Ready, Set, Dough!

Name: Ready, Set, Dough!
Brand: Penguin Random House
Availability: InStock
Author: Kelly J. Baptist
ISBN: 9780593747711

Author: Kelly J. Baptist

Narrator: Bahni Turpin

Unabridged: 3 hr 55 min

Format: Digital Audiobook Download

Publisher: Listening Library

Published: 10/17/2023

Categories: Children's Fiction, Children's Social Themes, School, African American & Black Stories

Synopsis

From Kelly J. Baptist, the award-winning author of Isaiah Dunn Is My Hero, comes a story about Zoe Sparks, an over-enthusiastic cookie-dough seller who wishes to win a laptop from her school fundraiser. Of course, there's unexpected competition, bad music, strained friendships, and over-the-top ideas that go horribly wrong.

Spunky sixth-grader Zoe Sparks has discovered a unique way to get the laptop of her dreams—to win it! If Zoe can sell more tubs of cookie dough than anyone in her school, the laptop is hers. It’s the first step to becoming a prize-winning journalist! But her win-at-all-costs attitude is starting to drive a wedge between Zoe, her best friend Felix, and her family. Zoe may be a top cookie-dough seller in her class, but is winning the prize really worth it?

About The Author

Kelly J. Baptist is the inaugural winner of the We Need Diverse Books short-story contest. Her story is featured in the WNDB anthology Flying Lessons & Other Stories and inspired her first full-length novel, Isaiah Dunn Is My Hero, which received starred reviews from Booklist and Publishers Weekly, and which the New York Times praised as “inventive and heartfelt,” and its sequel, Isaiah Dunn Saves the Day. Her middle-grade novel The Swag Is in the Socks received starred reviews from The Bulletin and Booklist, which called it “an excellent read-alike to Jacqueline Woodson’s Harbor Me or Janae Marks’ From the Desk of Zoe Washington.” Kelly is also the author of the picture book The Electric Slide and Kai and the middle-grade novel in verse Eb & Flow. Kelly lives in southwest Michigan with her five amazing children.

Reviews

Goodreads review by QUEENIE on September 16, 2023

"Ready, Set, Dough" by Kelly J. Baptist is a delightful and heartwarming story that captures the essence of ambition, friendship, and the challenges of growing up. I thoroughly enjoyed this book and would gladly rate it four stars. The story revolves around Zoe Sparks, a spirited and enthusiastic six......more

Goodreads review by Emily on January 01, 2024

3.5 Zoe is a passionate, spunky protagonist who’s goal of winning a new laptop takes over her entire life, leading to some disasters with her friendships. Cute story, quick read, for kids who like realistic fiction.......more

Goodreads review by Karen on November 26, 2023

Zoe is an aspiring writer and loves her journalism class. She has so many good ideas for future news stories that she needs a reliable computer. She dreams of owning a new laptop especially when the family computer keeps crashing. Although her school has chromebooks, students aren’t allowed to take......more

Goodreads review by Lori on April 01, 2024

Zoe Sparks loves to write. She knows that having a new, top of the line WordPro laptop would make all the difference in her success, especially since the device her family currently has is unreliable. When Zoe learns that her prized laptop is the first prize in the school’s annual fundraising campai......more

Goodreads review by Lindsay on July 11, 2023

Thank you to NetGalley and Random House Children's for providing me with an e-arc of this book. Zoe Sparks is going to win a new laptop, and nothing will stand in her way. 6th grader Zoe is a young journalist, but this big dreamer is weighed down by old equipment. When her school announces that the......more

Quotes

"Baptist uses humor to explore themes of navigating family, school, and community; this story will resonate with anyone who has dreamed of winning big." —The Horn Book

"Baptist crafts a spunky, focused female character who has tons of drive, great goals, and funny insight....A fun, relatable realistic fiction title recommended for all middle grade readers and collections." —School Library Journal

"Baptist explores themes of class and wealth disparity through Zoe’s stubbornly determined first-person POV, and enriches the narrative with distinct and unforgettably rendered characters." —Publishers Weekly

"A funny, heartfelt romp, with a charming protagonist at its heart." —Kirkus Reviews