first of many surprises awaiting her. On arriving at the festival, Alice learns that she and her father are actually contestants on Culinary Combat, a new reality TV show hosted by Tom Truffleman, the most famous and fierce judge on TV! And to make matters worse, she begins to suspect that someone is at work behind the scenes, sabotaging the competition.
It’s up to Alice, with the help of a few new friends, to find the saboteur before the entire competition is ruined, all the while tackling some of the hardest cooking challenges of her life…for the whole world to see.
Publication Date April 6th 2021 by Pixel+Ink
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Mix together a used food truck, a road trip that doesn’t exactly go as planned, and a lot of pie, and you have the recipe for this sweet middle grade series starter brimming with humor, heart, and a family you’ll fall in love with. Perfect for readers who gobbled down The Penderwicks and The Vanderbeeks of 141st Street.
Sweet summer has taken a rotten turn…
After a tough year, Lucy, Freddy, and Herb Peach are ready for vacation. Lucy wants to read all of the books on the summer reading list. Freddy wants to work on his art projects (when he isn’t stuck in summer school). Herb wants to swim every day.
Then their dad makes a big announcement: one of the inventions their mom came up with before she passed away has sold, and now they’re millionaires!
But Dad has bigger plans than blowing the cash on fun stuff or investing it. He’s bought a used food truck. The Peaches are going to spend the summer traveling the country selling pies. It will be the Great Peach Experiment – a summer of bonding while living out one of Mom’s dreams. Summer plans, sunk. And there’s one more issue Dad’s neglected: none of them knows how to bake…
A perfect blend of humor, heart, and family antics, When Life Gives You Lemons, Make Peach Pie is a delectable treat to be gobbled down or savored slowly. (Slice of pie on the side, optional, but highly recommended.)
Publication Date March 30th 2021 by Farrar, Straus and Giroux (BYR)
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Twelve-year-old Alba doesn’t want to live with her estranged grandmother in Barcelona.
But her mother needs her to be far, far away from their home in New York City. Because this is the year that her mother is going to leave Alba’s abusive father. Hopefully. If she’s strong enough to finally, finally do it.
Alba is surprised to find that she loves Barcelona, forming a close relationship with her grandmother, meeting a supportive father figure, and making new friends. Most of all, she discovers a passion and talent for bread baking. When her beloved bakery is threatened with closure, Alba is determined to find a way to save it – and at the same time, she may just come up with a plan to make their family whole again.
From the author of How To Make Friends With The Sea comes a heartfelt story of finding one’s chosen family, healing, and baking.
Publication Date February 9th 2021 by First Second
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An American Library Association 2021 Best Graphic Novel For Children
In this silly, action-packed graphic novel, a young chef must protect her town from an onslaught of scientifically enhanced, highly addictive potatoes!
Yasmina isn’t like the other kids in her city. Maybe it’s the big chef hat she wears. Or the fact that she stuffs her dad’s lunchbox full of spring rolls instead of peanut butter and jelly. She might be an oddball, but no one can deny that Yasmina has a flair for food. All she needs to whip up a gourmet meal is a recipe from her cookbook and fresh vegetable form the community garden.
But everything changes when the garden is bulldozed and replaced with a strange new crop of potatoes. Her neighbors can’t get enough of these spuds! And after just one bite their behavior changes ― they slobber, chase cats, and howl at the moon. What’s the secret ingredient in these potatoes that has everyone acting like a bunch of crazed canines? Yasmina needs to find a cure, and fast!
Publication Date October 27th 2020 by HarperAlley
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Twelve-year-old Cici has just moved from Taiwan to Seattle, and the only thing she wants more than to fit in at her new school is to celebrate her grandmother, A-má’s, seventieth birthday together.
Since she can’t go to A-má, Cici cooks up a plan to bring A-má to her by winning the grand prize in a kids’ cooking contest to pay for A-má’s plane ticket! There’s just one problem: Cici only knows how to cook Taiwanese food.
