The Vanderbeekers are a modern answer to people who want a family oriented, wholesome book. The characters are a wide range of ages, the family is so kind and respectful to one another, and wacky hijinks ensue. This time, Mama will be featured in a baking magazine, but a disastrous visit from a health inspector puts that brakes on that endeavor. The kids try their best to solve the problem, with mixed results, but the ending is another rainbow and readers will eagerly await more adventures.

The Vanderbeekers are such a fun family that I love to visit in each new middle grade novel. This time, the kids accidentally put their mother's baking career in jeopardy after an ill-timed visit to their home by the health inspector. I love how real the kids are, flaws and all, as well as the loving family they have built. This is a great story for all ages.

I forgot to come back here and review! I love love loved this book, as I did the previous ones. I ended up using this in some curriculum booklists.

I am always up for a visit to the Vanderbeekers and The Vanderbeekers to the Rescue is no exception.

This time, the big Harlem family is on a mission: Their mom’s bakery is supposed to be featured in a big-deal magazine — but only if she can get all her permits in order and clean up the house for the photo shoot. This is no easy task when you have a house full of five kids and lots of pets — and more pets keep showing up on your doorstep every couple of days in need of a home. (Where are they all coming from?) But Isa, Jess, Oliver, Laney, and Hyacinth are always up for a challenge, and they are determined to pull together to get everything ship-shape before their mom’s big day.

I know I always say this, but the Vanderbeekers are the more diverse, modern-day Melendys I spent so many years looking for — a big, happy, messy family who are happy to be home together at the end of each adventure. Their stories are genuinely heartwarming, which sounds silly when you say it out loud but which really is the only way to describe what it feels like to be part of their story. I’m always so excited when one of these books comes out, and then I put off reading it because I want to save it for when I really need a book that I know will make me feel better about the world. If you haven’t read them, you are in for a treat.

Great series, great book, great family. Each book in this series gets better and I hope the series continues on. I love this family. They deal with a variety of common situations that kids can relate to. The story line is fun and refreshing.

Our family has been longtime fans of the Vanderbeekers and this new addition was no disappointment! We read it as a read aloud and it was just so much fun! I had to take a break several times to let them get all their giggles out. The Vanderbeekers are a fun loving and imperfect family with the best of intentions. We loved this book as much as the others in the series!

This is the third in the series by @karinaisreadingandwriting and I think it’s my favorite so far.
These children are so fun and resourceful and mischievous. This time, it’s their mother’s bakery that’s on the line and the things they’ll do for family are limitless.
Glaser has created a vibrant world for middle grade readers to get lost in and learn about family, friendship, and solving problems.
Oh, and this story has animals. So many animals. So the animal-loving reader in your life will find it a delight. And overall, that’s what this book is: a delight.

“The universe is so big, much bigger than you and me and bigger than any of our mistakes. There are always opportunities to forgive and be forgiven. You kids have the power to put so much good and love into this world.”


Life always seems to move so fast at the Vanderbeeker household. First, there’s the good news. A magazine wants to do a story on Mama’s baking business. Everyone is excited and so much needs to be done! So as Mama flies out the door one day saying “I’ll be back before the inspector gets here” the Vanderbeeker children don’t give it a lot of thought. Until the inspector shows up and Mama isn’t home. They try to call her, but she doesn’t answer. In comes Mr. West from the New York State Department of Agriculture and Markets. The kids don’t realize what kind of inspector he is until it is too late. Mr. West doesn’t like what he sees. (That’s the bad news.) He doesn’t like all the animals near the kitchen area and he suspends Mama’s license until she gets the residence “up to code.”

The kids just know that Mama will be crushed, so they try to fix things in their usual way. They reschedule the follow up appointment and try to figure out a plan to get rid of the animals for the day ... all without telling Mama. But as soon as that happens, strange animals keep getting left at their doorstep: first a box of skinny kittens, then 2 guinea pigs and another dog. Is this some kind of set up to make sure they fail the inspection? Could. Mr. West be doing this? Or someone else?

Yes, the Vanderbeeker kids make a pretty big mistake but they have “their hodgepodge of a community, connected not by blood but by an abundance of love.” And together they pull together to own up to their mistakes and help fix the problem that they caused. “It’s only impossible if we give up.”

Another story with the joy of community and family love at the center of everything. There’s humor and heartache. There are problems and confusion. In other words, a slice of life written wonderfully for our viewing. For grades 3 (read aloud most likely) and up.

I read this one with my daughter and we both loved it! We love the sense of family in these books and this story was no exception.

A fun book detailing the many misadventures of the Vanderbeeker kids. Not even a little bit believable, but it is fiction. Any middle school kid would love it. Especially appealing if they're animal lovers.

*ARC via netgalley*

Another escapade in the delightful series. The Vanderbeekers are a unique family filled with unique characters that enrich the story with their individual personalities. What I like best about this series is how Glaser manages to send a message that is pertinent to today’s issues while presenting it in a gentle, endearing format. Although the children are sassy, they aren’t disrespectful. This is a rare find in today’s middle grade literature.

