UNCLE PHIL'S DINER

On a wintry Sunday morning, Ruthie and her papa set out to walk nine blocks through a snow storm to have breakfast at Uncle Phil’s diner. As they trudge through quiet streets, and mountainous snow drifts, they speculate on the feast Uncle Phil is preparing for his customers: piles of pancakes with blueberries preserved from the summer cottage in the mountains, rugelach, apple strudel, turnovers, sugar buns. To make the journey shorter and keep warm, Ruthie and her father chant lists of the delights awaiting them, and when they arrive, the diner is just as wonderful as they imagined. The illustrations set this in the late 1940s, with gentlemen wearing homburgs and bulky overcoats, and ladies decked out in their Sunday hats. All the watercolor illustrations are laid out as mounted snapshots in an old-fashioned photo album, with the text appearing as captions. A charming reminiscence. (Picture book. 5-7)