And after her pickled cucumber debacle at lunch, she’s determined to channel her inner Julia Child. Can Cici find a winning recipe to reunite with A-má, a way to fit in with her new friends, and somehow find herself too?
Publication Date October 6th 2020 by Quill Tree Books
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Set against the backdrop of Karachi, Pakistan, Saadia Faruqi’s tender and honest middle grade novel tells the story of two girls navigating a summer of change and family upheaval with kind hearts, big dreams, and all the right questions.
Mimi is not thrilled to be spending her summer in Karachi, Pakistan, with grandparents she’s never met. Secretly, she wishes to find her long-absent father, and plans to write to him in her beautiful new journal.
The cook’s daughter, Sakina, still hasn’t told her parents that she’ll be accepted to school only if she can improve her English test score — but then, how could her family possibly afford to lose the money she earns working with her Abba in a rich family’s kitchen?
Although the girls seem totally incompatible at first, as the summer goes on, Sakina and Mimi realize that they have plenty in common — and that they each need the other to get what they want most.
This relatable and empathetic story about two friends coming to understand each other will resonate with readers who loved Other Words For Home and Front Desk.
Publication Date August 11th 2020 by Clarion Books
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A timely, accessible, and beautifully written story exploring themes of food, friendship, family and what it means to belong, featuring sixth graders Sara, a Pakistani American, and Elizabeth, a white, Jewish girl taking a South Asian cooking class taught by Sara’s mom.
Sixth graders Sara and Elizabeth could not be more different. Sara is at a new school that is completely unlike the small Islamic school she used to attend. Elizabeth has her own problems: her British mum has been struggling with depression. The girls meet in an after-school South Asian cooking class, which Elizabeth takes because her mom has stopped cooking, and which Sara, who hates to cook, is forced to attend because her mother is the teacher. The girls form a shaky alliance that gradually deepens, and they make plans to create the most amazing, mouth-watering cross-cultural dish together and win a spot on a local food show. They make good cooking partners…but can they learn to trust each other enough to become true friends?
Publication Date January 14th 2020 by Aladdin
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Fresh Off The Boat meets Junie B. Jones in this first novel in an adorable new chapter book series about Mindy Kim, a young Asian American girl who is starting a snack business!
Mindy Kim just wants three things:
1. A puppy!
2. To fit in at her new school
3. For her dad to be happy againBut, getting all three of the things on her list is a lot trickier than she thought it would be. On her first day of school, Mindy’s school snack of dried seaweed isn’t exactly popular at the lunch table. Luckily, her new friend, Sally, makes the snacks seem totally delicious to Mindy’s new classmates, so they decide to start the Yummy Seaweed Business to try and raise money for that puppy!
When another student decides to try and sabotage their business, Mindy loses more than she bargained for — and wonders if she’ll ever fit in. Will Mindy be able to overcome her uncertainty and find the courage to be herself?
Publication Date January 14th 2020 by Katherine Tegen Books
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From debut author Janae Marks comes a captivating mystery full of heart, as one courageous girl questions assumptions, searches for the truth, and does what she believes is right — even in the face of great opposition. A perfect book for fans of Front Desk and All Rise For The Honorable Perry T. Cook!
Zoe Washington isn’t sure what to write. What does a girl say to the father she’s never met, hadn’t heard from until his letter arrived on her twelfth birthday, and who’s been in prison for a terrible crime?
A crime he says he never committed.
Could Marcus really be innocent? Zoe is determined to uncover the truth. Even if it means hiding his letters and her investigation from the rest of her family. Everyone else thinks Zoe’s worrying about doing a good job at her bakery internship and proving to her parents that she’s worthy of auditioning for Food Network’s Kids Bake Challenge.
But with bakery confections on one part of her mind, and Marcus’s conviction weighing heavily on the other, this is one recipe Zoe doesn’t know how to balance. The only thing she knows to be true: Everyone lies.
