When Alexander Graced the Table by Alexander Smalls and Denene Millner, illustrated by Frank Morrison (Denene Millner Books/Simon and Schuster Books for Young Readers). Alexander loves Sunday dinners, which start on Saturday night with the whole extended family cooking and prepping for the big feast. His mom is at the center of it all, Alexander working at her side, but his quiet dad always seems too busy to notice. When Alexander makes franks and beans all by himself one Saturday night, he’s crushed that Dad doesn’t want a sample. His mom knows what to do, though: she puts Alexander to work baking Dad’s favorite dessert, and the next day reveals his creation to the whole family. Alexander holds his breath as his father takes the first bite of his lemon icebox pie, and the whole world seems to stand still as Dad chews it slowly. Finally, he speaks, “That’s some good pie,” he says, creating a memory that Alexander will cherish forever. Includes a recipe for the pie.

I wasn’t familiar with Alexander Smalls, but apparently he’s a famous chef, and his fans will undoubtedly enjoy this story about his first forays into cooking. The illustrations colorfully capture the happy chaos of a family dinner and the mouth-watering food created by so many cooks. I wish there had been a little back matter to allow Smalls to tell more of his story.

Family Feast! by Carole Boston Weatherford, illustrated by Frank Morrison (Crown Books for Young Readers, 32 pages, ages 4-8). Pops and Big Ma are up at 5 to start making dinner while family members make the drive to get there in time to help. The rollicking rhyming text and busy illustrations show a growing crowd, young and old, and the delicious abundance of food making its way to the table. Finally, grace is said, and the feast begins. Afterwards, children race through the house, Uncle snores, and Big Ma smiles benevolently on the whole scene until the family heads out to their cars to drive back home again, wrapping up with the repeating refrain, “Tastes like home when family meet/A bond so warm, so strong, so sweet.”

Another book full of delicious food and family fun brought to you by an award-winning author-illustrator team. Although no holiday is cited, this would be a great choice for reading at Thanksgiving or any time in December. It could also serve as a writing prompt for describing a family tradition, using the strong verbs and adjectives throughout the story as examples.