Middle Grade March
Foodie Niddele Grade Books
A Place at the Table by Saadia Faruqui and Laura Shovan is a middle grade novel about friendship, food, and cultural differences. Sixth grade Sara meets Elizabeth when she starts to attend a large, public school after having been in attendance at a small Islamic school. Sara is Pakistani American and Elizabeth is white and Jewish. Both girls are in a south Asian cooking class that is taught by Sara’s mom. The girls are cooking partners and become friends. Their friendship is fraught with challenges due to their cultural and religious differences. With themes friendship, racism, and family, Faruqi and Shovan tell a heartfelt story with great character development. A Place at the Table is an important story about respecting others and their religious and cultural differences. “
A Spoonful of Time by Flora Ahn is a sweet and adventuresome middle grade science fiction novel. Maya bonds with her grandmother, Halmunee over cooking and sharing family stories. Meanwhile Maya feels that her mother is becoming more distant and secretive. Each time Halmunee cooks, she not only teaches Maya the recipe for the traditional Korean food but she also shows her how to time travel to a variety of times in her family’s history. Will Maya find the answers she’s looking for? Ahn’s writing is interesting and full of heart. I love the fact that each food that is made, Maya records the recipe in her journal. I also love Gizmo, the family’s pug! A Spoonful of Time is perfect for foodies and those who enjoy cooking. Fans of sci-Fi will also enjoy it.
From the Desk of Zoe Washington by Janae Marks is a middle grade novel about 12-year-old Zoe and her determination to get to know her incarcerated father. She doesn’t know anything about him until she receives a letter from him on her birthday. Zoe is confused about him and the fact that he says he is innocent of the crime. She begins researching about people who are wrongly convicted of crimes. She also has an internship at a bakery and wants to compete in a baking food network show. Between her father and her baking, Zoe’s summer is busy. There are themes of family, friendship, baking, and proving innocence. Marks’s has captured the voice of middle schooler, Zoe perfectly. I think this novel is written well and Marks has focused attention on Zoe’s father in a way that gives young readers a taste of his journey but the focus is mainly on Zoe. Highly recommended.
“It’s hard to not feel better when you eat a cupcake.”
Katie and the Cupcake Cure by Coco Simon is the first book in The Cupcake Diaries middle grade book series. When Katie starts middle school and realizes that her best friend, Callie is now friends with the self proclaimed, PGC, (Popular Girl’s Club), she’s feeling sad. Soon, though she begins to make some new friends of her own. When Katie’s mom packs a homemade cupcake in her lunch and her new friends are impressed, Katie decides to bring them each a cupcake. Before long, the girls begin their own club- The Cupcake Club. With themes of friendship, starting middle school, and baking, Simon tells a sweet story. Her writing is relatable and engaging. The character growth is charming. I love that the book includes a cupcake recipe! I’m now anxious to read the rest of the series and make some cupcakes, of course!
Lasagna Means I Love You by Kate O’Shaughnessy is one of the most heartfelt, middle grade novels that I’ve ever read. 11 year-old, Mo is put in foster care after her grandmother (caregiver) passes away. Mo discovers a notebook in which her grandmother leaves her a letter. She advises Mo to find a hobby Determined to hold onto her grandma, she begins to write letters to her grandmother in the notebook. Mo finds a family cookbook on the shelf at the foster care services office and decides to collect recipes and their stories. She learns to cook the recipes and starts a blog, in hopes of finding a long lost family member. Mo is a sweet girl with strength, perseverance, and patience. The novel has themes of grief, foster care, friendship, found family, and food. O’Shaughnessy’s writing is genuine, upbeat, and emotional. Lasagna Means I Love You will make a sweet read aloud as well as a middle grade novel that can be pressed in to any reader’s hands. Highly recommended.
“Family traditions don’t just have to be what we love fromg the past, they can be about what we create for the future.”
“ Some relationships are bridges, Mo. they aren’t meant to last forever. They take you where you’re meant to be.”
Once you read these delicious middle grade novels, you will surely be heading to the kitchen to cook up something from the book! So happy reading and happy cooking/baking! Is there a foodie middle grade book that you love? Please add to my menu!