Lark and the Dessert Disaster

by Natasha Deen, Marcus Cutler (Illustrator)

Overview

Lark and Connor are judges for the annual baking contest at the community center.

When they arrive, they discover that someone has destroyed a contestant's entry. And not just any contestant’s entry—Sophie's! Sophie is Lark's best friend (she just doesn't know it yet). The twin sleuths can't simply roll with it. To save the contest they'll have to take a whisk risk and start investigating the other contestants. With the timer ticking, Lark and Connor have to find the culprit before someone actually takes the cake.

Lark and the Dessert Disaster is the fourth title in the Lark Ba Detective series. The epub edition of this title is fully accessible.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781459820692
Publisher:	Orca Book Publishers
Publication date:	04/02/2019
Series:	Orca Echoes Series , #4
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	eBook
Pages:	104
File size:	13 MB
Note:	This product may take a few minutes to download.
Age Range:	6 - 8 Years

About the Author

Natasha Deen loves stories: exciting ones, scary ones and, especially, funny ones! As a kid of two countries (Guyana and Canada), she feels especially lucky because she gets a double dose of stories. Natasha is the author of many books, including the Lark Ba Detective series in the Orca Echoes line, several titles in the Orca Soundings line and In the Key of Nira Ghani, which won the Amy Mathers Teen Book Award and was nominated for the Red Maple Award. Natasha lives in Edmonton.

Natasha Deen loves stories: exciting ones, scary ones and, especially, funny ones! As a kid of two countries (Guyana and Canada), she feels extra lucky because she gets a double dose of stories. Natasha is the author of many books including the Lark Ba Detective series in the Orca Echoes line, Depth of Field in the Orca Soundings line and In the Key of Nira Ghani which won the Amy Mathers Book Award and was nominated for the Red Maple, MYRCA and R. Ross Arnett Awards. Natasha lives in Edmonton.

Marcus Cutler is a freelance children's illustrator whose work has appeared in magazines, books, apps and more. He has worked with a variety of clients, including chickaDEE Magazine, OWL Magazine, Macmillan Publishers and Parks Canada, and he is the illustrator of the Lark Ba Detective series, The Owl and the Two Rabbits and The Walrus and the Caribou. Marcus lives in Tecumseh, Ontario.

Editorial Reviews

"Will appeal to both young and reluctant readers…This engaging story will not only have readers wanting another Lark Ba mystery, but it might also expand their reading experience to other books in this genre. Highly Recommended."

CM: Canadian Review of Materials

"Will appeal to both young and reluctant readers…This engaging story will not only have readers wanting another Lark Ba mystery, but it might also expand their reading experience to other books in this genre. Highly Recommended."

CM: Canadian Review of Materials

Young readers who are making the transition to chapter books will enjoy this novel with its appealing black and white illustrations as well as the accessible vocabulary.

Resource Links

2019-01-28

Lark and Connor Ba, twin detectives, are back at work when the town's annual baking contest starts off with a sabotaged sweet.

The fourth book in this chapter book's series finds Lark Ba, the spunky and personable heroine, logically outlining the steps to find the culprit. Before the baking competition began, everyone thought Sophie, Lark's classmate, would win first prize. When her babushka's kutia pudding is found splattered on the ground, the whole event is in jeopardy. Who would do such a thing? With their distinctive banter, the mixed-race Ba twins (of Korean and Kenyan descent) carefully search for clues, their methodical process encouraging readers to solve the mystery along with them. Cutler's illustrations set the emotional tone of the story, showing a wide range of reactions from the familiar, notably diverse cast of characters. As in the rest of this series, Deen serves up notable side dishes while the detectives search for the main course. Lark continues to struggle with vocabulary words and jargon, an issue all new readers will recognize. With her trademark humor, she reaches for (and misses) complex vocabulary words that are revealed in the backmatter. Even with these challenges, careful logic and thoroughness earn the Ba twins the respect of the town's adults.

This is a solid and growing detective series for transitioning readers, with a dyslexic multicultural heroine—an inspiring role model for today's world. (Mystery. 6-9)

Kirkus Reviews