Recipe for Adventure Books in Order

Recipe for Adventure is a chapter book series for younger readers that follows siblings Emilia and Alfie Bertolizzi and their great aunt Zia Donatella as food, family, and travel get mixed together in every story.

Each book starts in the Bertolizzis' home kitchen, where the kids are facing familiar problems like boredom, nerves about school, or family squabbles while Zia stirs a pot on the stove. She is determined to prove that a thoughtful home cooked meal can beat any takeout, and her secret ingredient has a habit of lifting the siblings out of their chairs and into another part of the world.

Across eight volumes that can be read in any order, that magic carries Emilia and Alfie to Naples, Paris, Hong Kong, New Orleans, Rio de Janeiro, Hawaii's island of Maui, Miami, and Philadelphia. Each destination is chosen for its food culture, so the plot always winds through markets, corner bakeries, street festivals, and family kitchens.

In every city they fall in with local kids who need help. In Naples they race alongside Marco to gather perfect ingredients for his family's pizza contest, in Hong Kong they pitch in on the opening of a family restaurant, and in New Orleans they join a kids' jazz band fighting to save its performance space and a beloved cookbook. The stakes stay friendly and age appropriate, but there is always just enough urgency to keep pages turning.

Food is at the center of everything, from croissants and hot chocolate in Paris to dumplings in Hong Kong, beignets and gumbo in New Orleans, and cheesesteaks and market snacks in Philadelphia, all described so clearly you can almost taste them.

The tone stays warm and hopeful, with gentle lessons about trying new things, respecting other cultures, and appreciating the meals waiting back home. Emilia and Alfie do not just sample dishes, they see how recipes tie into family histories, small businesses, and neighbourhood traditions, and how they themselves grow a little braver and more flexible with every trip.

Short chapters, lively black and white illustrations by Francesca Gambatesa, and age appropriate vocabulary make the books approachable for readers around seven to eleven. Each volume also includes a couple of simple recipes inspired by that city's food, so kids can turn the stories into something they can cook and taste. Naples is the first stop in publication order, but any book in the series works as a fun entry point.