Ansley's Big Bake Off (Faithgirlz / The Daniels Sisters)

Ansley's Big Bake Off 

(Faithgirlz / The Daniels Sisters #1) 

Paperback – EBOOK

April 7, 2020

by Kaitlyn Pitts (Author), Camryn Pitts (Author), Olivia Pitts (Author)

Age Range: 8 - 12 years

Grade Level: 2 - 3

Paperback: 176 pages

Publisher: Zonderkidz 

ISBN-13: 978-0310769606

From the family that brought you the Lena in the Spotlight series and the popular For Girls Like You magazine comes the story of three young sisters who rebuild their lives and find joy in unexpected ways after their mother’s death.

Ansley and her family move to a new city to seek a new start after the death of their mother. But that also means ... a new school, new friends, new everything! Fortunately, even though no one could ever take the place of their mom, Aunt Samantha has moved in to help Dad and all the girls.

As they all settle into their “new normal,” Lena finds comfort in singing and songwriting. Ashton and Amber record videos documenting their lives and email them to their grandmothers. And Ansley pursues her own dream of becoming an Olympic gymnastics champ when she signs up with Grace and Power Gym. But she soon realizes that using her creativity to bake treats and share them with those she loves brings her as much (or even more) joy—especially since it brings back memories of precious afternoons she spent in the kitchen with her mom.

So which dream should she follow? Ansley prays for guidance, and it seems her prayers are answered when she gets the opportunity to both perform as a gymnast and take part in a The Big Bake Off at the Roland Lake Founders Day Fair. The Grand Prize is a trophy and a spot on the local morning show, Awake with The Lake!

But her dreams of taking home the trophy and being on TV are threatened by her strongest competition: Taylor, a mean girl from her new school who not only teases Ansley and rejects her offers of friendship but comes from a family of professional bakers.

Still, with the loving and prayerful support of her own family behind her, Ansley knows she has a real shot at winning. But with Taylor in the mix, will Ansley be able to rise to the occasion? Or will she just get burned?

Ansley's Big Bake Off—an important addition to the Faithgirlz series:

• Features diverse characters
• Is an engaging read for girls ages 8–12
• Is part of the Accelerated Reader (AR) program
• Is a perfect birthday gift from parents and grandparents to tween girls, and is great for Spring Break and summer vacation reading

My Thoughts (kvh):  ANSLEY'S BIG BAKE OFF reminds our family of the American Girl movie Grace Stirs Up Success in that it is about a young girl (tween) who is super accomplished and lands on a cooking show.

The author is gifted at showing description -- I could almost feel I was there. The use of scripture verses were natural and not an intrusion. I didn't feel they were overdone. What we didn't like was that it felt capitalizing on the rich and glamorous life style of real life child stars who are fictionalizing their family's success while minimizing mama's death. It just rubbed my sister and I the wrong way, Maybe because we are rural, and nowhere near as rich as this family. It just felt rather  boasting to us. "Hey, look at us!"

Maybe we took it wrong and missed the point.  I'm sure this will appeal to some tweens who dream of overnight fame and a star on Hollywood Blvd. Don't take our word for it. Check it out for yourself!

The print is rather small so struggling readers might have issues.

I was given a copy free. All opinions are my own.