An Amazing Chocolate Cake SummerOur new release for readers aged 9-14+.Who would have thought a simple chocolate cake could cause such a transformation in a neighbourhood of people who scarcely knew each other? And who is the mysterious and light-fingered Miss Hartley who lives in the street but never comes to cake-time?Written by Marie Munro, illustrated by Anton Rayner.
Who'd have thought a chocolate cake could transform aneighbourhood and enable a friendship between Alex and the school bully, Fish? Whois the mysterious Miss Hartley? Alex's sister Anwen and friend, Theo, set outto find out. This story tells of the power of generosity with no thought ofreward.
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Summary
An Amazing Chocolate Cake SummerOur new release for readers aged 9-14+.Who would have thought a simple chocolate cake could cause such a transformation in a neighbourhood of people who scarcely knew each other? And who is the mysterious and light-fingered Miss Hartley who lives in the street but never comes to cake-time?Written by Marie Munro, illustrated by Anton Rayner.
Who'd have thought a chocolate cake could transform aneighbourhood and enable a friendship between Alex and the school bully, Fish? Whois the mysterious Miss Hartley? Alex's sister Anwen and friend, Theo, set outto find out. This story tells of the power of generosity with no thought ofreward.
Description
"An Amazing Chocolate Cake Summer" follows the escapades offour children through a hot, dry, New Zealand summer bizarrely hijacked by anextraordinary chocolate cake.
Kind-hearted, recent immigrant, 13-year-old ALEX, and hiswily nemesis, 13-year-old KRISTOFER (aka FISH), have money worries - theirpocket money isn't going to fund repairs to Alex's bike, which FISH wrecked ina malicious act designed to hurt ALEX in front of their classmates. The answerto this problem, and the intervention of a peculiar variation on MUM's regularchocolate cake, triggers a significant neighbourhood project, which transformsthe relationships and lives of the boys and everyone else in their street.
While the older boys are busy with the street's adults,renovating MISS HARTLEY's house and gardens, ALEX's ultra-curious, ten-year-oldsister, ANWEN, and her newfound friend, nine-year-old, recently bereaved loner,THEO, stumble upon a theft that leads to a greater mystery. This pair has a problem - how to escapefamily surveillance so they have the space and freedom to investigate themysterious MISS HARTLEY. She said she loved the cake but doesn't respond to itscall at 6pm every night. What are her motives for not coming to cake-time andfor stealing cake on the rare occasions when invited?
These questions lead ANWEN and THEO into a course of actionthat culminates in a terrifying encounter with MISS HARTLEY and hercollaborators.
Eventually, MISS HARTLEY's circumstances, and the depth andbreadth of her humanitarian agenda, are revealed. At the completion of therestoration, she chooses to thank the street by bestowing education grants,from her not inconsiderable wealth, on its families, and by making ALEX, FISH,ANWEN and THEO beneficiaries of her Family Trust.
Critic Reviews
“AnAmazing Chocolate Cake Summer deftly combines the everyday magic of acommunity coming together with the fantastical delight of a self-replenishingchocolate cake. A lovely read for children and children at heart.” - HelenVivienne Fletcher - children and young adult author, playwright and spoken wordpoet.
“Iliked the mystery chocolate cake and how it kept growing back. I thought it wasamazing. I also enjoyed how, in the book, the cake brought the street alltogether and helped build Miss Hartley's house. I think my favourite characterin the book would be Anwen, because she was funny, smart and fierce.” – 11-year-oldYear 7 student
“My13-year-old was so enthralled she devoured the book in one sitting, evenforgoing dinner and chocolate cake.” – Mother
“We all need those magic cake moments sometimes.” - Tony Conder - editor
About the Author
Marie Munro lives with her husband, Ian, in Wellington, NewZealand.
They have two daughters, Cathy and Lisa, and fivegrandchildren.
Marie was born and raised in Taranaki and has worked as aprimary school teacher, journalist, newspaper editor, volunteer builder withHabitat for Humanity, and as a learning designer in the construction industry.
In her retirement, she has written a collection of storiesreflecting the exploits and interests of her grandchildren. Working with notedtranslator Piripi Walker, and illustrators Rachel Doragh, Rebecca Utting andHeneriata Te Whata, she has transformed these tales into a collection ofself-published bilingual picture books.
"An Amazing Chocolate Cake Summer" is Marie's first novel.
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