Recipe for Trouble by Sheryl and Carrie Berk - Review and Giveaway

Berk, Sheryl and Carrie. Recipe for Trouble (Cupcake Club, 2). Sourcebooks, 2012. 192p. $6.99. 978-1402264528.



REVIEWED BY MGANNIE

Summary (provided by publisher)

The Peace, Love, and Cupcake Girls are ready for a new school year, but are they ready for the, well, drama? When Lexi lands the role of Juliet in the upcoming performance of Romeo and Juliet, she couldn’t be more excited, but when she finds out the leading man opposite her is her secret crush, Jeremy, the PLC gang sets its sights on match-making.

Things go quickly awry, though, when Jeremy throws away the “Bake Me I’m Yours” cupcake Lexi anonymously gives him. That’s not all! It seems that Jeremy has a few odd habits. For one, it turns out he doesn't eat any desert during lunch period. Then they notice that he keeps a stash of nuts with him at all times. Not to mention his over-frequent visits to the nurse’s office. What could be up with Jeremy?

What MGAnnie Thought

I read Recipe for Trouble, The Cupcake Club by mom and daughter authors, Sheryl and Carrie Berk. I loved it! It was about a girl named Lexi who really likes a boy. She also is busy and stressed with her cupcake club and her school play. She plays Juliet, and her crush is Romeo in Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet. Could there be any more drama for a 5th grader? As a 5th grader myself, it was a fun read, and I would suggest it to 4th-6th graders. I loved how there were many references to Shakespeare and drama. I can't wait to try some of the recipes with my mom! I am looking forward to reading more books in this series, Winner Bakes All sounds fun! In all, this book was baked to perfection!

About the Authors
Sheryl is the founding editor in chief of Life & Style Weekly as well as a contributor to InStyle, Martha Stewart, and other publications.  Her daughter, Carrie, cooked up the idea for THE CUPCAKE CLUB series in second grade. Carrie maintains her own cupcake blog, featuring reviews, photos and recipes of her culinary adventures, called Carrie’s Cupcake Critiques (http://carriescupcakecritique.shutterfly.com/).

follow Carrie!

Pinterest http://pinterest.com/cbcupcakecritic

TWITTER! @CBCupcakeCritic 

FACEBOOK www.facebook.com/PLCCupcakeClub

GIVEAWAY!!!

You can read Recipe for Trouble for yourself! Just fill out the form below! One Entry per person. US ONLY. from November 5 - November 9, 2012 11:59pm

Names and Addresses will be removed at contest end. book will be sent direct from publishers.

Middle Grade Monday–Unseen Guests by Mary Rose Wood

 Wood, Maryrose. Unseen Guests (Incorrigible Children of Ashton Place, 3). Balzer + Bray, 2012. 352p. $15.99. 978-0061791185.

REVIEWED BY: MGANNIE

I enjoyed Maryrose Wood’s “The Mysterious Howling” and “The Hidden Gallery” and because of the ending of this one, I believe that there will be more. I wouldn’t understand this book as much as possible, if I hadn’t read the first two. I give this book five stars because of the mysteries explored and the odd yet loving characters that I feel like I know.
Maryrose Wood is an amazing author. I recommend this series to anyone who is ready for books filled with excitement, fright for characters, love, and journey as the children raised by wolves have yet another adventure!

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons license.

Middle Grade Monday - Wonder by RJ Palacio

Palacio, RJ. Wonder. Knopf Books for Young Readers, Feb 2012. 320p. $15.99. 978-0375869020

Reviewed by: MGAnnie


August Pullman is a kid. A fifth grade kid. Except he has never gone to a normal school, and when he was a baby, doctors were afraid he wouldn’t live. August Pullman was born with a facial deformity.

I really liked Wonder because of the different parts, then chapters, and I liked all of the amazingly described emotions.

The book made me feel sad, and made me worry about people who are different and how people like August are treated. There were wonderfully happy parts too, when everyone got along. I absolutely loved this book.

I recommend Wonder to fifth grade kids up to adults. I give this book FIVE STARS.

From The Brain Lair - There is a wonderful CHOOSE KIND initiative that Ms. Palacio and her publishers have started.  There's a pledge and other resources to help schools implement the program. This book would be an AWESOME One Book, One School choice for an elementary school.

Book Trailer

The Friendship Doll by Kirby Larson - Review

Reviewed by MG Annie


The Friendship Doll by Kirby Larson
200 pgs.


Genre: Historical Fiction
Rating: 4/5 stars
Date: 2011, Delacorte Press


Format
Each section of this book was a new doll and a new time that Miss Kanagawa, the friendship doll, came to know by watching. This setup was different for me and I had to get used to it.


Thoughts
From 1928 to present time, Miss Kanagawa helped the dolls in her own way. Mostly the book described people from earlier times. It also explained what friendship dolls were really about. I learned some interesting facts about the time periods in this book.


Although I didn't think this novel was very intriguing in the first and last chapters overall I enjoyed it. I would recommend The Friendship Dolls by Kirby Lawson to girls aged eight to twelve. 



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