Publication Date October 1st 2019 by Atheneum Books for Young Readers
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In the tradition of Wonder and Out Of My Mind, this big-hearted middle grade debut tells the story of an irrepressible girl with cerebral palsy whose life takes an unexpected turn when she moves to a new town.
Ellie’s a girl who tells it like it is. That surprises some people, who see a kid in a wheelchair and think she’s going to be all sunshine and cuddles. The thing is, Ellie has big dreams: She might be eating Stouffer’s for dinner, but one day she’s going to be a professional baker. If she’s not writing fan letters to her favorite celebrity chefs, she’s practicing recipes on her well-meaning, if overworked, mother.
But when Ellie and her mom move so they can help take care of her ailing grandpa, Ellie has to start all over again in a new town at a new school. Except she’s not just the new kid — she’s the new kid in the wheelchair who lives in the trailer park on the wrong side of town. It all feels like one challenge too many, until Ellie starts to make her first-ever friends. Now she just has to convince her mom that this town might just be the best thing that ever happened to them!
Publication Date September 3rd 2019 by Carolrhoda Books
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A wild California mystery full of feathers, sprinkles, and more.
Ever since Mattie Waters lost her mother, she’s been sharing a trailer with her aunt Molly, the proud owner of Owl’s Outstanding Donuts. This hoot of a donut shop serves up delicious snacks to people driving down California’s Highway One ― treats like the Turkey Talon, the Banana Slug Bar, and the Strawberry Iced Classic.
Mattie loves her aunt and the shop, even if she’s still dealing with a life without her mom. But not everybody is a fan of Owl’s Outstanding Donuts.
When an owl taps on Mattie’s window one night, Mattie looks out to see suspicious activity not far from the shop. A shady duo is dumping gloop near the highway. And soon people want to blame Aunt Molly! With help from her friends, Mattie sets out to find the real gloopers. Along the way, she’ll face fears that have followed her since her mother’s passing ― and get to know Alfred, a stuffy, donut-loving owl who’s also on the case.
Publication Date July 30th 2019 by Scholastic Inc.
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Sweet treats and friendship mix-ups abound in this story about cousins, first crushes, and finding your place.
Bria Muller is stuck on her aunt and uncle’s dairy farm for the summer, and she is not happy about it. Milking cows alongside her cousins Wren and Luke? No thanks.
The one thing she’s good at is mixing up milk shakes in the creamery. Instead of their usual vanilla, she starts crafting towering, over-the-top shakes like the ones she loved sipping back home in Chicago. Wren, and most of the customers, aren’t impressed. Everyone seems to think Bria is just a snobby city girl.
There is one person who appreciates the sweet, cold treats: Gabe, her cousins’ cute friend who helps out on the farm. But with the family business in danger of being sold, can Bria’s shakes make a difference…and will she ever fit into country life?
Publication Date June 11th 2019 by Yellow Jacket
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Can Mimi undo the mayhem caused by her baking in this contemporary-fantasy retelling of Shakespeare’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream?
Eleven-year-old Mimi Mackson comes from a big Indian American family: Dad’s a renowned food writer, Mom’s a successful businesswoman, and her three older siblings all have their own respective accomplishments. It’s easy to feel invisible in such an impressive family, but Mimi’s dream of proving she’s not the least-talented member of her family seems possible when she discovers a contest at the new bakery in town. Plus, it’ll start her on the path to becoming a celebrity chef like her culinary idol, Puffy Fay.
But when Mimi’s dad returns from a business trip, he’s mysteriously lost his highly honed sense of taste. Without his help, Mimi will never be able to bake something impressive enough to propel her to gastronomic fame.
Drawn into the woods behind her house by a strangely familiar song, Mimi meets Vik, a boy who brings her to parts of the forest she’s never seen. Who knew there were banyan trees and wild boars in Massachusetts? Together they discover exotic ingredients and bake them into delectable and enchanting treats.
