The Big Tournament: Book 1

by Nicolas Wouters, Mathilde Van Gheluwe (Illustrator)

Overview

Can a little chef with a big heart save the galaxy with the communal spirit of cooking?

Twelve-year-old Magda was born on Azuki, a tiny moon with incredible plant life. Magda may be a bit of a mess, but she’s also a gifted chef—so gifted her unique and delicious dishes earn her a spot in the centuries-old Intergalactic Cooking Tournament! Kids from all over the galaxy hope to win honor for their home planet—as well as the Nector, a precious resource that can reshape entire worlds . . . or even save dying ones. But when Magda discovers an intergalactic conspiracy, only the kind-hearted chef can stop a secret society from stealing the Nector—and with it, control of the entire galaxy.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9798765643228
Publisher:	Lerner Publishing Group
Publication date:	04/01/2025
Series:	Magda, Intergalactic Chef , #1
Pages:	160
Product dimensions:	7.25(w) x 9.25(h) x 0.37(d)
Age Range:	10 - 11 Years

About the Author

Nicolas Wouters is an illustrator, comic book scriptwriter, teacher, and director of animated films. He lives in Brussels, Belgium, where he teaches at the university. Since 2020, he holds a doctoral thesis in art and art sciences. He has published Feet in Concrete (2013), Totem (2013), and Les égarés de Déjima (2018).

Mathilde Van Gheluwe was born in Belgium. She studied illustration at the Institut Saint-Luc in Brussels, then at Luca School of Arts in Ghent. After graduating, she published independent comics within the Flemish collective Tieten met Haar. Her first graphic novel Pendant que le Loup n'y est pas, written and illustrated alongside Valentine Gallardo, was published by Atrabile in 2016. Her second comic, the highly acclaimed Funky Town, was published in English by Peow Studio.

Editorial Reviews

"Along with capturing the drama, suspense, and stylized commentary of real cooking shows, this interstellar culinary romp showcases one tempting dish after another, capped by three recipes at the end. . . A delicious kickoff that combines haute cuisine with sky-high stakes."—Kirkus Reviews

From the Publisher

2025-04-19
In this French import, a budding chef beats the odds to qualify for the great intergalactic cooking tournament on planet Tamaris…but has she bitten off more than she can chew?

The daughter of a humble broccoli farmer, pale-skinned, red-haired Magda looks like a long shot to get through her home planet’s qualifying contest—until her locally sourced three-course entry wows the tough judges and sends her on to the big time, vying for a prize powerful enough to alter worlds. Dialogue balloons compete for space with a large cast of humanoid figures of diverse hue in the relatively small panels. Still, the art contains witty details aplenty to reward careful examination—like the running gag (so to speak) involving a massive glob of snot that hangs from the nose of Magda’s brown-skinned roommate, Hector. Alert readers will notice that the glob would be the only animal-based ingredient used by anybody here…were it not snorted up just before it touches any food he’s preparing. Along with capturing the drama, suspense, and stylized commentary of real cooking shows, this interstellar culinary romp showcases one tempting dish after another, capped by three recipes at the end; the dishes are vegan throughout, and alternative earthly ingredients are suggested for the exoplanetary ones. An abrupt close just as the main event is about to begin will leave readers salivating for the next course.

A delicious kickoff that combines haute cuisine with sky-high stakes.(Graphic science fiction. 10-12)

Kirkus Reviews