Edible Books: Cookie Bookie Contest Winners

Jessica, "Chicka Chicka Boom Boom" - I used this book to teach the alphabet (both in english and spanish), and the difference between majuscules and minuscules to my sons when they were toddlers. We always sang the text instead of simply reading it out loud. I also teach "Typography" as a GMU adjunct faculty, so I'm always surrounded by letters. I dream of having a home-based baking business (IG: @love_at_350).

Loren, "Baseball Field" - This edible book is based on the book "The Big Field" by Mike Lupica and I will tell you some things about how I made it. The grass I made by putting green gel icing on cardboard and sprinkling green sugar sprinkles on top. Then for the baselines I put white cookie icing along the baselines and pitchers mound and then sprinkled very crushed up graham cracker shards and let it dry. Then for the bases, pitchers mound and home plate, I cut marshmallows and shaped them to look like first, second, third base, home plate and the pitchers mound. Then, for the foul lines, I put white cookie icing on top of the grass to make it 3-D. For the foul poles, I used fettuccine pasta noodles and I cut it and put it in a marshmallow, and then I iced the marshmallow to the ground. Then for the fence I cut up a tortilla into strips and microwaved them for about 30 seconds. After that, I shaped them and iced them to the grass. Finally for the dugouts I broke gram crackers into squares and rectangles and iced them to the grass. Then I took a Hershey square and melted a half Hershey square to it using a warm plate to melt the chocolate and I did that on each side to make one bench. Then because it was too wide, I melted it so it was half the width. Then I put some more liquid chocolate on the cardboard and stuck the benches to it. I did the same process for the second one. For the fence behind home plate I used some leftover microwaved tortilla to make it and iced it to the cardboard. Finally for the baseball I rolled a mini marshmallow and put icing on it rolled it in red sprinkles. It is detached and it can roll around. This is how I made the field. Now I will tell you why I made a baseball field. So I chose the book the big field by Mike Lupica but it could really have been any of the Mike Lupica baseball books because he wrote a lot of them and I have read The Big Field and another one but the big Field is about a boy named Hutch who plays shortstop on his travel baseball team and his dad also played and he was about to be in the minors but they said he wasn’t good enough and that kind of broke his heart so he basically never played baseball with Houchin very much but part of its about really him trying to get his dad to play with him but it’s mostly about him playing baseball and the main setting is a baseball field so that’s why I thought that I should make a baseball field. Some of the baseball books that I know Mike Lupica has written are Heat, The Big Field, The Bat Boy, Strike Zone, and Team Players. I hope you enjoyed this and happy judging!

Mila, "Twins: A Graphic Novel" - I love TWINS because they are twin sisters who, at first, are really close, then one runs for school president (like I want to one day!). The other runs against her. They become really angry and mad at each other. At the end, they talked and became inseparable again. My older sister and I fight a lot, but I always love her.

Kelley, "3 Little Pigs" - I’ve always loved David Wiesner’s wonderfully illustrated picture books and my daughter loves every story about the three little pigs. I thought it would be fun to do an edible spoof on Wiesner’s version, The Three Pigs, in which the pigs change into a different style of illustration when they step out of their story.

Nicholas & Maria, "The Very Hungary Caterpillar" - This little donut caterpillar just make us so hungry!

Nikki, "Druhástrana" - This gingerbread is a tribute to the book Gingerbread by Helen Oyeyemi. In Gingerbread, Harriet makes gingerbread. She is from the country of Druhástrana. Reading the book made me want to eat gingerbread, so I'm glad that could come to fruition!

Amanda, "The Geese (aka minor characters in Writers & Lovers)" - Writers & Lovers, by Lily King, was my favorite book I read this year. Like many of us, I struggled with reading throughout the spring, but hit a better stride over the summer, when I read this book. Geese play a role in the book (which I will not spoil), and this is my tribute to them. May we all take flight in 2021!

Rachael, "Edwina, the Dinosaur Who Didn't Know She Was Extinct" - Reginald Von Hoobie-Doobie knows dinosaurs are extinct - and tries desperately to convince everyone in town. Despite his railing against the darling Edwina for page after page, she bakes him cookies and listens patiently to his excellent arguments. SHE LISTENS. Suddenly, those arguments seem meaningless. Edwina is free to continue living her best dinosaur life and an unshackled Reginald can tilt at new windmills. An important reminder at the power and gift of just being heard.

Bronson, "Walden" - Thank you for the opportunity to combine a seasonal treat with one of my most loved books.

Keira, "Arnie the Doughnut"

Sucharitha, "The Last Leaf by O. Henry" - My entry for the Arlington Library’s 2020 edible books contest is inspired by “The Last Leaf”, a short story by O. Henry. The story is set against the backdrop of a pneumonia epidemic in Greenwich Village in the early 1900s. Briefly, it is the story of a failed old painter who sacrifices his own life, in order to gift his young female neighbor dying from pneumonia, the urge to continue living. This simple but elegant tale published more than a century ago, offers in these tough times, a powerful and fitting reminder of the redemptive powers of altruistic kindness, hope, and renewed resolve in the face of adversity.

Gabriel, "Harry Potter"

Anne, "How the Grinch Stole Christmas!" - Inspired by my 3-year-old's newfound love of the Grinch!