Skip to main content

STELLAR STORIES: Midsummer's Mayhem


By: Rajani LaRocca
New York, NY : Yellow Jacket, 2019. Fiction.

This book was a scrumptious tale of baking mixed with a dash of Shakespeare! Mimi is the youngest in a family of talented siblings but she often gets overlooked. This summer, however, she finds out about a baking contest at the new "While Away Cafe" in town. This baking contest is just for children and now Mimi has a chance to shine and demonstrate her talent for baking. Along the way she sifts though some obstacles, like her father, a food writer who seems to have lost his honed sense of taste and a love triangle catastrophe with her older sister. Where the ingredients in her baking the reason for the strange things happening in her family?  She must uncover the truth, with the help of her new friend Vic, and find a way to win the contest as she unravels the mayhem happening in her family.

If you like Shakespeare you will really enjoy this delicious spin on his classic tale A Midsummer Night's Dream. It will tickle your taste buds as the magic aroma of baking carries you through this delightful book of self discovery, magical realism and creativity. I really enjoyed this new novel by Rajani LaRocca.





Comments

Popular posts from this blog

If You Like...KPop Demon Hunters

KPop Demon Hunters has been one of the most talked-about movies of the summer. If you loved this movie as much as I did, you don't want the magic (or the music) to stop. Try reading these books that touch on some of the same topics and themes as the animated hit! Brick Dust and Bones By M. R. Fournet New York: Feiwel and Friends, 2023. Fiction. 247 pages. Orphaned Marius works in the family business--as their cemetery's ghost caretaker. However, Marius also moonlights as a monster hunter in order to earn the costly Mystic currency he needs to bring his mother back from the dead. As the window to bring his mother back begins to close, Marius's exploits get more and more dangerous, and he may have set his sights on a monster too big to handle on his own. Like Mira, Marius longs for familial connection, and his work as a monster hunter will satisfy the thrill of demon hunting for fans the movie. Where's Halmoni? By Julie J. Kim Seattle, WA: Little Bigfoot, 2017. Comics. W...

Dog Man Read Alikes

Dog Man  is a popular graphic novel for middle graders all about the adventures of a half-man, half-dog police officer. With 14 books in the series, many readers can't get enough of these hilarious stories! If your child is looking for more books like Dog Man, here are some great options to try out.  Dex Dingo: World's Best Greatest Ever... Inventor By Greg Foley Los Angeles: Disney-Hyperion, 2024. Comic. 157 pages.  Dex Dingo doesn't know what he wants to do when he grows up. His classmates all seem to know, but he just doesn't feel like he is the BEST at anything. When a class assignment challenges him to figure out what he wants to be, he decides he wants to become the world's best ever inventor! Filled with beautifully drawn spreads and kid-approved humor, this book is sure to please any Dog Man fan.  Troubling Tonsils Written by Aaron Reynolds Illustrated by Peter Brown  New York: Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers, 2025. Fiction. 71 pages.  ...

Review: Floor It!

Floor It! Written by Bex Tobin Fine Illustrated by Federico Fabiani New York: Random House, 2025. Picture book. The racer approaches the starting line, gets set to race and then ... floor it! Baby is on the way! With dynamic text and entrancing illustrations, we see a baby hard at work crawling through their living room. As they race through the room, everyday obstacles become fantastical thanks to illustrations that show the living room as it appears and how it might be imagined during play time. The race finishes with a checkered flag (a sock on baby's parent's foot) and a lift up to a warm embrace and snuggle.  This playful, high energy book is a read aloud of a family at play! Baby's play feels fun and realistic, and shows how littles can explore independently while still within the secure reach of a caregiver. High energy illustrations and naturally rhyming text make a perfect read aloud and gender neutral language used throughout make this a great book for families wi...