Three books for young aspiring chefs

Last month, you brought the literature and the lusciousness with so many book and food pairings. My tastebuds were all a tingle!

So when I spotted a feature on Book Riot — one of my favorite bookie websites — I figured some of you were raising some pretty accomplished young cooks in your households, and this might be the perfect follow-up.
Here are three books for the middle grade-readers you know who can’t get enough of the kitchen.
Janae Marks introduces us to Zoe Washington, a 12-year-old who is euphoric about a summer internship at a bakery until she finds out that the job is mostly folding boxes and other uninspiring chores.

But Zoe has a secret. She’s writing letters — thus the title, “From the Desk of Zoe Washington” — to a father she barely remembers because he’s been incarcerated since she was little.
A bakery and a missing father are also at the heart of Remy Lai’s “Pie in the Sky.” Two brothers, Jingwen and Yanghao, have emigrated to the United States with their mom. They’re struggling to learn English and they’re lonely, so they dream up a plan to bake the cakes their late father would have made if only he’d lived long enough to open his bakery.

The drawings of the brothers are charming and Kirkus Reviews says the story goes down like “salted caramel.”
And here’s one more recommended to me by a librarian. Minnesota-based writer Pete Hautman published “Slider” in 2017 about a teenager, David Miller, who dreams of taking on the middle name “Fuzzbucket” to add some pizzazz to his personality.

When David gets in over his head in a competitive eating contest at the Iowa State Fair he realizes he’ll have to out-eat more experienced competitors and take on El Gurgitator, who will do anything to win.
My three must-reads for the aspiring young chefs in your life are: Pete Hautman’s “Slider,” Remy Lai’s “Pie in the Sky” and Janae Marks’ “From the Desk of Zoe Washington.”