Cookies & Milk

Gr 3-6–Can you feel the funk, my friends? Ellis and his family invite you to Sunset Strip Cookies where you are served the most amazing cookies by a family who is strong, Black, and proud of it. Ellis’s life has been a little upside down lately: his parents just divorced, his mom left him with his dad for the summer to “put herself first for a change,” and his dad has this zany idea of opening a chocolate chip cookie shop on the Sunset Strip in Hollywood. While getting the shop ready, Ellis will go through trials (it’s not his fault he’s the shortest kid in his grade), tribulations (his grandma says, “listening is tougher than talking,” but it feels like his dad never listens), and triumphs (discovering kindness and good neighbors go a long way). Author Amos—and yes, the last name Amos should give readers an idea of how famous these cookies really are—sets a fantastic scene in the summer of 1976 on the Sunset Strip. Music, family dynamics, friends, and cookies are all delivered with imagery so strong that readers will taste those cookies while listening to Muddy Waters. Amos adds a nice touch by including a cookie recipe and a playlist at the end of the book. There are a few instances of period-typical racism and abuse (a “switch” is mentioned).