Heidi Heckelbeck and the cookie contest

Frequent illustrations punctuate zippy early chapter books about spunky eight-year-old Heidi Heckelbeck. Lucy Lancaster befriends the formerly homeschooled Heidi, but Melanie Maplethorpe is inexplicably mean toward Heidi. Heidi's big secret is that she and her mother are actually witches, but this twist comes late in the first story (Secret) and seems almost superfluous. [Review covers these Heidi Heckelbeck titles: Heidi Heckelbeck and the Cookie Contest, Heidi Heckelbeck Casts a Spell, and Heidi Heckelbeck Has a Secret.] (c) Copyright 2012. The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.

A touch of magic changes boring cookies into something "special" in this early chapter book about cooking and following one's own heart. Heidi Heckelbeck excitedly enters her elementary-school cookie contest, wanting to share her family's Chocolate Chunk Cookies with her friends. Super-competitive Melanie Maplethorpe mocks her recipe, saying it's boring. Even when Heidi's best friend Lucy gives her excellent advice--"Stick with what you do best and you'll come out on top"--Heidi is unconvinced. She consults her hidden Book of Spells, gathers her ingredients, adds a special dash and waits for the spell to work. While the cookies look beautiful, the smell and taste are surprising--and not in a good way. When Lucy's plain cookie wins the competition, Heidi learns that Lucy's original advice was solid. With black line drawings reminiscent of the Jetsons on each page, this slim volume will speak to young readers who have been listening in on television cooking shows with their families. While the plot about magic and spells feels strangely out of place, the rest of this basic school and family story is easy to follow. A recipe for the winning cookies would have been a natural extension for hungry readers. While somewhat pedestrian fare, this easy-to-read series installment goes down easy enough. (Fiction. 5-8)]] Copyright Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.

ME WANT COO-KIE! Yum! Yummy! Yummers! Heidi Heckelbeck had cookies on her mind. She had just signed up for the Brewster Elementary cookie contest. Heidi had never entered a contest before. She wondered if she would win. She had won a raffle one time, but that had been super-easy. All she'd had to do was write her name on a strip of paper and stick it in a box with some other names. The prize had been a silver turtle necklace. Winning had been fun, and now, more than anything, Heidi wanted to win the school cookie contest. What kind of cookies should I make ? wondered Heidi. She could make oatmeal raisin, but raisins were kind of squishy and gross. Peanut butter cookies were good, but not her favorite. How about chocolate chunk ? Chocolate chunk would be a winner , thought Heidi. They were also her favorite. Heidi hopped onto a step stool and grabbed the family recipe box from the cupboard. She found the tab marked "Desserts" and thumbed through the recipes. "Aha!" said Heidi out loud. "Aha, what?" asked Heidi's mom as she walked into the kitchen. "I found our famous chocolate chunk cookie recipe," said Heidi. "I entered a cookie contest at school. It's this Saturday." Excerpted from Heidi Heckelbeck and the Cookie Contest by Wanda Coven All rights reserved by the original copyright owners. Excerpts are provided for display purposes only and may not be reproduced, reprinted or distributed without the written permission of the publisher.