- Comedy
- Illustrated Chapter Books
- Ages 9–12
The shape of it
The shape of this universe.
Café Chaos is Catherine Wilkins's warm, laugh-out-loud family comedy series about Hope Crumble, whose parents' dream of running a bustling café is emphatically not her dream. Across the books, Hope juggles starting secondary school with a household that treats every mealtime as high drama: a dad and gran locked in kitchen rivalry, a mum trying to balance the books over quiches, a drama-queen sister and a get-rich-quick cousin. The comedy is broad and affectionate, but there's real feeling underneath — money worries, working parents, and the everyday business of standing up to your family to be heard. Illustrated throughout by Katie Abey and pitched at readers moving into secondary school, it's easy, relatable fun for fans of Jacqueline Wilson.
A warm, laugh-out-loud family comedy series about Hope Crumble, whose parents run a chaotic café that is emphatically not her dream — perfect for fans of Jacqueline Wilson.
Primary themes
Tone palette
- Funny
- Warm
- Heartwarming
- Irreverent
The series
One way in.
Cultural footprint
A shelf of evidence.
Cultural ubiquity
2/ 5A working classic for readers in the know.
Sensitivity
Low, and collection-wide.
Across the collection
All 2 books.
About the creator