MMGM- The Cookie Crumbles and Lonely Planet's National Parks

It's

Marvelous Middle Grade Monday
 at 

Always in the Middle 

and #IMWAYR day 

at

Unleashing Readers

Badua, Tracy and Dow, Alecia. The Cookie Crumbles
June 11, 2024 by Quill Tree Books

E ARC provided by Edelweiss Plus

Laila is bound and determined to enter the Sunderland Academy Golden Cookie competition so that she can win a scholarship to the prestigious boarding school, since her best friend Lucy has been accepted into their journalism program, since the two would not be districted to the same school the next year. Laila's mother is a busy nurse, and her father passed away from cancer several years previously, so the academy would be out of the question without a scholarship. Laila has participated in contests before and done well, although a fellow competitor at Sunderland accuses her of cheating in previous ones. The weather is bad, so there is no leaving the premises, and even phone service is sketchy, so Laila and Lucy (who has been allowed to attend so she can write a story) hunker down with contest runners. Polly Rose is a sweet, supportive British baker, Chef Remi is unbelievably nasty to everyone and bitter about being involved, and Noah is Remi's sidekick. Contestants include future debutante Philippa, Micah, son of restaurant owners, Maeve, and Jaden. All have some connection to Chef Remi. The first challenge is a cookie based on a chocolate truffle, and there are many details of Laila project. There is a cookie showcase involving a display at least two feet tall. When Laila's cookie seems to cause Chef Remi to pass out and be in physical distress, the EMTs are barely able to get through but do manage to get him to the hospital, where he remains in a coma. Lucy, who has compiled dossiers on everyone in the competition, starts investigating. Laila has to keep cooking, but the others seem to blame her for the attempted murder of the star chef, based on little evidence. Noah even says that Remi was taking medication for a rather serious heart condition. Tensions are high, and the flour flies, but will Laila spend the next school year on scholarship to Sunderland... or in jail for murder?

Strengths: This collaborative effort from Tracy Badua (Freddie vs. the Family Curse, The Takeout) and Alechia Dow (Just a Pinch of Magic) is a fun, Agatha Christie style murder-lite story (Chef Remi survives). There's plenty of baking, lots of journalistic investigation, some friend drama, and a murder attempt that doesn't involve someone actually dying. The setting of the posh boarding school in the storm adds to the English country manor estate feel, and it's fun to see both Laila and Lucy's perspectives in alternating chapters. 
Weaknesses: There were a lot of recipes that seemed awfully advanced for tweens. I wouldn't have thought that Laila's struggling mother would have been willing to pay for French butter (There IS such a thing? I mean, outside of France.). I'm definitely overly cheap and pragmatic in my cooking, so readers who desperately want to bake (and have watched baking shows) will probably adore these fancy details. 
What I really think: This is a good choice for readers who can't get enough of cooking competition titles like Alice Fleck's Recipe for Disaster (to which this is rather similar), LaMotte and Xu's Measuring Up, LaRocca's Midsummer's Mayhem, Nelson's  A Batch Made in Heaven, the Marks'  The $150, 000 Rugelach, Negron's  The Last Super Chef, Faruqi and Shovan's A Place at the Table, but want the cooking garnished with some rainbow sprinkles of mystery. 

Ward, Alexa. Lonely Planet Kids America's National Parks

May 21, 2024 by Lonely Planet

Copy Provided by the Publisher

Starting with Yellowstone National Park, the US has been adding spectacular places to its list since 1860. This Lonely Planet Guide is a great introduction to young naturalists to the various parks that are scattered throughout the US and its territories. I love that this starts with suggestions for visiting a park in a responsible manner, a map that lists all 63 parks, since it makes it easy to see what parks might be close enough to readers to visit. I've taken a train through the Cuyahoga National Park and even visited the Indiana Dunes! 

The parks are listed in alphabetical order. Each entry starts with the state or territory where the park is located, and is accompanied by spectacular photographs as well as humorous illustrations that will appeal to young readers. There is the acreage of each park listed, as well as other statistics about miles of shoreline or heights of mountains, along with a good description. There are lists of Things to Do and Things to See so that young readers can start making their wish list of parks to visit. In between the park entries, there is supplemental information about animals, history, and other items of concern. This finishes with a glossary as well as a complete index. 

The photographs are stunning, and make this a book that will be well thumbed by children who would like to be out hiking but are stuck at home or in a car! While I wasn't as big a fan of the illustrations, this was mainly because I have friends who loves national parks so much that they got married at Zion, and I wanted to give this to them! These illustrations will, however, entice the target demographic, and are cute and engaging. Of course, now I wonder if Lonely Planet does have an adult version I need to investigate!

Lonely Planet. Lonely Planet Kids America's National Parks Activity Book 

May 21, 2024 by Lonely Planet

Copy provided by the publisher

This is a great accompaniment to Ward's Lonely Planet Kids America's National Parks guide. It is arranged in the same fashion, with a map at the front showing the location of various parks in the US and territories. The parks are arranged in alphabetical order. A wide variety of activities are shown, and each park gets a two page spread complete with fun facts. There are mazes, pages with lists of items to spot, pictures to color and drawing prompts, as well as word scrambles and searches. There's even flower matching, and a template for an acrostic poem proclaiming DESERT FUN. My favorite was the National Park personality quiz, and it's not a surprise that the park I was matched with was Acadia National Park in Maine, which I visited with my family in 1977. I even remember the bright green t shirt I got there! This ends with a "design your dream park" activity as well as a National Park wish list, which will probably include most of the parks, if young readers pay attention. For those who prize accuracy, there are answers at the back of the book as well. 

Some children adore activity book, and this one was particularly educational. While I wasn't entirely pleased with the crossword puzzles, which were the rangey, computer generated type where only one letter might overlap with the cross grid, the other activities looked appealing, and they were alternated nicely. I can see the two books together sparking a lot of conversations with an older person who was tremendously interested in parks, and perhaps has pictures to show the child and travel memories to share. 

My books came with stickers, but that might be a special promotion. I suppose I'll have to share!