Stirring It Up (Dish #1) [Paperback]

Diane Muldrow (Author), Barbara Pollak (Illustrator)

Book Description

Age Level: 9 and up | Grade Level: 4 and up | Series: Dish

Molly, Amanda, and a couple of their best buds have come up with the idea of forming a neighborhood cooking service. But they run into many obstacles, like their parents and money. Will they be able to come up with a recipe for success?

Editorial Reviews

From School Library Journal

Grade 4-7-Amanda and Molly, 11-year-old twins who live in a town house in Brooklyn, NY, are bored with take-out food and with summer vacation as it is unfolding. One July day, they decide to surprise their busy parents by preparing dinner. They find a recipe for chicken piccata with capers on the Internet and shop for the ingredients, picking up a package of long grain and wild rice, and the makings for salad as well. The meal is a success, and Dad surprises them with cooking lessons at a local kitchenware shop. The girls also visit their grandfather at the Jersey shore, help Mom cook for neighbors who had a fire in their home, baby-sit, deal with a difficult peer, and talk about boys. The protagonists seem rather sophisticated and have more freedom without adult supervision than most kids their age. Three recipes are included, as well as a list of cooking tips. With the plot playing second fiddle to talk of food and cooking, this title is for a special audience.
Wendy S. Carroll, Grant Elementary School, Ridgefield Park, NJ
Copyright 2002 Cahners Business Information, Inc.

From Booklist

Gr. 4-6. In the first book in the new Dish series, 11-year-old twins Molly and Amanda Moore are learning to cook. It's harder than they thought, but also fun, especially when their friends join in. Eating their work is rewarding, but so is sharing it, as they learn how food can help feed body and soul and bring people together. This light, fast-paced fare is served a la mode, with perky, hip kids in a chic New York neighborhood. Along with cooking, safety tips, and recipes, readers get generous helpings of current fashions, slang, and activity suggestions. To be sure, there are some trials along the way--a nasty classmate, a cute new boy, neighbors' hard times. The trendiness may shorten the shelf life of the book, and characters, though likable, are predictable. Still, this will appeal to reluctant readers; it may also inspire some kids to try their hand in the kitchen. Shelle Rosenfeld
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

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Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 9 and up
  
• Paperback: 160 pages
• Publisher: Grosset & Dunlap (May 27, 2002)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0448428156
• ISBN-13: 978-0448428154
• Product Dimensions: 7.4 x 5.1 x 0.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 4 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.9 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (8 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,980,187 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

6 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Mmm...food and friendship, May 25, 2003

A Kid's Review

This review is from: Stirring It Up (Dish #1) (Paperback)

This was a really great book about twin girls named Amanda and Molly Moore. They decided to surprise their parents by cooking a meal. Their father was so surprised, he signed them up for cooking classes. Their friends Shawn and Peichi took the classes too. With their new skills, they helped a family whose house had a fire, make meals. They also became friends with someone who they thought was spoiled, showing that friends can be found in the oddest places.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The Scoop on Dish, January 9, 2004

A Kid's Review

This review is from: Stirring It Up (Dish #1) (Paperback)

All of the books in the Dish series are AWESOME! They are about best friends forming a cooking club. The three original best friends, the twins Molly and Amanda and their friend Shawn take cooking classes in Park Terrace. They find out that a girl in their school and grade who they don't know really well, Peichi is also taking classes. Then, there is Natasha Ross, who spread a mean rumor abot the twins and Shawn, is taking cooking classes too. The twins Peichi, Shawn AND Natasha all become best friends. Then a boy named Justin McElroy, who Amanda thinks is pretty cute moves to the neighborhood. Their family has an electrical fire in their kitchen and to help them, the Chef Girls cook a week's worth of dinners for them because they have to stay in an apartment. After this job they come up with a great idea to form a cooking business. Will their business take off like a rocket??

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Fabulous series of books!, June 26, 2003

By 

Kit (Los Angeles, CA United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Stirring It Up (Dish #1) (Paperback)

All the books in this series are awesome. These stories talk about how a set of girls handle the ups and downs of starting their own cooking business, but ultimately the stories are about friendships. These books are fun to read and are uplifting. An added plus are the recipe cards included at the end of each book, which are delicious to make. You'll really enjoy them. The stories are well-written and when you start reading, you just want to sit until you read the whole thing. Buy them for yourself, your friends, daughters, granddaughters, sisters, or nieces!