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Nosy Crow · MMXXVI
Café Chaos: The Way the Cookie Crumbles
Catherine Wilkins
Illustrated · ages 9–12

Café Chaos: The Way the Cookie Crumbles

The Way the Cookie Crumbles

Written by Catherine Wilkins · Illustrated by Katie Abey

Book 2 of 2 in Café ChaosView the full series

The second helping of family café comedy: Mum has wildly over-ordered beans, and salvation arrives in the unlikely form of Hope's arch-enemy, who needs a venue for her charity fashion show. Warm, funny and relatable for readers who loved the first.

  • Best for9–12
  • FormatIllustrated

The vibe

What it’s like.

Style

  • Comedic
  • Conversational

Tone

  • Funny
  • Warm
  • Heartwarming
  • Irreverent

Themes

On the pagecafe, family business, baking, money worries, school rivalry, fashion show

Experience meters

Energy3/ 5
Humour4/ 5
Scariness1/ 5
Peril1/ 5
Wonder1/ 5
Cosiness3/ 5
Emotional intensity2/ 5
Conceptual intensity2/ 5

What’s it about?

The story.

Hope Crumble's family are still serving up cakes, coffee and calamity - and this time Mum has accidentally over-ordered the beans, leaving them just two months to shift the lot. Cue a run of gloriously chaotic family meetings: Aunt Rita goes full 'flavours of Mexico', while cousin Connor pitches a bean-eating competition to lure in the post-gym crowd. Hope, meanwhile, is trying to keep her distance and simply get some time to be a child while her family sort out their own crises. Then rescue turns up from the most unlikely direction of all - Skyla, Hope's arch-enemy and school bully, who suddenly needs somewhere to hold her charity fashion show. Catherine Wilkins's second Café Chaos story is as funny and warm-hearted as the first, mixing outrageous family antics with real, recognisable feelings about pressure, rivalry and finding room to be yourself. Illustrated throughout by Katie Abey, it's an easy, laugh-out-loud read for fans of Jacqueline Wilson.

Fit check

Right for your child?

Where it lands by age

Aimed at 9-12s reading independently, and enjoyable read aloud from about 8. A gentle, relatable family comedy with low peril and a warm handling of school rivalry.

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  • Best fit · 9–12
  • Read aloud · 8–11
  • Independent · 9–12

Prose load

Moderate

Visual support

Low

Reluctant-reader friendly

Very

Read-aloud quality

Strong

Works well for

  • Reading aloud
  • Reading together
  • Reluctant readers
Low sensitivityNo content warnings

Nothing in the book is likely to concern most parents. Safe to recommend without preview.

Bedtime suitability

3 / 5 · Workable

Sensitive-child

4 / 5 · Good fit

Graphic intensity

1 / 5 · None

Best for

  • Funny family stories
  • Relatable realistic
  • Jacqueline wilson fans
  • School stories

Avoid if

  • Wants fantasy or adventure
  • Prefers high stakes

Particularly good for children who are…

  • Being bullied
  • Making friends

Why it lands

Why they love it.

Why kids love it

The café is in trouble again - too many beans, not enough sense - and the family's madcap fixes keep going hilariously wrong. Best of all, help comes from Hope's own arch-enemy, which makes for a funny, satisfying twist on the school-rival story.

  • Being understood finally
  • Proving yourself
  • Family belonging

Why parents love it

A fast, funny follow-up that keeps the warmth and honesty of the first book, handling rivalry and pressure with a light touch. Katie Abey's illustrations keep it inviting, and it's an easy recommendation for Jacqueline Wilson fans.

  • Shared humour
  • Conversation starter

In the series

Café Chaos.

2 books · open the series →

About the creators

About the creators.

If you liked this

Three ways out of this book.

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Lateral matches. Same shelf, different texture.

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The Suitcase Kid

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Lauren Child
Clarice Bean, That's Me

by Lauren Child

Last reviewed · July 2026Suggest a correctionHow we recommend

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