The Cooking Club Detectives

 

Ewa Jozefkowicz
Zephyr
Age 9-11

When Erin’s mum Lara loses her job, Erin and her friends help her find a new role leading the cookery club at Skipton House Community Centre.

Unfortunately, Erin and her friends discover the community centre is under threat from a mystery buyer. They decide to become the cookery club detectives determined to solve the mystery.

This is a warm and engaging story with appealing characters. Many themes are explored such as settling into a new school, making friends, food poverty, unemployment, online bullying, the importance of community centres and the potential power of activism.

Healthy cooking on a budget is another focus and seven recipes are sprinkled throughout the book to tempt young cooks to create their own Fantabulous Fatijas, Perfect Pizza and of course when the mystery is solved, celebratory Banana Bread.

 

Talk about the story
Children may ask questions about some of the themes in the story, it is easiest to gauge when to pause and talk if you read the story to them. If your child prefers to read independently, it is a good idea to read the book yourself as well – that way you can be two readers having a real conversation about the book and can make links to the characters and storyline.

To start a conversation, you could begin with:

• What did you like most about the story?

• Is there anything you found puzzling or surprising about it?

• Does anything in the book remind you of anything that has happened to you or anyone you know or anything you have heard about?

Things to make and do

• Try a recipe
  Look through the recipes in the book and choose one to trial. This needs planning, checking you have ingredients.

• Make a family recipe book
  Using a scrapbook, a folder or a large folded book collect favourite recipes from members of the family. If you do this digitally you could print copies as presents for members of the family or friends.

• Make a poster
  Design a poster to save Skipton Community Club, you will need a slogan and to think of reasons it should stay open.

• Design a healthy menu
  Design your own healthy menu for your family or friends you could try this for one day or if you are feeling ambitious for a week!

See our print-off activity book with some of these ideas and other activities

 

Find out more

Find out about Children’s Author & General Book Lover | Ewa Jozefkowicz

Read another book by this author Mystery of the Colour Thief

 Find out more about healthy eating Half of kids don’t eat veg each day – CBBC Newsround

Find out more about online bullying Anti-Bullying Week: Online bullying and how to stop it – CBBC Newsround