$150,000 Rugelach

Jack Fineman and Jillian Mermelstein love to bake.
Jack dreams of becoming a world-famous pastry chef, while Jillian clings to happy memories of baking with her late mother. When Jillian, the new girl at Sieberling School, makes the most delicious chocolate rugelach for their sixth grade winter party, Jack knows he has serious competition. How will he ever win local baking company CEO Phineas Farnsworth III’s Bakerstown Bonanza when he turns 18 with Jillian as his rival? When Jillian is paired with Jack and his best friend, Chad, for a class project, she is at first reluctant. However, they decide to try baking with insects, and it soon becomes clear that Jillian and Jack make a great team-with Chad as their cheerleader. When Farnsworth announces that this year’s contest will focus on child contestants, the two young bakers decide to enter for very different reasons: Jack is looking for fame, while Jillian only wants the prize money to help her family. When they are selected to represent their school, they must again work together-especially when they discover Farnsworth is not what he seems. This sweet story is a delightful, quick read with a wonderfully charming cast of characters. The delicious descriptions of baked goods are sure to make readers’ mouths water; fortunately, three recipes are included. Main characters are White and Jewish.
A refreshing and uplifting book filled with friendship, heartache, and a generous sprinkling of love. * Kirkus Reviews *
After the death of her mother, 11-year-old Jillian Mermelstein and her father relocate to Ohio to live with Grandma Rita. Jillian’s one joy is baking the recipes perfected by Mom, especially chocolate rugelach. Classmate Jack Fineman enjoys baking, too, but his goal is fame and fortune like that of his idol, Phineas Farnsworth, a local businessman who sponsors an annual bake-off. When Jack and Jillian are paired in a child version of Bakerstown Bonanza, the two must develop a rapport (in terms of cooking styles and showmanship) to make it work. The
Markses excel at creating goofy but appealing characters: extrovert Jack seems beyond embarrassment, yet he honors Jillian’s wish to keep her mom’s story private; Grandma Rita has no cooking skills, but she rocks at martial arts and plumbing repairs; and Phineas Farnsworth exploits everyone he encounters but has a soft spot for the memory of the nanny who raised him. Although the ending feels a bit contrived, it will please the intended audience. Recipes for relevant treats are appended. * Booklist *
The $150,000 Rugelach is filled with humor­ous details and char­ac­ters who are clever even as they deal with deep, heart­felt emo­tions. Jillian’s reflec­tions about her mom’s wis­dom are par­tic­u­lar­ly touch­ing. The authors excel at lay­ered depic­tions of the hard­work­ing young pro­tag­o­nists and the adults in their lives, offer­ing an enter­tain­ing jour­ney that cel­e­brates friend­ship, team­work, and con­nec­tions that span generations. * Jewish Book Council *
A sweet delight of a middle-grade story that reminds readers that the key ingredient for any recipe is always love. * Entertainment Weekly *

Allison and Wayne Marks met in a Canterbury Tales class at the University of Cincinnati, where they earned degrees in English literature. Allison, an avid urban gardener, and Wayne, a fiddler in local bands, are the authors of several books for young people, including the Bank Street Book Award Winner The Art Lesson: A Shavuot Story. They live in the Highland Square neighborhood of Akron, Ohio, and are the parents of twins, Claire and Elliott.

Ariel Landy is an illustrator and educator from New York City. Ariel began writing and illustrating stories as soon as she could hold a pencil and she never stopped. She currently lives in France with her husband and their dog, Sid.

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