I love it! The story and the old time feel of the illustrations.

Deborah Hopkinson is excellent at depicting historical themes. The story is informative, and children can relate to wanting to help the grownups and learn. Though it would normally be older children these days learning household arts, young ones are still interested.

Nancy Carpenter researched 19th century etchings and engravings for the look of the period. She has captured the spirit of a young girl wanting to help and learn and making mistakes in the process. Beautiful work.

The story is loosely based on the life of Fannie Farmer, who wrote one of the first American cookbooks after teaching at the Boston Cooking School. It takes place in the Shaw home, where Fannie worked as a mother's helper before teaching cooking. In the story, she teaches and befriends the daughter of the household and writes cooking instructions to help the girl. From there, her recipes are borrowed, and she gains fame within Boston. There is a short bio at the end as well.

related-Fannie Farmer, cooking and cookbooks, importance of measurements, helpfulness
RL=1st-2nd, readaloud with preK-1st