Summary: All the hens in the henhouse lay eggs on a very regular basis. They’re proud of their accomplishments, and can’t understand why P. Zonka refuses to produce anything. Instead, she wanders around admiring the flowers and the sky. Finally, the other hens call her on it and insist that she try to lay an egg. To their surprise, not only does she lay one, but it is beautifully striped and patterned with many colors. P. Zonka never becomes a regular egg layer, but when she does lay one, it is always beautiful and unique, and the hens treat her with new respect.
Pros: This is a story that celebrates dreamers and artists. The productive, hardworking citizens of the henhouse are seen as a bit bossy and self-righteous, while the one who seems to be doing nothing is actually fully engaged in an artistic process. On another level, this story and its illustrations are a good introduction to pysanka egg decorating.
Cons: The message seemed a little bit heavy-handed to me.
Summary: A parent and child work together to make a serve a dessert called blackberry fool in four different centuries. In 1710 England, a girl and her mother beat cream with a bundle of twigs to whip it, pick and strain blackberries, and store their concoction in an ice pit set into a hillside. 100 years later, a mother and daughter who are slaves in Charleston, South Carolina do the same thing, using the tools available to them at that time. The process is repeated by a mother/daughter pair in 1910 Boston, and finally, by a father and son in San Diego in 2010. The author’s note at the end suggests topics of discussion, not only noticing the changes in technology and food preparation, but also the inclusion of slaves and the fact that a boy and his father would probably not have been in the kitchen before the late 20th century. Don’t worry, a recipe is included!
