Baking for Dave: Iris, a 15-year-old girl travels cross states to enter a baking contest, but ends up winning a bigger prize - Softcover

Palmer, Melissa

Softcover

ISBN 10: 1935567675 ISBN 13: 9781935567677

Publisher: Sensory World, 2016

Synopsis

Iris Heller, a teenager with Sensory Processing Disorder, runs away to compete in a national bake-off contest. In order to get there, she “borrows” her mom’s car, travels along the East Coast, and does the most terrifying thing of all ―interacts with actual people! Iris has never been like other girls, but she’s not about to start letting that get in the way.

Iris has this profound fascination for the musician Dave Matthews, and she feels a compelling need to compete in the bake-off for Dave. To compensate for nervousness, she has the habit of humming, beatboxing, and making musical contraptions out of items around her. It is this talent that gets noticed at several road stops along the way, which leads to her inevitable "gone viral" glory. At a donut shop, Iris sings like an angel. At a coffee shop, she plays a symphony using cups and the soda fountain. At a restaurant, she builds a glorious musical fountain out of dishes and pans. Iris is the kind of pure spirit who brings the best out of the world around her without knowing it.

Iris’ mom (Maisy) and her best friend Eric set out to find Iris. All lives converge at Happy World, the Disney-esque paradise, where the bake-off takes place. Iris, whose life has been one of isolation and misunderstanding, finds out just how much she is loved. It doesn't matter whether she wins the bake-off, she's already won the biggest contest of all, triumphing in life.

About this title

About the Author:

Melissa Palmer is a writer, nerd, baker, part-time kitchen dancer, wife, and full-time mom. She pulls from her experiences with her own daughters ― the two superheroes who shape and guide her life ― to create the world and characters seen in Baking for Dave. When she’s not writing, she’s biking or running (either on the road or after one of the many animals in her menagerie).

Review:

"If you seek to grasp what drives adolescents and adults with Sensory Processing Disorder, jump in and take a road trip with Iris, Maisy, and the folks who join them in their journey. Perceiving how they feel as they see, hear, taste, smell, and touch the world will give you a memorable ride. I thoroughly enjoyed reading it!" - Carol Stock Kranowitz, M.A., author of 'The Out-of-Sync Child Grows Up: Coping with SPD in the Adolescent and Young Adult Years' "While telling a compelling tale, Palmer tears away the shades that have been closed on one of the least understood problems many children have. She absolutely nails the descriptions of how one with sensory issues feels, producing images a reader is likely not to forget... it's the clearest depiction of someone experiencing sensory issues I've ever read, and it's so easy to read." - Autism Asperger's Digest, August 2016 issue (Book Review by Lyn Dunsavage Young)

About this edition

• Publisher: Sensory World
• Publication date: 2016
• ISBN 10: 1935567675
• ISBN 13: 9781935567677
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 436