Dorrie Meyers is starting fifth grade, the year of the Sweet Semester baking and essay contest at school. Dorrie is determined to win, but her cakes fall flat, her cookies look like pancakes, and she learns the hard way that chocolate-covered gum is NOT a good idea.

Then Dorrie meets her cousin Victor for the first time. Victor is an immigrant from Europe, and he is about to teach Dorrie that a loving family and a safe homeland are the sweetest things of all. With some top-secret tips from Victor's family's bakery and a big slice of confidence, Dorrie Meyers might just have the yummiest year of her life.

"Plucky fifth-grader Dorrie Meyers narrates this cheerful tale about her preparations for the Sweet Semester baking contest during the 1945 — 46 school year. Throughout a series of culinary blunders, Dorrie's extensive family of Jewish immigrants offers her encouragement, despite their preoccupation with locating relatives missing in Europe. Dorrie regales readers with an appealing, frank familiarity. Evolving under this lighthearted girl-talk, however, is a more sobering plot line that centers on the arrival of Dorrie's orphaned cousin, Victor, from Lithuania. Herman breezes through the dramatic story of Victor's escape without dwelling on the terror of the times, giving readers a peek at what Jews faced trying to flee the Germans, but not much more. The two layers of the story mesh neatly when Victor lends the final inspiration and missing 'ingredients' that lead to Dorrie's eventual success in the baking contest. Victor's anecdotes and Dorrie's family's relief in finding a surviving relative offer an unusual opportunity to look at how Jews on both sides of the Atlantic fared during and after the war. Dorrie's girlish exuberance coupled with the dash of history make for a pleasant read. A dozen recipes, written in Dorrie's voice, are interspersed throughout. Final illustrations not seen by PW. Ages 8-12." Publishers Weekly (Copyright Reed Business Information, Inc.)

Charlotte Herman is the author of many beloved books for children, including the acclaimed Millie Cooper series and The House on Walenska Street. Like Dorrie, Charlotte possesses a lifelong love of family, chocolate malteds, and hot fudge sundaes. She makes her home outside of Chicago.LeUyen Pham is the acclaimed illustrator of a number of books. She lives,works, and teaches in San Francisco, California.

1. Sweet Semester, 1945

2. Rosh Hashanah

3. My Mother's Bridge Club

4. Swell September

5. Chocolate Malteds

6. A Weekend with Bubbie

7. Chocolate-Covered Gum

8. That Summer in New York

9. We Hear About Victor

10. A Care Package for Victor

11. Thanksgiving and Aunt Jenny

12. Bubbie and I Cook and Bake for Hanukkah

13. Nut Cluster Disaster

14. Happy New Year, 1946

15. I Slip and Artie Graduates

16. Getting Ready for Victor

17. A Blue Dress with Puffy Sleeves

18. Passover

19. Victor Arrives

20. We Meet Victor

21. Hot Fudge Sundaes

22. A Private Party and a Wedding

23. Sweet Semester, 1946

24. Hello, Summer

Author's Note