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Havoc at the Hillside Market
Children's Book

Written by: Melissa Halas-Liang
Illustrated by: Alexandra Artigas

Havoc at the Hillside Market:

Book Details

Join the fantastic and courageous adventures of the Super Crew, a group of eight children, their dog, fish and duck who run into trouble during an innocent outing to the farmers market! After some fun and a few mishaps, the Super Crew finds themselves in a covert pursuit of the Scalawags, a group of trouble makers. With each Super Crew member using his or her own unique super powers and ingenuity, they collectively rescue Abigail, her back pack and their dog Cinnamon, from the Scalawags. After reading this book, readers will find themselves exploring new fruits and vegetables and noticing nature's abundance of beautiful colors.

Reviews

"Trying to think of ways to make fruits and vegetables attractive to young children? Reading to them about the adventures of the Super Crew kids in the Havoc at the Hillside Market" is one sure way to get their attention. The kids who comprise the crew have special powers that come from their favorite fruits and veggies. They use these powers to retrieve a stolen backpack and puppy from the bully Scalawags. Parents will especially appreciate the back pages of the book where activities and recipes are featured. Melissa Halas-Liang has created an imaginative crew of super kids to promote fruits and vegetable consumption to children."

- Joanne Ikeda, MA, RD, Nutritionist Emeritus, Department of Nutritional Sciences, University of California, Berkeley

"What a fun and tasty adventure. As a parent I enjoy the subtle humor like Scalawags (bad guys) eating junk food and running out of energy during the chase, and the mom falling asleep to parenting books. The educator in me is delighted to see an adventure take place in a farmer's market, and I appreciate the tips and recipe after the story. My 5 year old likes the characters and their super powers and flips to the front page to recall the names and special foods of the Super Crew. Havoc at the Hillside Market is a great balance between education, humor and adventure."

-Lisa Barnes is the author of The Petit Appetit Cookbook (March 2005), Petit Appetit: Eat, Drink and Be Merry (March 2009) and Williams-Sonoma Cooking for Baby (May 2008).

"Children's books are a wonderful vehicle for reading enjoyment and education. Melissa Halas-Liang, has conceived the Super Crew, a multicultural group of children with healthy, food-endowed, super powers that prove good behavior and good food triumphs in the end. A must have teaching tool for parents, librarians and teachers, supported by additional learning activities found at www.SuperKidsNutrition.com."

-Jo-Ann Heslin, MA, CDN, RD, author of The Healthy Wholefoods Counter
(Pocket Books, 2008)

"My daughter Jenna (age 7) and I both love this book! I love it because of the emphasis on fruits and vegetables and healthy eating. Jenna loves Havoc at the Hillside Market because the story is interesting, fun and full of adventure. We both also love all the bright, colorful illustrations. Jenna generally reads chapter books but she really misses the pictures. Havoc at the Hillside Market has a compelling story line to keep her attention, lots of 2nd grade words to practice reading AND illustrations to make reading fun and enjoyable. Thank you Melissa for this fabulous book!"

- Anita Jones-Mueller, MPH, President, HealthyDiningFinder.com