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Starred review from August 24, 2015
Miller’s Wherever You Go showcased her talent for creating pitch-perfect rhymes, and that skill is just as present in this portrait of a family in 19th-century America, as they prepare their Thanksgiving feast. The narration is essentially a set of orders being delivered by the family’s young son, but when his commands are this sweet (“Grandpa, cook the berries please./ Boil those bright red berries, please./ Add some lemon—just a squeeze./ Grandpa, cook them, please.”), who can begrudge him? McElmurry’s gouache paintings exude familial affection: the boy’s mother and father sneak loving glances of each other in the midst of the preparations, and the boy takes a moment to peer at his baby sibling, sleeping “snug and happy in our house.” This is a warm and wonderful holiday treasure. Ages 4–8. Author’s agent: Ammi-Joan Paquette, Erin Murphy Literary Agency. Illustrator’s agent: Marcia Wernick, Wernick & Pratt Agency.
June 15, 2015
A gentle rhyme scheme and a palette that brings to mind folk art shape a nostalgic and rather sentimental view of the holiday. The narrator is one of the small boys of the featured household, and he, with his red hair and russet waistcoat, is in every frame. Each family member has a task. Daddy fills the wood stove, Mama prepares the turkey, Brother bastes it, Grandpa makes the cranberry sauce, and so on. All of the activity is related in an easy, pleasing rhyme. "Sister, knead the rising dough. / Punch it down, then watch it grow. / Line your loaves up in a row. / Sister, knead the dough." The narrator assists wherever he can, though he needs Grandpa to hold him up to stir the berries, and it is his idea to make Pilgrim hats for place mats. While the clothing and kitchen items evoke the Victorian era, this is meant more as memory or imagination than history. One might quibble that a family this well-to-do would probably have had servants doing much of the cooking, that the menfolk would very likely have left the cooking duties to the women, and that the dog and cat who also figure in most of the scenes might not have gotten along quite so well (or been so present in the kitchen). It may be a romantic view, but it is nevertheless a very appealing one. (Picture book. 4-7)
COPYRIGHT(2015) Kirkus Reviews, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.
July 1, 2015
K-Gr 2-Everyone helps prepare Thanksgiving dinner in this new holiday offering set in the 19th century. From fetching the cooking pot to folding pilgrim hats, each of the 10 members in this family has a job to do. Narrated by the younger brother in rhyming four-line verse, each spread highlights one aspect of the meal preparations and the relative responsible for it: sister kneads the bread dough, grandpa cooks the berries, auntie mashes the potatoes, etc. The youngster's excitement with the day is conveyed through repetition and simple rhymes and rhythm that mirror the ease with which the family works together in anticipation of their meal. McElmurry's illustrations depict a traditional middle-class family in aprons over their Sunday best. The gouache on watercolor paper affords a three-dimensional, old-fashioned quality to the setting and characters, while the ever-present family dog and cat offer relatable detail for today's digital natives. Muted tones of brown, gray, blue, and black dominate the color scheme and lend authenticity to this celebratory tribute to our national holiday. VERDICT This book captures the spirit of a traditional Thanksgiving dinner but may require hand-selling to kids to secure a trip to the circulation desk.-Lynn Van Auken, Oak Bluffs School, MA
Copyright 2015 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.
June 1, 2015
Grades K-2 Gouache illustrations in the warm red, orange, and gold of fall reveal a purposeful extended family working together to make Thanksgiving dinner. In gently rhythmic lines, a boy implores each family member, from grandparents all the way to Baby, to perform a task that will create a memorable holiday: Sister, knead the rising dough. / Punch it down, then watch it grow. / Line your loaves up in a row. / Sister, knead the dough. Grandparents, aunt, uncle, parents, and siblings all have a hand in the traditional meal of turkey, mashed potatoes, cranberries, cider, and pie with whipped cream. The colorful pictures show a busy, old-fashioned kitchen with herbs drying on the wall, a cast-iron stove, and a water pump. Ten family members, plus pets, scurry about the kitchen working in unison toward a common goal. We will share the risen bread. / Our made-with-love Thanksgiving spread. / Grateful to be warm and fed. / We will share the bread. A delightful holiday book that shows the heartwarming tradition of food and family.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2015, American Library Association.)
November 1, 2015
As Thanksgiving dinner approaches, everyone in this industrious nineteenth-century familyfrom Grandma and Grandpa down to Babytakes part in preparing for the feast. Mama, fetch the cooking pot / Brother, baste the turkey well / Uncle, swing the cider jug The little-boy narrator, meanwhile, checks in on all the preparations until the family is finally seated around the table to say grace and enjoy the fruits of their labor. McElmurry's gouache illustrations, in a textured palette of browns, oranges, and dark blues, are imbued with quiet energy. Miller's patterned rhyming text has the cadence of a folk song and captures just how joyful (and exhausting) Thanksgiving feasts can be. j. alejandro mazariegos
(Copyright 2015 by The Horn Book, Incorporated, Boston. All rights reserved.)
