This was an adorable graphic novel that includes grief and dealing with grieving. I loved the artwork in the book and I also loved how the author told the story. I would absolutely recommend this!

This is an incredible bittersweet story about dealing with grief, trying to manage all the feelings that come with it, and understanding how it affects or not the people around you.
The art is gorgeous and the concept of baking feelings into desserts is really cute interesting, I would love to read more about it.

The artwork in this book is so adorable and visually satisfying! I love it!! This book reminded me of the happy shop and sheets. It was so good. It was also very sad, it made me cry so many times. But I loved it regardless. It did what it was supposed to do. If there’s a second book in the future, I’ll definitely buy it! I recommend this book to anyone dealing with grief and loss.

I originally requested this as the description reminded me a lot of “The Heartbreak Bakery” by AR Capetta. And the baking magic was very similar to it, which I loved.
I also loved the characters, the friendships, and the way grief was handled and shown in this book, how it may influence all your relationships and everything you do, but also how you can get strength from community.
The art style is super cute and fits the book very well.
All in all a great and cute read with a good message.

It was a warm read that handled the themes of losing a loved one and the grief that comes from that well. I loved how diverse the entire cast was in ways that felt naturally incorporated. Loved the colours and art styles and will definitely be trying some of those recipes myself.

Cute graphic novel with beautiful illustrations focusing on emotions especially sadness. The author has chosen a relatable theme of food and baking to help readers understand how emotions work and what should we do when we are in state of sadness which is not to react take a break from what we do and focus on something else while it passes naturally. The key is not to force anything.

I fell in love with the art style as soon as I saw page one. The illustrations are colourful and expressive. You know what a character is feeling by just looking at them.

Crumble gives us a unique, original and intriguing plot, centered around a family with the magic to bake feelings into food. One feature I loved was the inclusion of actual recipes within the narrative! The book is aimed at kids and I bet they'll want to try creating some of their own baked goods using these recipes.

Crumble delves into themes of grief and other emotions that come with the loss of a loved one. And these feelings are hard to explain to a kid. How can you promise them that things will be okay when you yourself don't believe that? You don't know when things will get better but the book handles these heavy themes with sensitivity and doesn't make it scary. I did cry when Aunt Gina died.

Representation is another area Crumble does a brilliant job. The book has a wonderfully diverse cast, with characters of different sizes, colours, and backgrounds, without it being forceful. It's just like the real world. Our MC's best friend uses they/them pronouns and has two dads!

The story was just so lovely and heartbreaking at the same time - and deserving of 5 stars!

I had the time of my life reading this one!! So funny and cute and the illustrations were amazing. I really enjoyed my time and the message that such a small book could bring to our life!!
I recommend this to everyone who's looking for a children book!

While I consider myself a generous rater, I don’t always give out 5 stars these days. But this graphic novel 100% speaks my language. It’s as if it was written for someone like me!

First off, let’s talk about the graphic. It’s bubbly and colourful. It’s detailed without being too much. It’s also so very easy to follow. There are moments where the characters do not talk but you can tell immediately what is going on, you can understand the feelings they’re trying to convey.

The book’s central issue is about grief and I think it is a very important subject to expose children to, even though it’s hard. Because children might lose their loved ones and not know how to deal with it. Even us adults struggle with it. And this book tackles it without being scary.

I love the diversity in the book as well. All sorts of people are in the story, even if they are shown only in the background. The main character’s best friend is a Korean with pronouns they/them and I saw a man in turban and a woman in hijab. The people are of all shades, shapes and sizes. It’s there, like it is in the world, without being so in-the-face. So, that’s a plus point for teaching acceptance and tolerance without being preachy.

And then, ah, the love of food! While I cook and make bread more than bake sweets, I love the comic for its appreciation of food and baking. There are recipes included, if parents or guardians want to have activities to do with their children. I know I will be attempting some of these recipes myself! I also love how the recipes change according to the state of mind of Emily.

The book is also about friendship, about making mistakes and apologizing when you hurt someone as well as about taking your time to hone your skills.

I read this book in one sitting. Didn’t expect to cry since it is a graphic novel for children. But this one got my heartstrings like no other. I love it so, so much and I’d recommend it to everyone.

The graphics in this novel were so vibrant and cute. I read this in one sitting and couldn’t stop. I loved it.
This is a baking/grief/magic graphic novel. And because there is baking in it, there are recipes as well. I love that idea.
Such a cute and great read.

