Whether your kids like to cook or not, these are great stories about the ups and downs of life and how cooking is the perfect outlet for creativity and success. Bottom line? Follow your passion and you can’t go wrong.
It’s Raining Cupcakes by Lisa Schroeder (series)
Isabel has never been anywhere but Willow, Oregon. Her dream is to travel. Her mother’s dream is to open a cupcake business. Though Isabel is not into baking, she will do anything to get out of Willow, including entering a baking competition with a paid trip to New York.
Pie by Sarah Weeks
Alice’s Aunt Polly is a legend. Her pies were the best in the country. Upon her death, everyone hopes her pie crust recipe will be revealed, instead she leaves it to her cat Lardo. When Lardo goes missing, Alice is sure someone is trying to steal the recipe. Pie recipes included throughout the book.
The Truth About Twinkie Pie by Kat Yeh
Gigi has been raised by her older sister Didi since she was a baby. With the winnings from a cooking contest, the girls move to Long Island so Gigi can attend a posh private school. Both girls love to cook the recipes from their mom’s cookbook. While trying to track down a discontinued lipstick their mom wore, Gigi uncovers a mystery that will change everything she thought she knew.
Close to Famous by Joan Bauer
When Foster and her mom leave town to escape an abusive boyfriend, they end up in a small West Virginia town living in an RV. Foster can barely read, but she can bake a mean cupcake. Before long, everyone wants her cupcakes, including the local celebrity.
All Four Stars by Tara Dairman (series)
Gladys loves to cook so much that she keeps a journal rating her meals. When her teacher convinces her to write her newspaper essay like a cover letter, it mistakenly ends up in the HR department. Not realizing she’s a kid, they give her an assignment to review a New York restaurant. Writing the review is the easy part. Getting there is another story.
The Thing About Leftovers by C. C. Payne
Fizzy’s dealt with a lot of change since her parents got divorced. She takes her mind off it by spending time in the kitchen with her aunt. Now Fizzy has entered the Southern Living Cook-off. When all the things around her are out of her control, this is her opportunity to own her life.
The Next Best Junior Chef by Charise Harper (series)
Two girls and two boys are the finalists in a TV cooking competition. Here’s your chance to see what goes on behind the scenes in a reality show, including the side interviews. One of the four will be eliminated at the end. A must for fans of Food Network’s Kid’s Baking Championship.
The Saturday Cooking Club by Deborah Levine (series)
Liza, Frankie, and new girl Lillian are working on a group project about immigration. Liza gets the idea to take a 6-week cooking class with their mothers. Lots of diverse backgrounds in the main characters. Each girl must deal with the nuances of their families and go into disaster-relief mode to save the project.
Cake Pop Crush by Suzanne Nelson (series)
Ali loves to bake just like her dad who owns the town bakery. When dream guy Dane shows up at her school, she’s starry eyed until she finds out that his dad is the owner of the competing coffee shop across the street. A bake-off between Ali and Dane will determine which shop is going down.
CHATTERING LIBRARIAN 