Les premières lignes/ The first lines :

Miss Cora Lee Merriweather ran the best bake shop in these parts – maybe enven in the whole state. The chocolate in her Mississippi mud pie was darker than the devil’s own heart. Her sponge cake was so light the angels kept hoping it would float up to heaven. No birthday was complete without a Merriweather layer cake with her special buttercream frosting.
Short film adapted from the book : https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NYhac25OY1A
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S6OrSYgs7VQ

Contenu / Contents:

Cora Lee Merriweather baked the best pies and cakes for miles—fluffy meringue pies, flaky strudels, layer cakes, sheet cakes, and cakes with frosting finer than Irish lace. But now Cora Lee haunts the shop she used to own. When new bakers arrive to take over her empty bake shop, Cora Lee scares them away, each and every one. Then Annie Washington comes to town …
Jacqueline K. Ogburn and Marjorie Priceman combine their talents to give us an enchanting baker’s battle in this story about how to unlock the secrets of the perfect recipe and a lonely heart. (from Goodreads). A charming story with beautiful watercolour and ink illustrations.

Pistes / Activities to participate in the festival :

4e :
1 - Create a video about your favorite passage from The Bake Shop Ghost by Jacqueline K. Ogburn. First, read and record your favorite passage. Watch your tone and your pronunciation. Then, present your passage and give reasons for your choice. Do this on your own or with 1 or 2 classmates. The best videos will be shown at La Plage Verte during Cherbourg’s Children’s Book Festival.

2 - Create your own platter of delicious details (you could work with your art teacher and use materials such as clay, styrofoam, empty boxes, paper…) and describe it in a video.

3 -  Where do you go to get the best baked goods and treats in England or in the USA ? Write a diary entry in which you describe one of these places in detail.

3e/ 2nde/1ere :

Film a 3 to 4 minute (3e/2nde) or a 5 to 6 minute (1ere) Duo Interpretation (or Duo interp) of The Bake Shop Ghost by Jacqueline K. Ogburn and illustrated by Marjorie Priceman and send it to the Children’s book festival in Cherbourg. A duo interp is a short performance in which the 2 performers act out a literary piece under certain restraints : no eye contact, no touching your partner and no props. The performers can cut anything out of their piece but cannot add any dialogue.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Duo_Interpretation

or watch examples on youtube or on this link :
https://lfib.ac.th/en/lfib-life/la-vie-du-secondaire/ressources-pour-la-classe/english-lecteur/3496-workshop-2nde

3e/ 2nde/1ere :

In pairs, ad lib a scene from the story. You can embellish what is included in the book or stay true to the dialogue as it is written. Perform for another pair of students and then discuss what you learnt about the characters.
Send your ad lib and your discussion in a video to the Children’s book festival.