But as her dad acts stranger every day, and her siblings’ romantic entanglements cause trouble in their town, Mimi begins to wonder whether the ingredients she and Vik found are somehow the cause of it all. She needs to use her skills, deductive and epicurean, to uncover what’s happening. In the process, she learns that in life, as in baking, not everything is sweet…
Publication Date May 14th 2019 by Henry Holt and Co. (BYR)
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A poignant, laugh-out-loud illustrated middle-grade novel about an eleven-year-old boy’s immigration experience, his annoying little brother, and their cake-baking hijinks! Perfect for fans of Raina Telgemeier and Gene Luen Yang!
When Jingwen moves to a new country, he feels like he’s landed on Mars. School is torture, making friends is impossible since he doesn’t speak English, and he’s often stuck looking after his (extremely irritating) little brother, Yanghao.
To distract himself from the loneliness, Jingwen daydreams about making all the cakes on the menu of Pie in the Sky, the bakery his father had planned to open before he unexpectedly passed away. The only problem is his mother has laid down one major rule: the brothers are not to use the oven while she’s at work. As Jingwen and Yanghao bake elaborate cakes, they’ll have to cook up elaborate excuses to keep the cake making a secret from Mama.
In her hilarious, moving middle-grade debut, Remy Lai delivers a scrumptious combination of vibrant graphic art and pitch-perfect writing that will appeal to fans of Shannon Hale and LeUyen Pham’s Real Friends, Kelly Yang’s Front Desk, and Jerry Craft’s New Kid.
Publication Date April 16th 2019 by Balzer + Bray
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A heartfelt contemporary middle grade novel about a girl who must try to save her aunt’s failing pie shop, perfect for fans of The Thing About Jellyfish, Fish In A Tree and The Great British Baking Show.
When Cady Bennett is sent to live with the aunt she didn’t even know she had in the quaint mountain town of Julian, she isn’t sure what to expect. Cady isn’t used to stability, after growing up homeless in San Diego with her dad.
Now she’s staying in her mother’s old room, exploring the countryside filled with apple orchards and pie shops, making friends, and working in Aunt Shell’s own pie shop — and soon, Cady starts to feel like she belongs.
Then she finds out that Aunt Shell’s shop is failing. Saving the business and protecting the first place she’s ever really felt safe will take everything she’s learned and the help of all her new friends. But are there some things even the perfect pie just can’t fix?
Summer of a Thousand Pies is a sweet and satisfying treat of a novel full of friendship, family, and, of course, pie.
Publication Date April 3rd 2018 by Sourcebooks Young Readers
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Superfudge meets The Lemonade War in this funny, heartwarming book about change, adventure, family, and of course, doughnuts.
Tristan isn’t Gifted or Talented like his sister Jeanine, and he’s always been okay with that because he can make a perfect chocolate chip cookie and he lives in the greatest city in the world. But his life takes a turn for the worse when his parents decide to move to middle-of-nowhere Petersville ― a town with one street and no restaurants. It’s like suddenly they’re supposed to be this other family, one that can survive without bagels and movie theaters.
His suspicions about his new town are confirmed when he’s tricked into believing the local general store has life-changing chocolate cream doughnuts, when in fact the owner hasn’t made them in years. And so begins the only thing that could make life in Petersville worth living: getting the recipe, making the doughnuts, and bringing them back to the town through his very own doughnut stand. But Tristan will soon discover that when starting a business, it helps to be both Gifted and Talented, and it’s possible he’s bitten off more than he can chew…
Publication Date January 2nd 2018 by Walden Pond Press
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Leonora Logroño’s family owns the most beloved bakery in Rose Hill, Texas, spending their days conjuring delicious cookies and cakes for any occasion. And no occasion is more important than the annual Dia de los Muertos festival.
Leo hopes that this might be the year that she gets to help prepare for the big celebration — but, once again, she is told she’s too young. Sneaking out of school and down to the bakery, she discovers that her mother, aunt, and four older sisters have in fact been keeping a big secret: they’re brujas — witches of Mexican ancestry — who pour a little bit of sweet magic into everything that they bake.
