Cupcake Cousins Series, Book 1

March 10, 2014
Fourth-grader Willow lives for summer vacations on Lake Michigan with her extended family, including her cousin Delia. This year, Willow and Delia’s Aunt Rosie is getting married, but the girls think they’re too old to be flower girls, especially in dresses fit for a toddler. Their plan is to demonstrate that their real talents involve baking, but they get off on the wrong foot with the caterer, disappointing Willow. Delia, meanwhile, is worried about her father’s unemployment and the toll it’s taking on her parents’ marriage. Add in a pair of snobby older sisters, an energetic younger brother, and a wedding day baking emergency, and debut novelist Hannigan has assembled all the ingredients for an entertaining and gentle-natured family tale. Delia’s anxieties and Willow’s struggle to be seen as more than a little kid are relatable, and first-time illustrator Hughes’s spot illustrations (not all seen by PW) give a good sense of the girls, the vacation home they love, and the matter-of-fact racial diversity of their clan. The ending is almost as sweet as the recipes that end several chapters. Ages 8–12. Author's agent: Jennifer Mattson, Andrea Brown Literary Agency. Illustrator's agent: Teresa Kietlinski, Prospect Agency.

April 15, 2014
Culinary mishaps ensue when 9-year-old cousins Willow and Delia conspire to avoid being flower girls in their aunt's wedding. Willow and Delia are adamantly opposed to their roles as flower girls at their aunt Rosie's wedding. During their annual summer visit to Saugatuck, on the Lake Michigan shore, the pair devises a plan to foil their impending flower-girl debuts. In hopes of replacing their flower-girl status with catering duty, Willow and Delia decide to spend the week preceding the wedding showing off their culinary expertise. However, the girls soon discover that Mr. Henry, the owner of their vacation house, has hired a new chef and caterer. Undaunted, the girls persevere. The duo's schemes are disrupted by comical kitchen catastrophes, the antics of Willow's 5-year-old brother and their family dog, as well as the mysterious behavior of Mr. Henry. Hannigan deftly portrays the angst Willow struggles with as she approaches the early-preteen years. With keen insight, she also explores Delia's worries about her father's job loss and concerns about her parents' marriage. After the girls learn that the new chef has also suffered a recent job loss, their determined efforts to help her in a crisis establish a newfound maturity. Hughes' cheery black-and-white illustrations capture the cousins' exuberance, highlighting both misadventures and sentimental moments. Recipes featuring various foods from the story are included. Hannigan's lively tale celebrates family and friendship. (Fiction. 9-12)

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May 1, 2014
Grades 3-5 Willow and Delia are nine-year-old cousins and fast friends who love spending their family vacations together in Michigan, and hate their flower girl dresses for Aunt Rosie's wedding. They want to prove that they can contribute more to the event by baking the cake than by parading down the aisle in bubblegum-pink dresses, but their early attempts to help the cook range from unpalatable to disastrous. Meanwhile, Delia's biracial family is dealing with tensions following her father's layoff from his job. In the end, the cousins triumph as flower girls, pastry chefs, and problem solvers. While the book's conclusion is more rosy than realistic, the characters are engaging, and young readers caught up in the story may find it entirely satisfying. Pencil drawings appear at intervals, and, for would-be cooks, recipes (blueberry smoothies, bacon-wrapped dates, frosted cupcakes) appear after certain chapters. This sweet chapter book is Hannigan's first novel.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2014, American Library Association.)