Briefly tell us about your book.
A Swirl of Sadie is the third book in the Sadie junior fiction series and sees Sadie Le, a sassy seven-year-old baker, tackle even more challenging bakes with her signature kindness, resilience and creative thinking.
In A Swirl of Sadie, Sadie is premiering not one but two of her special bakes for her school’s first ever movie night, she is puppy-sitting the cheekiest police-puppies from her mum’s police dog squad, and she is also welcoming a very special visitor to her home all the way from Vietnam. But as Sadie’s fans know, her sweet ideas do not always go to plan. There is a melty mess to deal with at her school movie night, a puppy pandemonium to overcome at the police puppy playdate and a double dessert disaster to fix for her special visitor!
Featuring three books-in-one, A Swirl of Sadie is packed with sweetness and surprises at each page turn, which will keep newly independent readers aged 5-8 engaged and reading with joy and confidence.
Who is your favourite character in the book?
Kids all around Australia love Sadie already and can see themselves or their friends in her relatable qualities, particularly her eagerness to always help her friends, her family, and the broader community. So, it goes without saying, that Sadie herself is my favourite and the star of this series!
However, in A Swirl of Sadie, young readers will also get to meet the cheekiest, fluffiest and the messiest animal characters in the series – two happy and go-lucky black Labrador police puppies called Lolly and Liquorice! These puppies are so much fun, but their puppy antics prove to be a big challenge that Sadie must overcome with her newfound puppy-sitting skills and of course, her creative baking!
Why do you think this book is important for the series’ progression?
In A Swirl of Sadie, readers of the series are exposed to a story structure that they are familiar with from the first two books in the series, and this helps to maintain their reading engagement and confidence levels when tackling new themes and meeting new characters. A Swirl of Sadie is particularly important to the series progression as we get to see more of Sadie’s community-mindedness as Sadie immerses herself in community events like her school’s movie night and also in volunteering for causes that are important to her like her mum’s police dog shelter. The reader also gets to learn more about Sadie’s family and her cultural background through her colourful baking for a very special family banquet.
What are you hoping readers will take away from the Sadie junior fiction series?
That no matter what life throws at you, you can always tackle it with kindness, resilience, a little creative thinking, and the support of your friends! The Sadie series also gently touches on the importance of food in bringing families and communities together. I hope that readers are inspired by the series and take the time to experiment with Sadie’s recipes or their own family’s recipes to drive an immersive and sensory experience for them beyond the book.
What’s next? Do you have any new spectacular stories you’re working on?
There is so much excitement and delicious baking in store for Sadie and her friends in 2023! I am working on two more Sadie books this year that feature bigger, bolder, and even more creative baking from Sadie! There’s a birthday party that is almost ruined because of a big disagreement, a farewell for a character that is sweeter than ever and the Cookgrove school oval is transformed into the biggest event of Sadie’s school year.
Readers are going to love what’s coming next for Sadie. The fourth book in the series, A Slice of Sadie, launches in August this year!
Buy a copy of A Swirl of Sadie here.
Lana LOVES writing kids’ books just as much as Sadie LOVES sprinkles! Her writing is endlessly inspired by her young daughters, who she lovingly calls her little book butterflies. Lana spends many hours treasure hunting in bookshops and attempting messy home bakes. Before Lana started writing kids’ books, she worked on creating brand stories for some of Australia’s most favourite products, including developing ideas for new baking products. Now, she hopes to inspire a love of storytelling through her books and sensationally sweet characters.
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