Leo knows that she has magical ability as well and is more determined than ever to join the family business — even if she can’t let her mama and hermanas know about it yet.
And when her best friend, Caroline, has a problem that needs solving, Leo has the perfect opportunity to try out her craft. It’s just one little spell, after all…what could possibly go wrong?
Debut author Anna Meriano brings us the first book in a delightful new series filled to the brim with amor, azúcar, y magia.
Publication Date November 21st 2017 by Sky Pony
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1 girl with 1 best friend
1 middle school project
3 huge, slobbery dogs
A recipe for success…or disaster?Most kids would dread the start of middle school and the year-long Explorations project that comes with it, but Ana knows that her + her best friend Lily + their plan to write and sell their own cookbook is a recipe for success. Lily’s not just the perfect partner in culinary crime — she’s also the only person in the world who understands Ana’s need to wash her hands five times before picking up a spatula, and would never make fun of her for it.
But Ana and Lily’s plan for edible entrepreneurship turns into one big baking disaster when they’re assigned to different partners for their projects. As if it wasn’t bad enough that Lily seems more excited to get to know her new partner than bummed about being separated, Lily and her new friend plan to use the cookbook idea for themselves — and they didn’t even ask! Worse, Ana’s partner is Dasher, the strange new girl from Alaska, and she wants to do their project on the weirdest thing imaginable: sled dog racing.
Dasher’s dogs are scary, slobbery, and decidedly not germ-free, but Ana thinks she’s found a loophole when she agrees to bake pancakes for spectators while Dasher mushes in a local race. That is, until Dasher sprains her ankle and has to drop out of the running. Can Ana learn to mush — and overcome her anxiety — in time to save her friendships, finish her project, and compete in the big race?
Publication Date September 12th 2017 by Candlewick
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Competitive eating vies with family expectations in a funny, heartfelt novel for middle-grade readers by National Book Award winner Pete Hautman.
David can eat an entire sixteen-inch pepperoni pizza in four minutes and thirty-six seconds. Not bad. But he knows he can do better. In fact, he’ll have to do better: he’s going to compete in the Super Pigorino Bowl, the world’s greatest pizza-eating contest, and he has to win it, because he borrowed his mom’s credit card and accidentally spent $2,000 on it. So he really needs that prize money. Like, yesterday. As if training to be a competitive eater weren’t enough, he’s also got to keep an eye on his little brother, Mal (who, if the family believed in labels, would be labeled autistic, but they don’t, so they just label him Mal). And don’t even get started on the new weirdness going on between his two best friends, Cyn and HeyMan.
Master talent Pete Hautman has cooked up a rich narrative shot through with equal parts humor and tenderness, and the result is a middle-grade novel too delicious to put down.
Publication Date July 18th 2017 by Clarion Books
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A zesty series for fans of MasterChef Jr. and Kids Cook-off! In episode one, four talented tween chefs step into the spotlight to prove that they have what it takes to become the Next Best Junior Chef. Who will have the grits to get through week one of the competition?
What will the kids cook up? How will they all get along on and off camera? Which junior chef will have the grit — and maybe the grits — to make it through each elimination challenge? And which junior chef will have to hang their apron up for good?
Publication Date July 11th 2017 by Aladdin
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A thirteen-year-old chef has a lot to prove as she tries to run a five-star restaurant, repay a greedy loan shark, and outsmart the Elven mafia in this entertaining novel that combines all the best ingredients — fantasy, humor, adventure, action, cute boys, and a feisty heroine!
Lailu Loganberry is an expert at hunting dangerous beasts. And she’s even better at cooking them!
For years Lailu has trained to be the best chef in the city. Her specialty? Monster cuisine. When her mentor agrees to open a new restaurant with Lailu as the head chef, she’s never been more excited. But her celebration is cut short when she discovers that her mentor borrowed money from Mr. Boss, a vicious loan shark. If they can’t pay him back, Lailu will not only lose her restaurant — she’ll have to cook for Mr. Boss for the rest of her life.
