Garlic loves spending time with Witch Agnes, Carrot, and her new friend, the Count, who has proven to be a delightful neighbor to the village of vegetable people rather than a scary vampire. But despite Agnes's best attempts to home-brew a vegetarian blood substitute for Count, the ingredient she needs most can only be found at the Magic Market, far from the valley. Before she knows it, with a broomstick in hand, Garlic is nervously preparing for...

"Twelve-year-old Emma-Rose Paley has always felt very different from her bubbly, outgoing parents. Unlike them, Emma-Rose has pale skin and jet-black hair, she prefers gray weather to sunshine, and she hates the taste of garlic. When Emma-Rose's great-aunt Margo comes to visit from Romania, Emma-rose uncovers a dark family secret and has a sudden revelation. Could Emma-Rose be a real, live vampire?" (publisher).

An "edible biography" of one of the foundational ingredients of world cooking. While this book does not claim that garlic saved civilization (though it might cure whatever ails you), it does take us on a grand tour of garlic's fascinating role in history, medicine, literature, and art; its controversial role in bigotry, mythology, and superstition; and its indispensable contribution to the great cuisines of the world. But just to make sure the appetite...