I have three daughters who all love books
One LOVES cakes and pudding
One is crazy for cats
And the eldest daughters loves mystery stories
The Fabulous Cakes of Zinnia Jakes
Is a fun, light hearted series of books
That all three girls enjoy
The big two can read them independently
They are 7 and 11
But my 4 year old loves to listen in
And she is always the one most keen to try out
The delicious cake recipes at the back of each book
There are three books so far in the Zinnia Jakes series
and the latest instalment
These books are written by Brenda Gurr
And published by New Frontier Publishing
Each book is a standalone story with the same great characters
Zoe aka Zinnia Jakes, The Secret Pastry Chef
Her best friend, Addie, who loves maths and problem solving
Her marvellous cat Coco, who can dance and read!
Zoe’s Dad, Avery Jones, an international food writer
and Zoe’s Aunty Jam, who plays the cello and helps Zoe/Zinnia run her secret business
The basic premise of each story is that 9 year old Zoe is an ordinary school girl
But she is also an undercover pastry chef
She has her own hidden kitchen where she bakes her amazing themed creations
With the help of Addie and Coco the incredibly clever cat
While going about the day to day life of a 9 year old
Attending sleepovers, completing school projects
And entering competitions
Zoe aka Zinnia is also researching her latest creative cake
As the stories unfold Zoe researches and creates amazing sweet treats
She then has to deliver her secret creations
Without her true identity being discovered
Each story is full of joy and adventure
With mishaps and mayhem along the way
They are happy stories with no peril
And so they work well for children of different ages
Especially those like my daughters
Who love cakes, cats and solving problems
And have an appetite for adventure
The stories centre around school, family and friendship
Each book has a delicious recipe at the back
That little bookworms can cook for themselves
Such a lovely idea and much appreciated by my own troupe of master bakers!
The books are designed brilliantly to enchant young readers
With their bright colours and sparkly lettering
The text is conversational and easy to read
My eldest daughter and I loved spotting all the food similes
We have thoroughly enjoyed getting to know Zinnia and her friends and family
We have loved each of the books and hope that there will be more in the series
As a teacher I always think of learning opportunities when reading stories
There are some lovely creative oportunities linked to this delightful series of books
Children can
Design cakes for a specific theme
They can draw their cakes, make models or even have a go at baking actual cakes
Write recipes for sweet treats they have made in class or at home
Experiment with food simile and metaphor
Have a cake tasting session perhaps with a blindfold and guessing the flavour
Ice biscuits or cupcakes
Design a cake that represents them
Create their own character who is an everyday child with an alter ego
Write their own Zinnia story, what would the cake be? Who would it be for? Where would it need to be delivered and how?
So many ideas from a super series of books
That are also just great fun to read and share
We were sent one copy of The Fabulous Cakes of Zinnia Jakes: The Super Spy for this review