As Lailu scrambles to raise the money in time, she becomes trapped in a deadly conflict between the king’s cold-blooded assassin, the terrifying elf mafia, and Mr. Boss’ ruthless crew. Worst of all, her only hope in outsmarting Mr. Boss lies with the one person she hates — Greg, the most annoying boy in school and her rival in the restaurant business.
But like Lailu always says, if you can’t stand the heat, stay out of the kitchen. And she’s determined to succeed, no matter the cost!
Publication Date May 30, 2017 by Bloomsbury USA Childrens
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A classic fantasy with terrific girl power (and chocolate), perfect for fans of Shannon Hale and Jessica Day George.
Aventurine is a brave young dragon ready to explore the world outside of her family’s mountain cave…if only they’d let her leave it. Her family thinks she’s too young to fly on her own, but she’s determined to prove them wrong by capturing the most dangerous prey of all: a human.
But when that human tricks her into drinking enchanted hot chocolate, she’s transformed into a puny human without any sharp teeth, fire breath, or claws. Still, she’s the fiercest creature in these mountains – and now she’s found her true passion: chocolate. All she has to do is get to the human city to find herself an apprenticeship (whatever that is) in a chocolate house (which sounds delicious), and she’ll be conquering new territory in no time…won’t she?
Publication Date April 11th 2017 by HarperCollins
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This brave and heartwarming middle grade novel will leave your belly rumbling and your heart full. Because when life hands you lemons, it’s time to get cooking! Perfect for fans of Sarah Weeks, Leslie Connor, and Lynda Mullaly Hunt.
Since Steffy was little, she and her older sister, Nina, have lived with their beloved Auntie Gina. But when the girls’ dad comes home to live with them, everything changes. So Steffy does what she does best: She cooks her way through the hardest year of her life.
Sometimes it feels like everything but the kitchen sink is being thrown at her — too many ingredients that don’t quite work. And all Steffy wants is for her family to be whole again. Can her recipes help bring them back together?
One Hundred Spaghetti Strings also includes over twenty recipes — which Steffy cooks throughout the book — so aspiring young chefs can try them out when they’re done reading!
Publication Date January 17th 2017 by Little, Brown Books for Young Readers
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A heartwarming and charming debut novel about family, friends, and finding your voice all wrapped up in a warm tortilla.
Estefania “Stef” Soto is itching to shake off the onion-and-cilantro embrace of Tia Perla, her family’s taco truck. She wants nothing more than for Papi to get a normal job and for Tia Perla to be a distant memory. Then maybe everyone at school will stop seeing her as the Taco Queen.
But when her family’s livelihood is threatened, and it looks like her wish will finally come true, Stef surprises everyone (including herself) by becoming the truck’s unlikely champion. In this fun and heartfelt novel, Stef will discover what matters most and ultimately embrace an identity that even includes old Tia Perla.
Publication Date August 11th 2015 by Aladdin
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When Lucy heads to Rome for the summer, she’s is in for pizza, pasta, and a little amore in this M!X novel from the author of Lost In London.
Lucia “Lucy” Rossi thought she was going to be a camp counselor for the summer, but, thanks to a very fortunate twist, she ends up in Rome, Italy, helping out at her aunt’s restaurant, Amore Pizzeria. Lucy can’t wait to see some ruins, eat all the gelato she can, and maybe say a few buongiornos to some cute Italian boys.
But Lucy arrives to Italian trouble. Her aunt is in danger of losing her business, thanks to a flashy new pizzeria down the road that is all style, but no substance. In order to try and save the shop, Lucy decides to employ a very unique version of matchmaking — making matches based on customer’s pizza preferences. Soon, word of the American matchmaker gets out, and it looks like the business might be saved! Or so she thought — until someone decides to try and sabotage the newfound success of Amore pizza. Can Lucy figure out who might be behind everything? Or will her family being saying ciao to Amore Pizzeria for good?
