The first in a hilarious middle-grade series about a whip-smart inventor and amateur sleuth with a taste for adventure—a recipe for fun sprinkled with mystery, villainy, silliness, heart, and hope. Bridget Baxter is the very last orphan at the Orphanage for Errant Childs, left at the mercy of the awful Ms. Acrid and her foul-smelling fish sandwiches. Ms. Acrid's mission is to make Bridget's life a misery. But Bridget is more than a match for her. When kindly Mr. Vanderpuff arrives at the Orphanage in search of a child to care for, Bridget thinks her luck has finally turned. Mr. Vanderpuff is the village baker, and his shop is a world of wonders. But they soon discover that Bridget is absolutely terrible at baking. When Ms. Acrid returns for the ultimate revenge, Bridget must open the Locked and Secret Door, navigate Ms. Acrid's spiderweb of booby traps, and use her unique baking skills to save herself—and Mr. Vanderpuff—from certain disaster. Join Bridget as she dons her chef whites and gets the croissants at the ready… Baking isn't such a piece of cake. "An absurd, sincere, and whimsical series...A charming readalike for fans of Roald Dahl’s Matilda ."— School Library Journal , starred review "Effervescent whimsy propels this middle grade series starter from Stewart. Bridget’s creative problem-solving delivers consistent laugh-aloud surprises, and plentiful clean-line illustrations by Habben highlight goofy details."— Publishers Weekly "This bighearted series opener works delightfully sophisticated vocabulary into every page, supplemented with humorous footnotes and punctuated with energetic line drawings...An indomitable hero whips up whimsical bakery concoctions, with life lessons sprinkled throughout."— Kirkus Reviews "It's a charmer from start to finish, and the brisk pace, zany illustrations, mouthwatering baked goods, and companionable characters will appeal to a wide range of readers. The indomitable Bridget is a true delight, and readers will relate to her frustration as she attempts to tackle a new skill. A sweet treat of a story that emphasizes the power of kindness and shared joy."— Booklist Reviews Martin Stewart is an award-winning Scottish author and former secondary school English teacher who likes to eat a lot of cake. David Habben is an illustrator and fine artist based in Salt Lake City, Utah. 1 A Daring Rescue bear traps  * lockpicks * stuffed dodos The world outside was swollen with new snow, and its light cut the room like a torch beam. Bridget Baxter slid a lockpick from her teeth. “How much longer?” whispered Tom. “Just a couple of minutes.” “You said that a couple of minutes ago.” Bridget raised an eyebrow. Tom clamped his hands over his mouth. “I’m going as fast as I can, and besides,” Bridget checked the Listening Glass she’d slipped under the door, “she’s not even in the corridor yet. Calm down.” “ Calm down? ” hissed Tom. “You’re not the one with your leg in a bear trap! And for what? Talking with my mouth full of breakfast?” “ Singing with your mouth full,” corrected Bridget. She reached into her thicket of orange hair, found a tweezle-tip lockpick, and eased it into the enormous padlock. “And you were standing on the table.” Tom shrugged. “I had to make sure everyone could hear me.” They giggled silently. Dust sank through the snow-light and settled on Miss Acrid’s many hideous things. On the badly stuffed birds and unread books. On the stern marble busts and murky paintings. On the jars of eyeballs and cat-skull cups. And on Miss Acrid’s gigantic, soggy sandwich. Bridget looked at the sandwich, which sat in the center of Miss Acrid’s enormous desk. Shuddering, she closed her eyes and let her mind drift into her lockpicking hand, shutting down her senses until all that remained was the skin of her fingertips—­five little antennas, listening to the lock’s secret whispers. “What are you doing ?” whispered Tom urgently. “You don’t use your eyes to see inside a lock,” said Bridget softly. “You see through your fingers.” “You read that somewhere, didn’t you?” “Of course.” “In a big, long book?” “Yes,” said Bridget. “A wonderful book, full of bravery and love and fun.” “And padlocks?” “Yes. Now shush—­I’m trying to listen.” “Through your fingers?” “Yes!” hissed Bridget. “Are you incapable of silence?” Tom picked the feathers from a stuffed dodo. “The Families are coming today,” he said. “Last time, Poppy Parker went to live on Easy Street.” “That’s not a real street, you know,” said Bridget. “It just means her new parents are rich.” Bridget remembered it well: Poppy had been whisked away in a handsome, electric airship. Bridget had watched from her hiding spot among the library’s chimneys and gargoyles, following the airship’s gleaming copper past the village of Belle-on-Sea, toward the great towns and cities beyond the hills. She thought about the people who came to the Orphanage only once a