I was disappointed with this read. I enjoyed the illustrations and the plot had good intentions, but it just wasn’t there. Maybe more dialogue is needed movement in the storyline. Read more of my review when it’s released on the podcast.

I never thought I’d find myself sobbing while reading a graphic novel, but here I am. Meredith McClaren does a beautiful job telling the story of Emily and her family as they deal with grief and how that grief impacts their special powers of baking emotions into treats. Andrea Bell beautifully brings this story to life with vibrant colours and details. I love that you get little recipes through the story that matches what the characters are baking at any given time.

I can’t wait for this to be officially published so I can destroy my emotions for a second time but in print. I highly recommend you pick this one up so you too can feel all the feels as Emily explores her emotions through baking.

This was a beautifully illustrated story. The use of bright colours balanced the heartfelt story and softened the hard topic of grief.

Including the recipes as well was such a wonderful surprise as well.

I think the topic of grief from a child's perspective was navigated well. It showcased the limited range a child has for articulating what's going on and also their need for supporting those they love as well. Emily's care and compassion for those around her when she is hurting herself was so sweet, this book made me cry.

Th this graphic novel was amazing it was the Perfect Blend of heartwarming and a little bit sad the way it talked about grief and learning to get over it through baking really touched me

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for providing the ARC.

This graphic novel has all the ingredients for a great story for kids, to teach them about loss.

🥧fast read
🍰beautiful illustrations
🧁important story/message
🍩emotional
🎂MAGICAL BAKING

This was so adorable! I love the magic system, baking emotions into desserts? So cute.

The plot is engaging and really fun. The characters are so cute and likable, the FMC especially is so sweet and I loved the main friendship.

I love graphic novels but I find that the pacing can be off in most of them but I felt it was perfect here. This is one of the first times I've felt fully immersed in a GN, the story had a great flow.

The art is absolutely gorgeous. It really conveys the emotions of the characters and it's just so warm and sweet.

I love the way this graphic novel dealt with grief, the way it showed how both Emily and her mom were experiencing it and found it difficult to help each other until they opened up. This would actually be a great resource to help kids deal with their own grief.

I loved the addition of recipes throughout!

Crumble was such a cute, and wholesomely drawn graphic novel!! I seriously commend the author for tackling such a serious topic regarding grief and bad coping mechanisms in a way that younger readers and even older people can relate to and understand. I loved everything about it and wished it were longer. My only concern and something I was confused about is Emily and Dae are both younger kids apparently, so what the heck does Dae even know about "gender nonconformism"? I cringed the whole time about this part and the other little ideas this book tried to implant within it.

"Crumble" follows the story of a young girl, Emily, who can bake her feelings into cookies, cupcakes and such. When people eat her wonderful bakes, they experience the emotions she baked, such as calmness, relief, and bravery. Everything is going great for Emily, until one day she suffers a tragic loss. Emily is warned that baking with negative feelings will come at a cost, but when the only thing that makes her feel betters is making crumble day in and day out, what will the consequences be?

I thought this graphic novel explored grief and emotional trauma in a way easy for kids to understand. It could definitely be helpful to a young child going through loss and the stages of grief. I loved the artwork and think it would be very appealing to the target audience(kids). It was bright and colorful, and the characters were cartoony and didn't have too many details to overwhelm young minds. I also really loved the inclusion of a non-binary character(Emily's best friend Dae). This graphic novel showed that even adults struggle with loss too and I think that's important for kids to understand.

Thank you so much to NetGalley and Algonquin Young Readers for providing an arc in exchange for an honest review. 5/5 stars, recommended for kids/middle grade audience

Thank you, NetGalley for an advanced ARC of this graphic novel

This was a fast read dealing with the tough subject of heartache and loss, done in a lovely way with artwork that's colourful and whimsy-looking, dealing with this subject in a way that children can digest healthily (so want to learn ur child at a young age of loss and acceptance then this will be a good choice)

I didn't expect to have so many feelings about this MG graphic novel! Crumble is about a young girl and her family that has the power to bake emotions into their desserts. It was adorable and whimsical, but also incredibly sad. This book does deal heavily with grief, but it handles it really well.

I loved the magic that was worked into this world, and the inclusion of a gender non-conforming character. I would definitely recommend this one to anyone looking for a bittersweet graphic novel with lots of baking fun. Thanks to NetGalley, Meredith McClaren, and Algonquin Young Readers for the chance to read and review! My opinions are my own.