Lions and tigers and mothers and daughters, oh my! Here is a delightfully and dare I say deliciously told story of four females: Isabel is twelve and is finding herself and her place in the world. She wishes she could go anywhere and longs for the wonder of adventure. Her best friend, Sophie, excels in everything she tries and is willing to try all kinds of challenges. Sophie is going away to summer camp and then to the Grand Canyon on vacation. Isabel has two other very important women in her life: her mother and her grandmother and they are cut out of very different cloth. Isabel's mother is easily defeated and has a difficult time seeing the positive side of things and even though she gets the occasional idea, is quickly ready to throw in the towel and go sit in her room feeling despondent. Isabel's grandmother is a feisty, can-do kind of woman who occasionally dresses all in pink and routinely knows how to move her daughter, Isabel's mother, out of her dark place. Written from Isabel's point of view and sprinkled with varieties of cupcakes and diary entries, the story mixes together Isabel's struggle to grow up, to find out about responsibility, appreciating what you have, and making the most of your place in the world. As we watch Isabel making a few bad batches of her own personal recipe, we come to see as she does that cupcakes and people come in many flavors. Your mother can be cinnamon apple and you can be chocolate crunch. It takes some courage, some determination and a dollop of forgiveness and the fun will be the icing on the cake. This is an important subject...girls differentiating from their mothers...but the story handles it carefully adding just a few touches of pain and balancing that with the humor and the gumption we all need. I have plenty of girls coming in to the library asking for this book. Ages 9-12 191 pages
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Sweet, charming, captivating, and satisfying, It's Raining Cupcakes is sure to be a hit with tween and teen girls.
Isabel is so sick of her small town of Willow, Oregon. She dreams of travel and can't wait to fly off to fabulous and exotic destinations like her Aunt Christy who flies for the airlines. Isabel's mother has no love for wonderlust; she has the crazy idea of opening a "designer" upscale cupcake shop! A cupcake shop in Willow!
The problem with a new business is getting it off the ground. Just before their grand opening, a huge national chain decides to open a brownie shop on the same street! Faced with giant competition, It's Raining Cupcakes (that's what they name their cupcake shop) has to come up with a serious marketing plan--one that will show their cupcakes in the best possible light and one that can whip (whipped topping, anyone?) the competition.
Dying to go anywhere but Oregon, Isabel enters a baking contest that promises a trip to NYC and $1000.00 for the grand prize. The only problem is that her best friend Sophie enters the contest, too, and Sophie always wins--at everything.
Girls will be cheering for Isabel to win the bake-off and for It's Raining Cupcakes to trump the competition from the Goliath big-box brownie store.
Highly recommended grades 5-8. This novel will also have strong appeal for older "foodie" girls and anyone who likes a sweet story with a happy ending--imagine that! A happy ending!
Recommended by : Pamela Thompson, MLIS, Library Media Specialist
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