What would you do if someone kept leaving animals outside of your home night after night after night? And what if those animals were keeping your mom from running her business from home? This is when the Vanderbeekers come to the rescue! The Vanderbeekers are back for a third book and they are better than ever. The kid's mom has been baking from their home kitchen for a while, but now she is ready to turn it into a business, there is even a magazine that wants to come to their apartment and do a feature article about her and her business. The problem happens when the city inspector comes earlier than expected and their mom is not there. The inspector sees the all of the Vanderbeekers pets and tells them, very grumply, that she has to stop selling her cookies because of the unsanitary conditions. The kids tell their mom that the inspector had to reschedule and they get to work trying to fix the problem. They also are trying to clean the apartment for the photo shoot, build a treehouse, and practice for the high school orchestra. Then another problem happens. Someone keeps leaving animals at the Vanderbeekers doorstep. First it was kittens, then guinea pigs, a dog, and lastly chickens. How with the kids ever get the apartment cleaned up and ready for the inspection and the magazine photo shoot with all of these animals around? Will their mom lose her business that she loves and have to go back to a job that she hates? And who is leaving all of these animals on their doorstep? To find out these answers and so many more, read this incredibly entertaining book!!

To say that I love the Vanderbeeker family is an understatement! Karina Van Glaser writes her books so that you actually feel like you are a part of this family. The love between the parents to the kids, the kids to the parents, and even the love between these siblings is amazing! The whole neighborhood of friends makes you want to move right on in. If you have not read any of the Vanderbeekers books stop what you are doing right now and start reading them!! You will not regret it!! My one request for Mrs. Glaser is to please continue writing about this family!!! I am hoping there will be a book four coming soon!!

The Vanderbeekers are one of my favorite book families! I love these crazy kids with their loving parents and extended adopted family and all the animals! It is spring break and the Vanderbeekers are excited that mom is going to be featured in a magazine. But first she has to pass her inspection. Of course the inspector comes while mom is gone and the kids fail miserably. There are too many animals in the house with access to the kitchen. They try to fix things and that goes even further wrong. To top it off someone is dropping off animals at their back door every night. So on top of their cat, dog and rabbit, they now have five kittens, another dog, two guinea pigs, and chickens! They try to get the animals adopted but that doesn't work either.

This book was a breath of fresh air after everything I have been reading lately. There was no extra tragedy thrown in. It is just a slice of life for this crazy family as they try to make things right. I loved the addition of all the animals and Laney's insistence on keeping and naming them. I loved the cat bakery idea and would love to have one around here to go to! My only question is ever about all the freedom these kids seem to have to explore NY on their own. I guess they mostly stay in their neighborhood but they are definitely without adult supervision a lot of the time. Of course that makes for a much more interesting book!

I've been waiting awhile for this one. This is a charming series that offers a lot of hope. There is always a bit of mystery that keeps you reading and the Vanderbeeker family is the absolute best. It is filled with diversity without being about diversity. I just love these books!

One of my favorite things about fall is the latest installment in the Vanderbeekers series! The newest episode is my favorite yet as the five kids scramble to save their mom's business and help the homeless pets that keep showing up on their doorstep. You really feel their frustration and dismay. Mrs. Vanderbeeker's cookie business is in jeopardy because of the animals in the house and more keep appearing! Karina Yan Glaser gives us the distinct flavor of their Harlem neighborhood through the eyes of this group of siblings from a blended, intact home. It is such a delight to watch them work through solutions to the problems they are confronted with. They make unwise decisions at times and then work to correct their mistakes. No free passes, but plenty of grace and encouragement to try again. The covers for the series are beautiful and inviting and the illustrations inside are perfectly matched to the narrative. If you are still mourning the end of the Penderwicks, look no further for your next series.

Thank you, thank you Houghton Mifflin and NetGalley for providing a digital ARC in exchange for an honest review.

The Vanderbeekers are my favorite book family. I just love all the character and the personalities and the love and the family they have and the family they choose. The sense of community, the commitment, the love, the loyalty all make the family and this story perfect. I can't wait to see what shenanigans they get into and how love and family can get them out of the roughest situations. This series is a treasure and *The Vanderbeekers to the Rescue* is a more than worthy addition. Family GOLD!

Oh Karina Yan Glaser! Vanderbeekers number 3 did not disappoint! I am so in love with this family! Baking, animal rescues, worries, friends, siblings (if you haven’t read any of these there are 5 along with their menagerie of pets), mistakes, love, family, and their extended family! “Their hodgepodge of a community, connected not by blood but by an abundance of love” shines through and through in this book. I’ve already preordered copies for myself, and will be adding it to my classroom and school library. Thank you NetGalley for the e-ARC!

Engaging third installment to a great series for middle grade readers. The Vanderbeeker kids are back with adorable animals being mysteriously abandoned on their doorstep every night, an important inspection for their mother’s baking business, and a whole slew of other adventures around their Harlem neighborhood while on their spring break. We get to see all of the secondary characters from the first two books in the series, and it’s a wonderful fictional world to revisit.

The series is a must buy for elementary libraries and classroom libraries for grades 2 and up!

I received an electronic ARC from Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Children's Book Group through NetGalley.
The third book in the series offers further insight into this family. Yan Glaser brings out how they learn to work together to respond to the latest crisis. Though things go completely wrong when the Health Department Inspector arrives early to inspect their apartment, the Vanderbeeker children manage to make their mom's bakery dream come true on a much larger scale after trials and challenges along the way. The writing style pulls the reader in and allows them to find characters they connect with. The Vanderbeekers have diverse interests and yet find ways to work together.

I enjoyed this book just as much as the previous two. This family is just so loveable, and all the secondary characters add depth to the story. Glaser brings the neighborhood to life and creates a story you just don’t want to put down.