Most of us probably don’t make bread very often, if at all. We buy it at the store or the bakery or maybe we have one of those nifty bread machines that does all the work for us.
I admit, I’ve only made certain sweetbreads and muffins at holiday times, never a loaf of the more standard stuff. So when my husband started up his bread-making experiments (yes I have a husband who bakes!) I quickly became familiar with the smell of a loaf baking and the taste of freshly made bread with a bit of butter or honey. It’s a small pleasure that’s easy to overlook.
Bread has been made for thousands of years, and it’s still considered a staple of many meals. Breadmaking is a practice that reminds us of home and hearth. Of the simple and essential things in our lives. And much to my bemusement, it took my husband to bring this domestic treat back into our family.
In my current collection of books for my son, there is one titled Blue Bowl Down by C. M. Millen, illustrated by Holly Meade that captures the pattern and essence of old fashioned bread-making.
My son and I read this book together every morning and it’s grown on me with every read (and on Liam; he’s gone from trying to turn the page every 2 seconds to pointing to things in the pictures and waiting for me to finish reading) The rhyme is a simple poem extrapolated from Appalachian tradition and style. It details the ritual of making bread that was once a common occurrence in many households where bread dough was mixed in the evening and left to rise overnight, then baked early in the morning. It’s a sweet, repetitive text that remains faithful to a comfortable rhythm that makes it a perfect going to bed book. Rather than relying on exact rhymes, the stanzas feature close rhymes resulting in a less formal style and a much more natural progression. As I am someone who tends to get hot under the collar from forced rhymes and awkward phrasing crafted just to complete a rhyme, it was a pleasure to encounter this book.
“Lift your arms up, little baby/ lift your arms up, little baby/ Reach them high up to the ledge./ Lift the bowl to make our bread,/ down the blue bowl, little baby.”
The story and pictures are easy to follow. A mother and child spend the evening making bread dough in a big ceramic blue bowl, then the bread—and child—rest overnight. In the morning the mother has made the loaves of bread. The last picture shows the child eating his morning bread outside on the grass by the chickens. It’s a simple story, perfect for a gentle morning or a goodnight read—and great for an introduction to the making of bread. I’m hoping in a few months to have my son “help” my husband with his his bread making!. The pictures in this book are all warm hued and soft edged—a combination of watercolor and collage that Holly Meade has used with great skill to give this book the glow of hearth and home. Mother and child are the only actual people in this book—moving through the house and yard as they prepare and make the bread. The only other characters are the occasional cats and chickens that creep into the corners of the images, adding to the warm and cozy background setting.
For those who are looking for picture books about bread and bread-making, you might also check out. The Little Red Hen (various authors) or Bread is for Eating by David and Phillis Gershator.
I admit, I’ve only made certain sweetbreads and muffins at holiday times, never a loaf of the more standard stuff. So when my husband started up his bread-making experiments (yes I have a husband who bakes!) I quickly became familiar with the smell of a loaf baking and the taste of freshly made bread with a bit of butter or honey. It’s a small pleasure that’s easy to overlook.
Bread has been made for thousands of years, and it’s still considered a staple of many meals. Breadmaking is a practice that reminds us of home and hearth. Of the simple and essential things in our lives. And much to my bemusement, it took my husband to bring this domestic treat back into our family.
In my current collection of books for my son, there is one titled Blue Bowl Down by C. M. Millen, illustrated by Holly Meade that captures the pattern and essence of old fashioned bread-making.
My son and I read this book together every morning and it’s grown on me with every read (and on Liam; he’s gone from trying to turn the page every 2 seconds to pointing to things in the pictures and waiting for me to finish reading) The rhyme is a simple poem extrapolated from Appalachian tradition and style. It details the ritual of making bread that was once a common occurrence in many households where bread dough was mixed in the evening and left to rise overnight, then baked early in the morning. It’s a sweet, repetitive text that remains faithful to a comfortable rhythm that makes it a perfect going to bed book. Rather than relying on exact rhymes, the stanzas feature close rhymes resulting in a less formal style and a much more natural progression. As I am someone who tends to get hot under the collar from forced rhymes and awkward phrasing crafted just to complete a rhyme, it was a pleasure to encounter this book.
“Lift your arms up, little baby/ lift your arms up, little baby/ Reach them high up to the ledge./ Lift the bowl to make our bread,/ down the blue bowl, little baby.”
The story and pictures are easy to follow. A mother and child spend the evening making bread dough in a big ceramic blue bowl, then the bread—and child—rest overnight. In the morning the mother has made the loaves of bread. The last picture shows the child eating his morning bread outside on the grass by the chickens. It’s a simple story, perfect for a gentle morning or a goodnight read—and great for an introduction to the making of bread. I’m hoping in a few months to have my son “help” my husband with his his bread making!. The pictures in this book are all warm hued and soft edged—a combination of watercolor and collage that Holly Meade has used with great skill to give this book the glow of hearth and home. Mother and child are the only actual people in this book—moving through the house and yard as they prepare and make the bread. The only other characters are the occasional cats and chickens that creep into the corners of the images, adding to the warm and cozy background setting.
For those who are looking for picture books about bread and bread-making, you might also check out. The Little Red Hen (various authors) or Bread is for Eating by David and Phillis Gershator.
Accelerated Reading level : 1.8
- Hardcover: 32 pages
- Publisher: Candlewick (April 12, 2004)
- ISBN-10: 0763618179
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The Negro Speaks of Rivers by Langston Huges
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The Brook (Tennyson)
for kids in general
Twilight Comes Twice
For little ones
April is Poetry Month
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1 comment :
Love this, Steph.
And as far as Little Red Hen goes, we vote for the Paul Galdone version. Very classic looking. http://amzn.to/9csiS3
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