Publication Date February 3rd 2015 by Aladdin
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Can their friendships take the heat? A trio of mothers and daughters will find out when they sign up for a cooking class from a famous chef in the first book of the Saturday Cooking Club series — it’s mother-daughter bonding and so much more!
Liza and Frankie have always been best friends. But when new girl Lillian arrives from San Francisco, suddenly three’s a crowd. Especially after the trio is grouped together for a big sixth-grade social studies project — can they put aside their animosity long enough to succeed? When Liza suggests they all take a cooking class with the chef from her favorite cooking show for the project, the girls are on board, but they need an adult to take the class with them. It seems like the perfect opportunity to snag some quality time with their overscheduled, overstressed mothers…if they can convince them to sign up!
Several headaches and close calls later, the girls at last find themselves in Chef Antonio’s kitchen with their mothers in tow — but the drama is only just beginning!
Publication Date January 27th 2015 by Little, Brown Books for Young Readers
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In this quirky, heartwarming coming-of-age novel, two sisters have their lives changed after winning a national cooking contest that takes them to a new town filled with new adventures — and challenges.
Take two sisters making it on their own: brainy twelve-year-old GiGi and junior-high-dropout-turned-hairstylist DiDi. Add a million dollars in prize money from a national cooking contest and a move from the trailer parks of South Carolina to the North Shore of Long Island. Mix in a fancy new school, a first crush, new friends and enemies, and a generous sprinkling of family secrets.
That’s the recipe for The Truth About Twinkie Pie, a voice-driven middle-grade debut about the true meaning of family and friendship.
Publication Date July 10th 2014 by G.P. Putnam’s Sons Books for Young Readers
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Meet Gladys Gatsby: New York’s toughest restaurant critic. (Just don’t tell anyone that she’s in sixth grade.)
Gladys Gatsby has been cooking gourmet dishes since the age of seven, only her fast-food-loving parents have no idea! Now she’s eleven, and after a crème brûlée accident (just a small fire), Gladys is cut off from the kitchen (and her allowance). She’s devastated but soon finds just the right opportunity to pay her parents back when she’s mistakenly contacted to write a restaurant review for one of the largest newspapers in the world.
But in order to meet her deadline and keep her dream job, Gladys must cook her way into the heart of her sixth-grade archenemy and sneak into New York City — all while keeping her identity a secret! Easy as pie, right?
Publication Date March 12th 2013 by Delacorte Books for Young Readers
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Fans of Roald Dahl’s Charlie and The Chocolate Factory will adore Kate Saunders’s new middle-grade adventure that is “a whizz-pop chocolate romp” (Kirkus Reviews).
Enter a world filled with magical chocolate, evil villains, and an adventure twins Lily and Oz never could have dreamed…
Lily and Oz Spoffard have just inherited a magical house with a mysterious boarded-up chocolate shop on the ground floor. The twins’ great-great-uncles were famous chocolatiers, and their chocolate was ANYTHING but ordinary. In fact, it had magical properties.
Now an evil gang is after the secret recipe, and it’s up to Lily and Oz to stop them. The fate of their family, and the world, depends on it.
Publication Date October 5th 2010 by Little, Brown Books for Young Readers
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Four children have been chosen to compete in a national competition to find the tastiest confection in the country. Who will invent a candy more delicious than the Oozing Crunchorama or the Neon Lightning Chew?
Logan, the Candymaker’s son, who can detect the color of chocolate by touch alone?
Miles, the boy who is allergic to merry-go-rounds and the color pink?
Daisy, the cheerful girl who can lift a fifty-pound lump of taffy like it’s a feather?
Or Philip, the suit-and-tie wearing boy who’s always scribbling in a secret notebook?
This sweet, charming, and cleverly crafted story, told from each contestant’s perspective, is filled with mystery, friendship, and juicy revelations.
