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Summary
Summary
Chemistry in the kitchen? Phineas L. MacGuire applies his science skills to culinary creations in this food-tastic tale from the bestselling author of Chicken Boy .
Phineas L. MacGuire--scientist extraordinaire--has a new chore: cooking dinner every night. He may be a genius, but he knows nothing about following a recipe. A pinch? A dash? A smidge? This doesn't seem very scientific . A pound of spaghetti? Salt on brownies? Lemon in biscuits? Why, these recipes look a little funky. But he'd better learn quickly if he and his friends are going to win the $10,000 Bake-Off prize. And to complicate matters, school bully Evan Forbes has taken a liking to Phineas's brownies...too much of a liking. As in, if Phineas can't make Evan enough brownies, he'll get clobbered for sure. Fortunately for Phineas, he has the help of his friends, and even better, he soon discovers that cooking is kind of like chemistry. So the whole recipe thing might just work out--as long as he can keep his cool in the kitchen.
Author Notes
Frances O'Roark Dowell was born on a military post in Berlin, Germany on May 30, 1964. She received a B.A. from Wake Forest University and an M.F.A. in Creative Writing (Poetry) from the University of Massachusetts. She has written numerous books including Where I'd Like to Be, The Secret Language of Girls, The Kind of Friends We Used to Be, Chicken Boy, and Falling In. She also writes the Phineas L. MacGuire series. She has received numerous awards for her work including Edgar Allan Poe Award for Best Juvenile Novel for Dovey Coe in 2001, the William Allen White Award for Dovey Coe in 2003, and the Christopher Medal for Shooting the Moon.
(Bowker Author Biography)
Reviews (3)
Horn Book Review
Science boy turns foodie in this fourth book about the "best fourth-grade scientist at Woodbrook Elementary School." Phineas, called Mac, is feeling grumpy, having run out of ideas for "scientific stuff." His mom is a bit grumpy, too. She's trying to lose five pounds but lacks the energy after work to do much more than order pizza. When she comes up with a solution, her mood lifts as Mac's falls. Her idea? Mac will be in charge of cooking dinner for the family. Following the trajectory of the other Phineas MacGuire books, it takes a while for Mac to figure things out; McDaniels's lively black-and-white illustrations show Mac's cooking attempts, ill-advised (peanut-butter bacon brownies?) and otherwise. Luckily (or not) for him, his nemesis Aretha Timmons is there to "help" Mac see the connection between cooking and science, also straightening him out about his sexist ideas regarding girls and cooking. Mac and Aretha learn to respect each other while also learning about leavening agents, colloids, emulsions, and other cooking/science concepts. The only thing missing is some recipes. robin l. smith (c) Copyright 2014. The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Kirkus Review
Fourth-grade scientist Phineas L. MacGuire is back for another outing, exploring science ideas in the world around him and figuring out a way to deal with the class bully. He's supported by his friends, fellow scientist Aretha, who's working on a Girl Scout cooking badge, and polar-opposite Ben, who seems to live largely for bacon (even in brownies). Tasked with cooking his family's supper for the foreseeable future, Phineas comes to understandand to explain to readerssome of the scientific principles of cooking, including how yeast and baking soda make foods rise. What he's less able to make sense of is why class bully Evan has suddenly focused on him, strong-arming him into cooking brownies for him almost every dayor else. With few viable options, Phineas does what any good scientist would; he attempts to study Evan's behaviorwith unexpected results that offer both insight and a resource for kids dealing with their own bullies. Unlike previous Phineas stories, this one lacks science experiments, but with new information about how some aspects of cooking work, readers could develop their own. McDaniels' softly shaded illustrations are attractive and numerous, but they don't always quite match with descriptions in the text. Phineas, good-humored and insightful in his believable first-person voice, once again provides a pertinent, easy-to-read tale for grade schoolers. (Fiction. 7-11) Copyright Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
Booklist Review
Mac isn't thrilled when his weary mother assigns the job of fixing weekday dinners to him. But when his classmate Aretha points out that cooking is chemistry, this self-styled genius fourth-grade scientist changes his attitude. His spaghetti supper is a fiasco, while his brownies are excellent. Unfortunately, the brownies were ordered by a bully, who sells them at school and demands more each day. When Mac approaches his bullying problem as a scientific challenge, he comes up with an original solution. This large-print chapter book is more credible than most that deal with bullying because Mac's scientific interest offers him a mind-set that's a viable alternative to his previous victim mentality. Written in first person from Mac's point of view, the narrative is strong on characterization and dialogue. The many droll pencil drawings underscore the story's humor and the characters' likability. First published in three segments as part of the Cheerios Spoonfuls of Stories program (yes, there's a bit of product placement here), this is an engaging addition to the Phineas L. MacGuire series.--Phelan, Carolyn Copyright 2014 Booklist