Hawaii!

Recipe for Adventure #6

by Giada De Laurentiis, Brandi Dougherty, Francesca Gambatesa (Illustrator)

When Zia Donatella comes to live with the Bertolizzi family, little do Alfie and his older sister, Emilia, know what’s in store for them. Zia Donatella is determined to show them how a home-cooked meal is better than even the best takeout pizza. And when Zia’s plan actually transports Alfie and Emilia to famous food cities around the world, they learn firsthand how food can not only take you places but also bring you back home. 

In the sixth book in the series, Zia's secret ingredient takes Alfie and Emilia to an island famous for its surfing, luaus, and delicious food — Maui! There they dive headfirst into Hawaiian culture and discover the best sights, sounds, and tastes of the Pacific Islands.

Genres: Travel, Fiction, Chapter Books, Fantasy, Adventure

160 pages, Paperback

First published May 5, 2015

About the author

Giada Pamela De Laurentiis is an Italian American chef, entrepreneur, writer, and television personality. She was the host of Food Network's program called Giada at Home. She also appears regularly as a contributor and guest co-host on NBC's program entitled Today. De Laurentiis is the founder of the catering business GDL Foods. She is a winner of the Daytime Emmy Award for Outstanding Lifestyle Host and the Gracie Award for Best Television Host. She was also recognized by the International Hospitality Institute as one of the Global 100 in Hospitality, a list featuring the 100 Most Powerful People in Global Hospitality.

Reviews

[Kathryn]

I could not get into this and, after reading Chelsea Hoschar's review, I decided that it's not one that I want to share with my kids. From the beginning, I didn't like the attitude of the characters in this book and the tone just felt off. The protagonists are much too old (11 and 13) for the writing style and overall feel of the book, and deceiving your parents, lying to hotel staff, sneaking food from the buffet line, etc. is just not the type of behavior I want modeled for my kids. Much prefer something like the more recent Boxcar Children books for a children's mystery series that includes some travel with protagonists ranging in age from 6-14.

[Chelsea Hoschar · Rating 2 out of 5]

Summary/Opinion:
Alfie and Emilia, thanks to their great-aunt Zia, are embarking on another magical adventure to a beautiful and fascinating place. In this book, that place is Hawaii. Alfie and Emilia meet new friends in this tropical state and even get to help create a special luau for the mayor. They learn to surf and hula dance and, most importantly, to get along with each other. The food is the biggest focal point in this book and the descriptions are well done, as they should be. I did have some pretty big issues with some moral things in this book, including honesty and stealing and I will address those in the concerns section. Aside from those concerns this is a cute book with fun pictures and great details about food and culture. However, because of the moral dilemmas, I do not feel I can recommend this book. Again, please see below in the concerns sections for details on the issues I have with this book.

Concerns:
The only reason I didn't give this book only one star is because of the positive things written above and because, aside from these issues, the book was basically good. Throughout this book there were several moral-type dilemmas I had with the story and the actions of the main characters. When the two kids get to Hawaii, they are alone without adult supervision, which I really don’t have a problem with. The issue that came from this was that they are then extremely dishonest throughout their entire time at the resort to multiple people about who they are with or about the whereabouts of their parents. When asked where their parents are, the kids reply that their parents are still up in the hotel room or aren’t feeling well and couldn’t make it to wherever the kids are and other answers similar to that. Almost upon arriving the kids grab a key card that they see a maid drop and, instead of being honest and telling her that she is missing it, they keep it and use it to dishonestly use a hotel suite that they hear will be vacant for a while. On occasion, they also sneak into buffet lines with other families that they don’t know so that they can get food, which they steal and go eat in secret, hiding in different places in the hotel lobby and hiding from people that become suspicious of their story about their parents. I was really disappointed in this book because of this and, while I was excited to read the other books in the series when I first saw this book, I now have no desire to read them because I assume there is this same trend of stealing and lying. I do not feel like a book that condones thievery and dishonesty and does not show any consequences to these negative choices should be read by our students. They need to read things that encourage them toward good choices that show integrity. These are my feelings regarding this book and are why I will not be keeping it for my library collection or purchasing any other books in this series.

[Namratha · Rating 5 out of 5]

Young siblings Emilia and Alfie have always got along splendidly. But nowadays, all they seem to do is squabble and bicker. This troubles their parents who are off on a much-needed mini vacation but as always, wonderful grand-aunt Zia comes to the rescue.

With one bite of her delicious Banana bread (encrusted with macadamia nuts and chocolate chips), she does her usual bit of unexplained culinary magic and the kids are instantly transported to beautiful Maui! The true spirit of Aloha seeps in as Alfie and Emilia soak in the laidback atmosphere, make new friends, discover the pristine beaches, indulge in snorkelling and surfing, get mesmerized by the grace of gentle luaus and devour the delectable Hawaiian food…be it slow-roasted kalua pork, poi with its acquired taste, the famous Spam musubis, fluffy sugar-coated malasadas or even the more familiar pineapple upside-down cake.

As always, along with discovering the culture of a new place, savouring its best activities and pitching in to help their friends, the Bertolizzi kids will learn important life-lessons too.
A few factors niggled at the start of the story (certain moral issues which I had…well…issue with). But I quite enjoyed viewing Maui through the eyes of our young protagonists. The author stays true to her series and puts together a light kiddie adventure in a brand new place quite efficiently.

[Amber Greer · Rating 5 out of 5]

It’s really cute. It mentions a few Hawaiian words (like Ohana ‘Lilo and Stitch’) and their meanings along with traditional Hawaiian food (like poki, spam, etc)

[Brooke · Rating 5 out of 5]

I think the lesson in that book is to always travel and do what you want and be independent. Emilia and Alfie really showed that they were independent by going to Hawaii by themselves and meeting friends and being ok without their parents help.

[Jenn M · Rating 4 out of 5]

Hawaii is a book in the Recipe for Adventure series for middle graders that explores cooking and foods written by celebrity chef Giada De Laurentiis. In each story, Italian heritage siblings Emilia and Alfie Bertolizzi enjoy a cooking adventure with their great aunt Zia that transports them on a travel adventure to another geographical location where they experience the local culture and foods.

In this edition, recipe adventurers Emilia and Alfie are having difficulty getting along without squabbling as siblings often do. Their parents have left them in Aunt Zia's care for the weekend, and Aunt Zia skillfully directs Emilia and Alfie to help her bake banana bread. As soon as the bread has been served, with fresh butter and warm from the oven, Alfie and Emilia find themselves magically transported to Maui, where they experience the sights and sounds of that island paradise. There are surf lessons, hula lessons, preparing food for a traditional luau, avoiding the resort manager, and new friends. At the end, Emilia and Alfie have discovered that each of them is important to the other, and they realize that working together is much better than working at odds against each other.

I enjoyed the details about food preparation and recipes, as well as the descriptions of the local scene in Maui. The story is well-written, perhaps a little predictable, but interesting nonetheless.

Can't wait for my children, ages 9 and 11, to enjoy all of the books in the series.