The Doughnut Fix

Let's see.  I grew up in Queens.  I now live in a small town in upstate New York.  I love doughnuts. (have you read my Twitter profile?) So when I heard that Tristan and his family move to small town, Petersville, New York from the city and he makes it his mission to bring Winnie's chocolate cream doughnuts back, I couldn't help but crave this book.

How does this all get started?  It's late fall and for some reason, the principal wants Tristan and his younger sister, Jeanine to wait until January to start school. To keep them busy (and learning?) Tristan and Jeanine's parents tell them to come up with a project they can work on until school starts..  Having no clue where to begin on this "project", Tristan asks Winnie the owner of the General Store for her doughnut recipe.

This project has multifaceted layers: culinary, business ownership, math, teamwork and more.  As readers and educators, we can use this book in a number of ways, too.  Tie it in with Junior Achievement.  Discuss the fractions from the recipe and in Tristan's business model.  Work with a partner and see how challenging that can be!

With his recipe (did Winnie give hers up?), Start Your Own Business for Dummies and new friend, Josh by his side, Tristan learns the meaning of perseverance, trust, risk taking (mashed potatoes? really?!) and of course, how to make a great doughnut.  Success?  You'll just have to stumble upon Petersville to find out! There's a recipe in the back of the book, in addition to a glossary of business terms.  Double deliciousness.

At the moment (if you don't count Dunkin Donuts and I don't) the nearest shop (Cider Belly) is across the river in Albany.  I can only hope that this book will encourage one of my students to tackle their own doughnut project right here in Castleton.  Sell them in the library, perhaps? Can you say, "SWEET!"? And if that's the case, a treadmill is included, right?

Enjoying a donut at Cider Belly in Albany, NY

Shopping for donut pillows with my nieces in Ocean City, Maryland.