Book Review: Enchanted Thyme by Ariane Smith

Title: Enchanted Thyme (Book One: The Delicious Adventure Series)
Author: Ariane Smith with Chef Michael Wilson (recipes)
Publisher: Big Word Press
ISBN: 978-0-9814872-0-5
Release Date: September 1, 2008
Pages: 130
Genre: Cookbook, Children’s
Format: Hardcover
Source: KSB Promotions for Review

Review on the inside cover:
Every night at bedtime, 10 year old Belinda Phair and her yunger brother Peter choose a story for their father, Chef Michael, to read them. One night they discover a new volume on their shelf, a book that neither remembers seeing before, a book that seems to have magically appeared, a book of endless stories, adventures and recipes. The book is “Enchanted Thyme”

That night, as Peter and Belinda drift off to sleep, they’re visited by three winged kitchen mice names Marjoram, Basil and Rosemary who whisk them off to the land of Enchanted Thyme. There they discover a mystical forest heavy under the dark spell of the Fricassee Fairy. The Fairy’s powerful curse of eternal hunger has stricken the land’s Queen Topstead. Everyone in the kingdom is topsy-turvy trying to find a meal that will satisfy the Queen’s longing and appetite. Peter and Belinda are chosen to help the royal kitchen’s master chef find just the right secret ingredient for a dish that will satisfy the royal appetite and restore order.

Will they ever be able to break Fricassee Fairy’s curse once and for all? Well….Fairy tales can sometimes come true.

My Review:
What a wonderful chapter book with an “Enchanting” story. What a creative way to have children learn about fairy tales, but in a more current way. Belinda and Peter are charmed by the kitchen mice that come with spice or herb names to have them help in the land of Enchanted Thyme.

The story does keep you reading to find out what wonder mishap will occur to the band of misfits. The mice seem to always have trouble follow them, but the children use their brains to get them out of it. Peter who seems timid in the beginning is a brave master by the end of the story. Belinda must use her ingenuity to help them get out of some of the scrapes, but most importantly she must use what she’s learned from her father in the kitchen.

Each chapter has a recipe that is very kid friendly and they can help with preparation of. The ones that sounded best to me were: Chef Michael’s Macaroni with 3 Gooey Cheeses, The Fricassee Fairy’s Siberian Ice Pops, Fizzly Wizzly and Most Dizzly Punch.

This is suppose to be a series that I will patiently wait for the next adventure appear, just as Belinda and Peter do.