TEA CAKES FOR TOSH

Detailed watercolor art pairs precisely with earnest, delicate prose to create a gentle yet substantive picture book.

Lyons delivers a sweet tale of a boy and his grandma, Honey, that has an unexpected twist. Little Tosh delights in his grandmother's stories about how she learned to make her delicious tea cakes. Heaping scoops of family history along with each spoon of sugar or measured cup of flour, Tosh's grandmother spices her tales with more than cinnamon—she laces the batter with pride in her heritage and her past. Sharing her cooking ritual with her grandson is a way to ensure this legacy has a future. Tosh eats it up—both Honey’s wisdom and her treats. When, little by little, Honey’s memory gets stuck in odd places, Tosh decides to put his memory to work. Caldecott Honoree Lewis (Coming on Home Soon, 2004) delivers realistic, evocative paintings that place readers right in Honey’s kitchen. Shifting from full-color paintings to monochrome grays or blues for her reminiscences, Lewis sharpens and softens our focus just as memories go bright then fade.

A charmer; all that’s missing are the hugs.