Sage Cookson’s Sweet Escape
9781925059618
Sage Cookson’s Ring of Truth
9781925059748
Sage Cookson’s Fishy Surprise
978-1-925059-75-5
Sage Cookson’s Singapore Sensation
9781925059960
Sally Murphy
New Frontier, 2017
56pp., pbk., RRP $A9.99
Sage Cookson is a ten-year-old whose parents, Ginger and Basil, travel Australia and the world, and lucky Sage gets to go with them. While they are sampling the food, learning new cooking techniques and then sharing their new knowledge with their massive television audience through their show The Cookson’s Cook On, Sage has a lifestyle that others might envy.
However, in each episode she gets into a scrape that she needs to get out of. In the first book, Sweet Escape there are problems with a famous chocolatier while in Ring of Truth she is accused of stealing a treasured ring. Her friend Lucy travels with her to Crystal Bay in Fishy Surprise but the return of an old adversary causes issues and in Singapore Sensation things go wrong when a lady with pink hair starts to stalk them.
This new series for newly independent younger readers combines the author’s love of television cooking shows and mysteries, so that in each new addition something goes wrong and Sage has to solve the problem. Despite the glamorous backdrops of each story, food is the focus so all the budding Junior Masterchefs can enjoy reading about cooking, trying the recipes which are included and then visiting Sage’s website for more. With four books in the series so far, Sage is going to appeal to a range of young readers who will be able to follow her adventures without having to wait for the next one. Perfect for the upcoming cooler days when reading is the best thing to do.