Briefly tell us about your book.
Sadie is a superstar seven-year-old baker with a big heart and a signature bold blue hair streak. In each Sadie book, Sadie creates sweet and colourful recipes for her community, but things often don’t go to plan. In the first book in the Sadie junior fiction series, A Sprinkle of Sadie, Sadie needs to make a birthday cake for her police officer mum, cupcakes for a community fundraiser and an Easter cake to welcome a new teacher to her school. Sadie’s resilience to make things better for others spur her on to find a way to turn even the biggest disaster into something brilliant. Sadie is a special kind of character and embodies today’s generation of kids. She’s kind, compassionate and generous. Her world is bright and diverse, with her stories set in a relatable and multicultural suburbia.
What inspired the idea behind this book?
My inspiration for the Sadie junior fiction series came from my own daughters, who were both fascinated by the baked goods I brought home from my job in marketing, working on some of Australia’s most loved baking brands. At the same time, my daughters and I were also planning a cake stall to help raise funds for our local preschool library. The idea of a sassy seven-year-old who loves creating in the kitchen and helping her community seemed a perfect fit for newly independent readers!
How did you think of the title of the book?
I wanted the title of each book in the series to include a playful nod to the world of baking that is so important to Sadie. After hours of brainstorming, I kept coming back to the first title on my list, A Sprinkle of Sadie. The first story in the first book is all about homemade ice-cream, sprinkles and birthday parties so it was a natural fit. This set the naming convention for the series. The next book in the series is called A Spoonful of Sadie and it is such a cute match for all the recipes that Sadie bakes up to help her friends and community!
Who is your favourite character in the book/series?
It goes without saying that I adore Sadie. She is so vivid in my mind and is almost like a third daughter in my family! I also have a soft spot for Sadie’s best friend Arlo. Arlo loves sweet foods and behaves diabolically when he is near baked treats or ice-cream. He is also creative and a brilliant performer! He is so much fun and his hilarious, chaotic actions quite often inspire Sadie’s spontaneous sweet plan to save the day.
What are you hoping readers will take away from your book?
The Sadie junior fiction series gently explores underlying themes of kindness, resilience and creativity. It also explores the powerful role of food to connect families and communities. I hope Sadie whisks her way into the life of readers far and wide, that the 3-in-1 story structure of the series ignites a lifetime reading bug for kids and provides lasting value for families.
Why do you think this book is important for the series’ progression?
Everything about the series has been geared to support early and emergent readers to encourage a lifetime love of chapter books. In particular, the first book in the series, A Sprinkle of Sadie, has been specifically designed to build reading confidence and bridge the gap between first readers and chapter books. The first book in the series establishes Sadie’s sweet motivations to help her family and her community. It also sets up a familiar story structure for early readers to fall in love with so they can approach the next story with confidence and delight! Each story within the series is filled with early reading tools like light, emotive illustrations, bold break-out text to help highlight and sound-out trickier words and a balance of basic and complex sentence structures.
Where can we see the storyline headed next?
There is so much that lies ahead for Sadie and her family. The food will get bolder and more exotic. We will get to meet more of the kids in Sadie’s life both at school and outside of school. Sadie’s confidence in her ability to help others and the community grows as does the size of her bakes. I can’t wait to share what’s next for Sadie! Readers won’t have to wait too long, the second book in the series, A Spoonful of Sadie, will be released in August this year.
Do you have any new spectacular stories you’re working on/hope to work on?
Sadie is happily keeping me very busy. There are three more books planned in the series over the course of the next eighteen months! New Sadie stories pop into my mind regularly. Food and its role in our lives is so fascinating to me and the opportunities are endless for Sadie and her sweet world. My inner seven-year-old is also begging me to finish a new series that I have been working on over the last few years combining my two lifelong loves: cats and public libraries!
Buy a copy of A Sprinkle 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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