The Messy Baker

The Messy Baker
Author: Charmian Christie
Publisher: Rodale
Total Pages: 258
Release: 2014-08-26
Genre: Cooking
ISBN: 1623361877

Since when did every cookie on the plate have to be just like the next? Or each layer of cake exactly the same height? Each piecrust an impeccable work of art and encircled by stunningly perfect pastry leaves? To the uninitiated, all that fastidious, spotless baking is intimidating, not to mention exhausting. The Messy Baker celebrates baking as it happens in the real world--sweet, messy, fun, not always gorgeous, but a way to show love. Which doesn't make it any less delicious; to the contrary, Charmian Christie's flavor combinations rise far above the ordinary. Why have a raspberry galette when you can enjoy a raspberry-rhubarb galette with drippy, unctuous walnut frangipane? Or how about a Brie and walnut whiskey tart? It's all yours without the rigid perfectionism or complicated instructions of other gourmet cookbooks. Christie's warm, irreverent voice brings the fun back into baking at a time when home cooks--pulled from pillar to post by jobs and errands--need to have fun. The Messy Baker is a full-service book that not only guides the reader through simple, delicious recipes but is also there to help out when things go wrong. For anyone who gave in frustration when that cake collapsed or the frosting smeared, Christie's practical advice is here to rescue even the worst disaster and inspire the baker to try the next recipe.

Kitty and Dragon

Kitty and Dragon
Author: Meika Hashimoto
Publisher: Kitty and Dragon
Total Pages: 104
Release: 2022-09-13
Genre:
ISBN: 9781524876425

When Kitty looks for the perfect home, she makes an unlikely best friend--Dragon! From Epic! Originals, Kitty and Dragon is a lovable early reader series about finding true friendship when you least expect it. Book 1 of this early reader series features three adorable stories about Kitty and Dragon--best friends, even when one of them is snoring, being messy, or having a sad day. Even though they are quite different from one another, Kitty and Dragon have learned that there's nothing better than being together, just the way they are.

Don't Trust the Cat

Don't Trust the Cat
Author: Kristen Tracy
Publisher: Chronicle Books
Total Pages: 342
Release: 2023-07-25
Genre: Juvenile Fiction
ISBN: 1797217909

WHAT IF YOU SWITCHED PLACES WITH YOUR CAT? Mean Girls meets Freaky Friday in this laugh-out-loud story about self-acceptance, learning who your friends are, and coming of age . . . as a cat. Fifth-grader Poppy McBean likes rules and order. She's a follower, and she's totally okay with that. And if you judge her for that, she's okay with that too! But after falling prey to her friends' bullying one too many times, Poppy makes a wish to be happy—and it comes true in a very unexpected way: She wakes up in the body of her cat, Mitten Man. Mayhem ensues as Poppy-the-girl attempts to navigate the wilds of the wilderness as a cat . . . and her free-thinking, groundbreaking kitty has had it with his owner's timidity. He's out to put the purr in perfectionist and take over middle school—as Poppy. Hilarious and unexpected, Don't Trust the Cat is a coming-of-age adventure that will keep readers cringing, cracking up, and reconsidering what it means to be a good person. HILARIOUS: Guaranteed, this will be many kids' favorite book of the year. EMPATHY READ: This book is a sneaky way to talk about empathy with kids. Both cat and human learn a lot about each other and change over the course of the book. Each becomes a better being because of their unusual experience. DEEPLY FELT: This book has a funny premise and is packed with hysterical scenes, but it's also grounded and emotional. Readers will sympathize with all characters and leave the book feeling like they made friends while reading. CAT SHENANIGANS: When Poppy's cat takes on Poppy's body, she wants to transform Poppy's life, turning her from a timid kid into someone who believes in herself. Like most cats she has good intentions, but things don't always go according to plan. LEARNING NEW WAYS OF COMMUNICATING: For anyone who has ever wanted to communicate with their pets, this novel might make you think twice! Poppy and her cat come to meet in the middle, but they have to learn a lot about communication along the way. EMPOWERING: Friendships are often messy, but this book shows that it's important to never lose sense of yourself within a friendship, and that sometimes it is necessary to stand up for yourself even to your best friends. Perfect for: A smart, funny book for girls and boys of all ages! Cat owners and cat lovers Parents of tweens, teachers, and librarians looking for chapter books for 5th graders or reluctant readers Gift or self-purchase for kids seeking self-empowering books with humor Fans of Frindle, the Mr. Terupt series, the Wayside School series, Katherine Applegate, and R.J. Palacio books

Ways the World Could End

Ways the World Could End
Author: Kim Hooper
Publisher: Turner Publishing Company
Total Pages: 348
Release: 2022-05-10
Genre: Fiction
ISBN: 1684428017

A 2023 Next Generation Indie Book Award Finalist for Best General Fiction Dave is a Dad with Asperger's. He sees the world differently than most, and he feels like he has no idea what he’s doing when it comes to raising his 15-year-old daughter, Cleo. She also feels like he has no idea what he’s doing, especially now that her mom is gone. They were both better off when Jana was around—Dave's wife, Cleo's mother. But now she's not, and they are left to figure out life on their own. Dave dedicates his attention to his newfound hobby of doomsday prepping, researching the various ways the world could end. Cleo feels like her world already has. Everything changes when neighbors move in, threatening their isolation in the hills of San Juan Capistrano. Cleo is intrigued by the new girl, Edie, and soon finds out the intrigue is mutual. Dave, not at all intrigued, is forced to come to terms with everything he cannot control. As they struggle to live in the present, both Dave and Cleo must dare to revisit the tragic past they share. What happened to Jana? Who was she, really? Who are they without her? Ways the World Could End is a story of grief, friendship, and love—the love between parents and children, between spouses, between teenagers, and between strangers. It is a story that requires us to consider the bounds of forgiveness, what we’re willing and not willing to forgive, and reminds us that often the hardest thing to forgive is ourselves.

