Synopses & Reviews
A young boy helps his beloved grandmother remember an important family story
Tosh loves listening to Grandma Honey tell family stories. His favorite is about the special tea cakes that smell like vanilla and sunshine. They were great-great-great-great-grandma Ida's specialty when she was a cook in the big house of a plantation. Unlike Tosh, the slave children weren't allowed to have any of the treats, though Grandma Ida always found a way to put the sugary sweetness into their hands anyway. It was a promise and taste of freedom to come.
Tosh knows this is an important story and he takes care to remember every word. And when grandma Honey begins to forget, he can return the gift of tea cakes and stories. A touching family tale, Tea Cakes for Tosh celebrates the important bond between grandchild and grandparent and the stories that make a family strong.
Review
Bunting has found an original way to tell an old story about making room for new memories.
Review
"the story offers a hopeful beginning and invites readers to think about ways to remember family history"
Review
"The earnestness...is balanced with tenderness, and Rand's realistic artwork concentrates on the faces of the family and the emotions that cross them."
Review
Bunting has found an original way to tell an old story about making room for new memories.
Kirkus Reviews
"the story offers a hopeful beginning and invites readers to think about ways to remember family history" School Library Journal
"The earnestness...is balanced with tenderness, and Rand's realistic artwork concentrates on the faces of the family and the emotions that cross them." Booklist, ALA
Synopsis
Each button on Lauraand#8217;s memory string represents a piece of her family history. The buttons Laura cherishes the most belonged to her motherand#151;a button from her prom dress, a white one off her wedding dress, and a single small button from the nightgown she was wearing on the day she died. When the string breaks, Lauraand#8217;s new stepmother, Jane, is there to comfort Laura and search for a missing button, just as Lauraand#8217;s mother would have done. But itand#8217;s not the sameand#151;Jane isnand#8217;t Mom. In Eve Buntingand#8217;s moving story, beautifully illustrated by Ted Rand, Laura discovers that a memory string is not just for remembering the past: itand#8217;s also for recording new memories.
Synopsis
The search for a lost button from a cherished memory string helps a young girl cope with the emotional loss of her late mother and become more accepting of the love her stepmother has to give and new memories to be made.
About the Author
Ted Rand was the acclaimed illustrator of more than 70 picture books, including, for Clarion, The Memory String and Secret Place by Eve Bunting and Ice Palace by Deborah Blumenthal. He died in 2005 at his home in Mercer Island, Washington.Storytelling and the magic of words have always been important to Eve Bunting. She grew up in Northern Ireland, where storytelling is a tradition, and came to America as a young mother. Eve writes every day and her ideas come from what excites and interests her. She has the unique ability to address contemporary social issues, from homelessness to illiteracy, in a sensitive manner, and at the same time to explore the dynamics of family relationships. Eve Bunting is the author of more than 200 beloved books for young people, from preschoolers to teenagers. Among her many popular picture books for Clarion are THE WALL, FLY AWAY HOME, and TRAIN TO SOMEWHERE. Ms. Bunting lives in Pasadena, California.