by Jamie Oliver (Author) Mónica Armiño (Illustrator)
One pinch of adventure, a dash of friendship, a sprinkle of mystery and a huge spoonful of magic . . . Jamie Oliver, bestselling author and internationally renowned chef, delivers the perfect recipe for a page-turning children's fiction debut!
Billy and his friends know that Waterfall Woods is out of bounds; strange things are rumored to have happened there and no one in their village has ventured past its walls for decades . . . But when they discover a secret way in, Billy and his best friends, Anna, Jimmy and Andy, can't resist the temptation to explore! Only to quickly discover that the woods are brimming with magic and inhabited by all sorts of unusual creatures, including a whole community of sprites who need the children's help!
With magical battles, a long-lost mythical city, fantastical flying machines, epic feasts and one giant rescue -- not to mention some mouth-watering recipes at the back -- get ready for an adventure you'll never forget!
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Celebrity chef Oliver combines goofy humor and wilderness whimsy with serious real-world issues to craft a layered story-within-a-story, framed as a bedtime tale that a father recounts to his two children. Despite warnings from the local adults that no good will come to those who wander into the surrounding wilds, tween Billy and his compatriots Andy, Anna, and Jimmy venture into enchanted Waterfall Woods. After befriending members of a Sprite civilization, the quartet learn that the Rhythm--or the natural balance of the forest--is off-kilter. At the Sprites' urging, the youths investigate a faceless industrial poultry farm that's spewing waste into the waterways. As Billy and company navigate the perils of the verdant woods, they use the lessons learned in the wilderness to counter challenges back home, such as bullying and managing learning disabilities, grounding the fantastical adventure and pleasantly decelerating the quicksilver plot. Descriptive writing renders plenty of delicious food scenes throughout, portrayed via textured pencil illustrations by Armiño (A Wolf Called Wander). Recipes conclude. Most human characters appear white; Jimmy reads as Black. Ages 8-12. (Nov.)
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