Dessert Schneider has her very own personal style. But sometimes walking to the beat of her own drum means walking right into a heap of mischief, especially when it comes to the legendary family recipe (and Dessert's all-time favorite treat), Grandma Reine's Double-Decker Chocolate Bars. As the oldest in a rambunctious, restaurant-owning family, with a four-year-old sister who is going through a "phase" and two little brothers called “the Beasties,” Dessert seems to be better at getting into trouble than getting out of it. And that's because for this eight-year-old, saying sorry is definitely not a piece o'cake!
| ||||||||||||||||||||||||
Book Description
Frequently Bought Together
Editorial Reviews
From School Library Journal
Grade 2-5–Eight-year-old Dessert, a lover of all things sweet and delicious, is trying to follow her third-grade teacher's advice to march to her own drummer. But it is not as easy as it sounds. Her first task is to convince her parents that dessert should be eaten before dinner, but they have other ideas. And when her mother forbids her to touch the irresistible homemade double-decker fudge bars in the refrigerator, Dessert cannot resist, and winds up eating all of them. Now she must find a way to make it up to her family, and so she cooks up a scheme that involves helping out at her family's restaurant. But when her class nemesis arrives at Fondue Paris, all of her grand plans may fall apart. This is a delectable story narrated by a plucky young heroine. Davenier's clever illustrations, reminiscent of Hilary Knight's work in Eloise, add to the charm. This book will be especially popular with fans of Clementine, Junie B. Jones, and Ramona.–Jessica Marie, Renton Public Library, WA
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
About the Author
Hallie Durand’s favorite dessert is vanilla ice cream drowned in hot-fudge sauce. She grew up in a large, food-loving family much like the one in her books. But unlike Dessert, Hallie had to eat dessert after supper. When she’s not writing, she likes to visit fondue restaurants to do “research.” Hallie lives with her family in New Jersey.
Christine Davenier's favorite dessert is profiterole au chocolat. She is the illustrator of many books for children including the Iris and Walter series by Elissa Haden Guest and The First Thing My Mama Told Me by Susan Marie Swanson, for which Christine received a New York Times Book Review Best Illustrated Children's Book of the Year Award. She lives in Paris.
Product Details
Would you like to update product info or give feedback on images?
|
More About the Authors
Discover books, learn about writers, read author blogs, and more.
Customer Reviews
|
Share your thoughts with other customers:
|
||||||||||||||||||||||
|
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars
the kid likes her chocolate --,
By
This review is from: Dessert First (Hardcover)
Customer review from the Amazon Vine™ Program (What's this?)
Cute story about an 8 year old third grader who (1) is inspired by her teacher, Mrs. Howdy Doody, a free spirit who wears mis-matched socks and encourages the students to march to their own drummer; (2) marching to her own drummer, convinces her restaurateur parents to allow her to eat dessert first; (3) eats all of the special double decker bars her mother made for a special occasion; and (4) "apologizes" for eating the double decker bars by giving up dessert for two weeks, and in the process (5) raises $42 to support Mrs. Howdy Doody's fund drive to build a tree house at school.I didn't find any of the characters or the story particularly compelling; it seemed to go in many directions at once and in the process, lack a unifying theme. I'm not sure most kids would relate to all of the fondue references. The illustrations were cute, reminiscent of Eloise but not quite as spirited. Dessert has an arch-nemesis, Amy D.; it is not clear what purpose she serves in the book or why Amy and Dessert are so mean to each other, as it doesn`t seem to relate to the rest of the story. The advance proof copy sent for review is small in size -- maybe 5" x 7" and printed on poor quality, newsprint style paper. I don't know whether the final publication will be different -- but check the size. Also, there were relatively few illustrations for a children's book. Overall, this was sweet but not a must-read. Third grade girls might find it entertaining, but I doubt it would appeal to a very broad audience.
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
The Character Names Are Enough Justification to Read This One!,
By
This review is from: Dessert First (Hardcover)
First of all, I love that the main character is called Dessert. Secondly, I love that her teacher's name is Mrs. Howdy Doody and that she puts on white snowball slippers in the classroom. That alone is enough for me to be delighted by this book, but the interactions that Dessert has with her siblings and the adults around her are delightful.Mrs. Howdy Doody has introduced a class project: each student must give up something they love for 2 weeks and take pledges so that they can have a tree house at the end of the collection. Dessert is the last in her class to figure out what she wants to give up, and even then she's tricked into it, but she keeps her word and finds out a new way to look at life. Following Dessert through some troubles at home and school really help the reader identify with her. Besides, how bad can it be that she's convinced her family to eat dessert first? (And the process she uses to do this will drive parents insane, but you have to admit, she's pretty brilliant!). Notes on the Cover: Dessert with a large (real) hot-fudge sundae on the cover in a white circle, surrounded by red and tied with a red and white bow. I love that it looks like a box, as a box of desserts has a prominent place in this story!
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
HIGHLY RECOMMENDED,
This review is from: Dessert First (Hardcover)
Just as a note, this book will make you hungry!The descriptions of all things dessert, but especially chocolate, are so spot on as to make your mouth water. I loved the quirkiness of the main character and the illustrations fit in perfectly with that. Hoping there will be more 'Dessert' stories to come.
Share your thoughts with other customers: Create your own review
|
|
Inside This Book
(learn more)
What Other Items Do Customers Buy After Viewing This Item?
Tags Customers Associate with This Product(What's this?)Click on a tag to find related items, discussions, and people.
|
Sell a Digital Version of This Book in the Kindle Store
If you are a publisher or author and hold the digital rights to a book, you can sell a digital version of it in our Kindle Store.
Learn more
Customer Discussions
|
This product's forum
Active discussions in related forums
Search Customer Discussions
|
Related forums
|
