Francine Garcia and the Recipe for Joy

By Beverley Brenna

Nine-year-old Francine Garcia has to help look after her little brother, Alfond, while they stay with Auntie Flora so that Mama and Papa can take baby Ram n to Atlanta for a month of important medical treatments. And looking after Alfond isn't easy--he throws up all the time, and wrecks her things, and almost gets eaten by a tiger at the circus. Francine's recipe for joy at first involves finding a way to get herself to Atlanta too, but when that doesn't work out, she realizes that joy can be found in the most surprising places if you give it a chance.

"Beverley Brenna's Francine is an unforgettable heroine in the tradition of Clementine, Harriet M. Welsch, and Ramona Quimby, who navigates the world like an elephant tiptoeing through a china shop. A swishy, rainbow-hued revelation of a novel that pops with joy." -- Michael F. Stewart, author of Seeking Draven

Read the first two chapters

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 177337155X
• ISBN13: 9781773371559
• Release Date: October 2026
• Publisher: Yellow Dog
• Length: 240 Pages
• Age Range: 8 to 10 years
• Grade Range: Grades 3 to 5