A Wizard's Guide to Defensive Baking

by T. Kingfisher

Fourteen-year-old Mona isn’t like the wizards charged with defending the city. She can’t control lightning or speak to water. Her familiar is a sourdough starter and her magic only works on bread. She has a comfortable life in her aunt’s bakery making gingerbread men dance.

But Mona’s life is turned upside down when she finds a dead body on the bakery floor. An assassin is stalking the streets of Mona’s city, preying on magic folk, and it appears that Mona is his next target. And in an embattled city suddenly bereft of wizards, the assassin may be the least of Mona’s worries… 

Locus Award for Best Young Adult Book (2021)

Andre Norton Award (2020)

Lodestar Award Nominee (2021)


How Self-Paced Book Club Classes Work

Participation in the self-paced book club includes immediate access to a set of resources and activities to be completed at your own pace.

Families are welcome to use as many or as few of the suggested resources and activities as they'd like to fit their interest and schedules.

Book Club Materials

  • Suggested Reading Schedule

  • Reading Guides with Comprehension Questions (PDF)

  • Vocabulary and Reading Activities

  • Writing/Multimodal Project Prompts

  • Video Discussion of the Book

  • Final Project Feedback Rubrics

Ages:

10-14

Content Note:

This book features a 14-year old protagonist in a story generally appropriate for tweens.There are some depictions of injuries and murder, loss of family member, scary situations (bad guy chasing, trying to catch protagonist), gross situations (going through sewers), naughtiness and defiance of adults and rules, poverty and social disadvantage, but are described in a reasonable way from the POV of the main character.  

Emotional honesty and reflection from the protagonist offers opportunities to reflect with the reader about scary/bad situations in constructive ways. Deeper themes about war, suffering, and loss are explored in thoughtful and profound ways that may be emotionally overpowering for sensitive readers.  

Supplies:

  • A copy of the book A Wizard's Guide to Defensive Baking by T. Kingfisher (ISBN: 9781614505242).
    Used and borrowed copies will work just fine! If your learner is going to participate in final projects and reading guides, I recommend having a physical copy even if they primarily read the ebook or audiobook. (Dayla Learning Bookshop Link)
  • PDF reader
  • Access to printer recommended


Basic Enrollment

Meet Your Teacher!

Sabrina Weiss

Dr. Weiss has been teaching and facilitating online courses and enrichment activities for over 5 years and specializes in thought-provoking discussions and topics. Dr. Sabrina Weiss earned a B.S. from Stanford’s Science, Technology, and Society program, an M.S. in Bioethics from Albany Medical College, and a Ph.D. in Science and Technology Studies at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute and is a former U.S. Naval Officer who served overseas in Japan. They love fantasy, science fiction, and gaming (video and tabletop), and enjoy encouraging learners to pursue their passions as a way to build skills.