Cookie Magic

Lisa Arsenault is an elementary-school teacher in Ajax, Ontario.

Twins Lucy and Oliver start a business as plant- and petsitters in order
to earn money to buy a pet of their own. One day they decide to take a
batch of cookies to one of their favorite clients (a neighbor’s
grandmother) and on the way to her house they give some cookie crumbs to
all their charges, including the plants. Shortly thereafter the twins’
clients appear, one by one, bearing the offspring of the plants and pets
they cared for. The children determine that these new offspring are the
products of the cookies they dispensed. When the grandmother arrives
carrying a baby, for a horrific moment they think she wants them to keep
this baby too! This notion is quickly dispelled and everybody welcomes
the new baby with “magic” cookies.

This is a marvelously crafted book—rather more complex than it first
appears. Each client gives the twins explicit instructions for the care
of his or her plant or pet, and the authors cleverly have each one
conclude with the same line: “... nothing more and nothing less. That
should be just fine.” This little conceit is neatly carried through to
the end. The authors have also given the clients names that reflect
their pets (e.g., Mrs. Herring owns guppies), and the illustrator has
drawn them to resemble their pets.

This is a good read. The story is funny and entertaining, and handily
delivers its message: conscientious work undertaken with a positive
attitude leads to many benefits, some of them unexpected. Highly
recommended.