Messy

Messy
Author: Heather Cocks
Publisher: Poppy
Total Pages: 199
Release: 2012-06-05
Genre: Young Adult Fiction
ISBN: 0316201812

Sometimes life gets Messy. When sixteen-year-old Brooke Berlin catches a taste of fame and her movie-star father's attention, she decides it's time to take her career to the next level--by launching a blog that will position her as a Hollywood "It Girl" who tells it like it is. But between schoolwork, shopping, and spray-tan appointments, she hardly has the time to write it herself... Enter green-haired outsider Max McCormack, an aspiring author with a terrible after-school job pushing faux meat on the macrobiotic masses. Max loathes the celebrity scene almost as much as she dislikes Brooke, but wooed by an impressive salary, Max reluctantly agrees to play Brooke's ghost-blogger -- and the site takes off. How long will their lie last? Can the girls work together to stay on top, or will the truth come out and ruin everything they've built? Along with an entourage of fame-hungry starlets, scruffy rocker wannabes, and sushi-scarfing socialites, the case of Heather Cocks and Jessica Morgan's dazzling debut, Spoiled, are back for another adventure in Tinseltown.

Making Friends with Alice Dyson

Making Friends with Alice Dyson
Author: Poppy Nwosu
Publisher: Walker Books US
Total Pages: 305
Release: 2020-09-15
Genre: Young Adult Fiction
ISBN: 1536214787

A sweet and soulful romantic debut about rumors, friendship, and discovering who you really are Alice Dyson knows exactly how she’ll be spending her final year of high school—with her head down, quietly concentrating on her textbooks and homework. She is focused on the future, and nothing and no one is going to get in her way. That is, until a bizarre encounter with Teddy Taualai, the school’s most notorious troublemaker, goes viral, derailing her plans and pushing her into the spotlight. Suddenly Alice’s under-the-radar life is one enormous, messy complication. And the worst part? Teddy Taualai is everywhere she turns. In author Poppy Nwosu’s pitch-perfect debut novel, an unlikely pair of outsiders take the daunting, delicate first steps toward becoming friends and maybe, just maybe, something more. Briskly paced with a complex and appealing cast of characters, this contemporary romance explores the ever-tricky dance of staying true to yourself while opening your heart.

Poppy's Lil. Friends

Poppy's Lil. Friends
Author: Larry M. Thompson
Publisher: Xlibris Corporation
Total Pages: 142
Release: 2014-07-01
Genre: Fiction
ISBN: 1493169238

You are about to open the pages of a book containing some of the make believe friends of Larry M. Thompson called Poppys Lil Friends Friends that reach out to you and ask to be heard and to be believed in. To make them really stand out and get your attention I have given them the ability to talk. Im allowing them to use improper words to make it sound like little animals talking. We know animals cant talk like us. Well, in poppys World they can talk. Read it and see for yourself. Larry M. Thompson

The Courage of Cat Campbell

The Courage of Cat Campbell
Author: Natasha Lowe
Publisher: Simon and Schuster
Total Pages: 288
Release: 2015-01-06
Genre: Juvenile Fiction
ISBN: 1481418726

“Lowe echoes the whimsy of J.K. Rowling with…charismatic characters.” —Publishers Weekly “Fans of Matilda…will be happy to meet another spunky girl.” —School Library Journal Cat Campbell is a late-blooming witch whose magical abilities have yet to be mastered in this charming coming-of-age story set in the world of The Power of Poppy Pendle. Cat Campbell has had magical powers since the day she was born, but she didn’t always know that. Cat’s mother believes magic ruins lives, and even as Cat’s passion for magic grows over the years, no one suspects she has the gift. But she has indeed inherited the coveted magic gene of her famed great-great-grandmother Mabel, a discovery she makes in a most surprising way. And when she comes across a book called The Late Bloomer’s Guide to Magic, she finds the encouragement she needs and spells that actually work. Then the town of Potts Bottom is threatened by a notoriously feared witch, and Cat has the chance to help her family and town—and to prove herself in the process. Because, as The Late Bloomer’s Guide to Magic proclaims, “believing in your magic and yourself is half the battle.”

All Cats Are Beautiful

All Cats Are Beautiful
Author: Courtney Milnestein
Publisher: JMS Books LLC
Total Pages: 291
Release: 2020-11-28
Genre: Young Adult Fiction
ISBN: 1646566173

Above, us, in the dark shadows of the outer solar system, there is the shape of something unknown, something unspeakable. It waits, it bides its time, and as the days of summer grow longer, so does its voice grow louder. On the quiet island of Sarah Ann in the Pacific Ocean, home of the renowned Firmament Foundation, awkward teenager Eirian Calohan has come in search of the mystery of their father's recent demise. Instead, they are confronted with the stark contrast between languid life on the tiny island and an unspeakable cosmic horror. Together with their new friends, they set out to unravel the truth surrounding the death of their father and to also uncover just what it is that the Foundation has reached out to in the dark eternal night of the distant void.