Baking Day at Grandma's

August 4, 2014
Three vivacious bears spend a pleasant and productive day with their grandmother in this warm tale from the husband-and-wife collaborators behind Bella and Stella Come Home and Pigs Love Potatoes. Anika Denise's impressionistic couplets invoke the sounds, sights, and smells of the siblings' visit. After making their way through the snow, the bears arrive at an inviting cottage: "Knock-knock-knock on Grandma's door./ Hear her pad across the floor./ Plant a kiss on Grandma's nose,/ cozy fire, warming toes." Donning aprons, they mix batter then kick up their heels ("Old-time music, soft and sweet./ Skippy notes and tapping feet") while the cake bakes, joyfully chanting the story's refrain: "It's baking day!/ It's baking day!/ It's baking day at Grandma's!" Christopher Denise's digital artwork glows with lightâof the sun, the fireplace, and finally the moonâand radiates the bears' energy as well as their affection for Grandma. In an unexpected and sweet turn, the young bakers wrap up slices of cake in gift boxes to share, rather than sampling it themselves. A chocolate cake recipe is included. Ages 3â5. Agent: Emily Van Beek, Folio Literary Management.

July 15, 2014
A rollicking, rhyming salute to the grandmother-grandchild bond.Three independent, bundled-up young bears set off across the snow and past the pond for Grandma's cottage, all smiles, as "It's baking day at Grandma's!" Everything at Grandma's house-from the fire and old-fashioned stove and Victrola to her pink shawl and the woodsy cabin decor-points to coziness and love, and the ursine facial expressions reflect that. Though the adding of ingredients isn't shown, Grandma's role in the baking of the cake is limited to reading the recipe, and she even has aprons for each of the grandkids (though in one spread, they are inexplicably missing). While the cake is baking, there's hot chocolate to drink and frosty windows to draw on. "Old-time music, soft and sweet, / Skippy notes and tapping feet. / Learning songs that Grandma sings- / When the kitchen timer rings!" But this cake isn't for eating; the siblings carefully decorate and wrap each piece as gifts. As darkness falls, the children bundle back up, share more hugs with Grandma and are off under the full moon for home, basket full of treats in their sled. Christopher Denise's Photoshop illustrations are a mix of cartoony characters (though they are more real-looking than most anthropomorphized bears) and realistic settings, especially the snowy winter scenes between home and Grandma's.Just in time for Grandparents' Day. (recipe) (Picture book. 3-7)

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June 1, 2014

PreS-Gr 1-Three little bears head through the snow to Grandma's. There, they bake, dance, drink hot chocolate, package up their baked goodies, and then head home, but the story is really about more than that. Grandma's love is nearly a tangible thing as reflected in the painterly illustrations, with their warm colors and cozy setting, and the images convey the sheer pleasure she feels in the company of her grandchildren. The cubs are clearly smitten with their grandmother, who towers over them kindheartedly, and with the tradition of baking day. This is no cloying treacle of nostalgia. Instead, the authenticity of the characters shines in a natural and enjoyable way. The text is a wonderful rhyming poem/song with the refrain, "It's baking day!/It's baking day!/It's baking day/at Grandma's!" And it's such fun to read aloud. "Old-time music, soft and sweet./Skippy notes and tapping feet./Learning songs that Grandma sings-/when the kitchen timer rings!" A recipe for Grandma Rosie's Chocolate Cake is included. This gentle story will leave children feeling warm and fuzzy. It's perfect for individual sharing, storytime, baking time, and pretty much any time.-Catherine Callegari, Gay-Kimball Library, Troy, NH

Copyright 2014 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

August 1, 2014
Preschool-K Three little cubs, bundled up in coats, scarves, hats, and mittens, are on their way to Grandma's house. The spirited, short, rhyming text intermittently culminates in the joyous refrain It's baking day! / It's baking day! / It's baking day at Grandma's! Golden-hued pictures fill up the pagesGrandma is so big, she can almost fill them up herselfthough, oddly, there is not a lot of baking in the art, just reading the cookbook and looking at the batter in the bowl (Lick the spoon because we can). But it all seems lots of fun, with dancing while the cake bakes and packets of chocolate goodness to take home. The digital art gives off too much of a glow at times, but there is genuine emotion here, too; readers will both see and feel how much these cubs like being with their grandmother, and she with them. A nice topping is the recipe for Grandma Rosie's Chocolate Cake that ends the book.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2014, American Library Association.)