Café Chaos: My Family Is Not a Piece of Cake

Hope Crumble and her family serve up cakes, coffee and calamity in this hilarious new series from much-loved author Catherine Wilkins. Illustrated throughout by the brilliant Katie Abey.
"A beautifully funny story - effortlessly brilliant." - Romesh RanganathanRunning a bustling café is Hope's family's dream - it's just not hers! While Dad and Gran battle it out in the kitchen, Mum tries to balance the books while serving quiche to hordes of hungry pensioners. Meanwhile Hope's dramatic sister Stacey is determined to turn all of life into a stage and her "wishes-he-was-on-Wall-Street" cousin Connor decides to buy novelty costumes to advertise the business. And then Auntie Rita rocks up...Café Crumble is tipping straight into Café Chaos! Luckily for her family, Hope is there to save the day, though ideally this wouldn't involve dressing up as a giant ice cream and dancing outside the school gates.
You'll laugh (a lot), you'll cry (with even more laughter), you'll develop a strange yearning for caroons (whatever they are!). Welcome to Café Chaos!
"This funny and relatable story will appeal to fans of Jacqueline Wilson, as well as children who, like Hope, have to stand up to their families to make their wishes heard." - The Bookseller
Look out for these the laugh-out-loud funny books by Catherine Wilkins:
- My Best Friend and Other Enemies: A Jess Jackson Book
- You're Not the Boss of Me! (WINNER Lollies 2024, Teen)
- My Brilliant Life and Other Disasters: A Jess Jackson Book
- And more café capers in upcoming Café Chaos stories!

Catherine Wilkins (Author)
Catherine Wilkins is a writer and comedian. She writes jokes and stories which she performs around the country to strangers in the dark, trying to make them laugh. Catherine has always wanted to write funny stories for children and is finding the whole process more exciting than that time she bungee jumped. Which is pretty exciting. If you think about it.
Katie Abey (Illustrator)
Katie Abey is a creative human committed to the idea that she can make a positive difference to the world by drawing perturbed animals and lots of rainbows. She has illustrated over 50 children's books, and is passionate about creating art that makes people feel proud of their individuality.