The Magic Cookbook

January

Molly McGregor and her two best friends ran down Main Street to Blake’s Rare Books. It was the last day of their holiday break, and they all had Christmas money to spend. Molly thought it would be fun to buy something together at the brand new bookshop. Molly, Daisy and Eva climbed the front steps of the gingerbread-colored house, opened the tall, red door and walked in. An elderly woman holding a large gray cat walked towards them. “I’m Hazel Blake and this is Velvet. Welcome to our shop.” The green-eyed cat wriggled free, jumped down to the wooden floor, and dashed behind a bookshelf. “Perhaps you should follow him,” said Hazel, heading over to the cash register. “He might lead you to the perfect book.” Molly loved the idea, and she and her friends took off after the cat. But after ten minutes of circling through aisles and only occasionally catching sight of Velvet’s tail as he rounded another corner, Molly stopped. “I’m getting dizzy.” Scarcely were the words out of her mouth when a book fell from a high shelf and bonked her on the head. “Ouch!” Molly rubbed at the spot, adjusted her glasses, and then picked the book up off the floor. It had a gray velvet cover, with two green gems attached to the front. There was no title. “Let’s take a look at this one,” said Molly and she and her friends ran to a private reading corner and plopped down on three purple chairs. Molly placed the book on the table between them and leaned over to examine it. The book glowed. Molly gasped. “Did you see that?” Before her friends could answer, the book flipped open to the first page. Molly’s hands flew to her face, her blue eyes open wide. “This can’t be happening.” “It’s magic,” said Daisy. “But there’s no such thing,” said Eva.“Then how do you explain it?” asked Daisy. “Look,” said Molly. “Words are forming on the page. It was blank a second ago.”The girls leaned in closer and Molly read aloud.

My pages are blank- that’s not a mistake,

Recipes appear when you’d like to bake,

Once every month you will make something new,

Always remember, the treat chooses you.

Own me together and just to be fair,

Divide up the time, so that you can share,

You’ll make magic cupcakes for the next year,

Then we’ll say goodbye, and I’ll disappear.

“Oh my gosh,” said Molly. “It’s a magic cookbook.” The book snapped shut and jumped into her lap. The girls squealed with delight and sprinted to the cash register.