African American Tea Cakes History: What youngsters feel as their loving grandparents grow older is beautifully captured in this narrative, which is perfect for both adults and children alike. While his mother is at work, Tosh spends time with his grandmother, Grandma Honey. Teacake baking is Tosh’s favorite pastime. Grandma tells Tosh the story of his great-great-great-great-great grandmother, who made them for her master’s family, every time. Throughout the novel, both reader and Tosh are transported back in time. As Grandma Honey ages, she begins to forget things, & Tosh becomes concerned when she isn’t herself. Tosh must retell the narrative to Grandma in order to help her retain the details. Illustrations by Caldecott Honor-winning artist E. B. Lewis are as lifelike as the story itself. With a family tea cake recipe included, this book is sure to be a hit with any youngster who has a close relationship with their grandparents. As a read-aloud, it will satisfy the requirements of the Social Studies curriculum. Prediction lessons will be a snap with this one.
An Ohio library media specialist by the name of Karen Gedeon
Kirkus:
It’s a picture book that’s both sweet and substantive, thanks to the exquisite watercolor imagery and the earnest language.”
Honey, the boy’s great-grandmother, is the subject of a charming story by Lyons that has an unexpected twist. His grandmother’s tales of how she learnt to create her wonderful african american tea cakes history fascinates little Tosh. Tosh’s grandmother adds a dash of pride in her lineage and her past to every spoonful of sugar or cup of flour she adds to the batter. It’s a means to ensure that this tradition lives on for future generations by sharing her cooking practice with her grandson. Honey’s knowledge and sweets are devoured by Tosh. Tosh decides to put his memory to use when Honey’s memory gets stuck in weird locations. Honey’s kitchen is brought to life in realistic detail by Caldecott Honoree Lewis (Coming Home Soon, 2004). For her memories, Lewis shifts from full-color paintings to monochrome greys or blues, sharpening and softening our focus in the same way that memories fade and resurface.
He’s charming, but the hugs are still absent.”
According To School Library Journal:
‘Tosh and his grandma Honey enjoy a special link that has been established by a story that she’s been telling him throughout his life.'” Our ancestors were enslaved long before you and I were born. Following that, she tells the story of a plantation cook who smuggled African American tea cakes history out of the master’s house in order to provide her grandchildren with a taste of freedom. Tosh bakes the tea cakes for Honey when she exhibits signs of old age & forgetfulness, assuring that the tradition will continue. Lyons does an excellent job of demonstrating how intergenerational relationships teach us to value the past while also looking to the future with hope and optimism. To underscore the passage of time, Lewis uses grey and white to represent long-ago plantation life in watercolors that are amazingly realistic.
Publishing Weekly Reports:
In the case of the cakes that Tosh’s grandma, Honey, bakes for him, anecdotes often accompany the recipes that have been passed down through the family. A narrative of a master cook who would hide a few of her famous tea cakes for her children and also other young slaves is told by Honey in Lewis’ milky watercolors, which change from color to sepia. Honey’s memory is fading, so Tosh arranges a sort of role reversal, baking tea cakes for Honey & recounting her the story of Ida. His words “took his granny from her seat to the plantation,” where neither had ever been but where their hearts had long known,’ writes Lyons (Ellens Broom). Recipe cards display the ingredients needed to make tea cakes (a recipe is also included), underscoring the concept that a few simple ingredients can create not only a treat but, as Honey puts it, “a promise of days to come.” Caldecott Honoree Lewis’s (Coming on Home Soon) watercolors glow with intergenerational tenderness and familial pride.
The Following Is An Excerpt From The Publication Booklist:
“Grandma Honey’s golden african american tea cakes are one of Tosh’s favorite treats. In addition, he is fascinated by her tales of a courageous family history that dates back to slavery. Great-great-great-great-grandmother Ida was barred from giving her children and also other young slaves Ida’s tea cakes, but she hid a couple in her pocket and risked a lash to give the children “a taste of delicious freedom.” For the past, Lewis uses magnificent full-page watercolour sepia tones to convey the warm, personal story.
These depict the intimate relationship between Toshio and his grandmother as they spends their afternoons together. Tosh’s tea cakes bring back fond memories for Grandma Honey, who had begun to forget things until then. A sepia-toned image of Grandmother Ida on the plantation is followed by a close embrace between Tosh & his grandmother now at the climax of the film. The final, complete recipes adds to the enduring tale of bravery and compassion.
She was Hazel Rochman.
Honor Awards From Skipping Stones:
A small boy’s experience is told in this heart-wrenching novel.”
Tosh is a young boy who enjoys spending time with his grandma Honey. Honey’s exquisite african american tea cakes history, which smell like “vanilla blended with sunshine” and deliver a taste that “warms his heart,” are always a treat for Tosh when he visits. Sweets aren’t the only thing Honey has going for her.
Tosh is always reminded of the story of how she came to be.
familiar with their unusual sense of style… This book is a good example of how African-American history is passed down from one generation to the next. When Tosh was young, he had the ability to identify a certain meal with stories, and at the conclusion of the book, readers would understand why. The stories of the plantation & Grandma Ida’s tea cakes fade away as Grandma Honey’s memory fails.
are safeguarded by Tosh, who is most likely to distribute the
With his children, he tells the same stories. Tosh’s Tea Cakes is a
any youngster will enjoy this book’s vibrant celebration of the holiday season
The connection between food, stories, and family.”
Kamiiya Williams, a student at the University of Oregon, is an African American.
Patrik’s Pick In Essence:
Tosh’s grandmother, Grandma Honey (G.P. Putnam & Sons, $16.99), may not be a real person, but she makes Tea Cakes to Tosh come alive for this young reader.” For the holiday or any time of year, this sweet one is ideal.”
According To Historian Michael W. Twitty, An African And African American,
For those of us who can’t get enough of african american tea cakes history, this book by Kelly Starling Lyons is a must-have. My mother and grandmother taught me how to cook and bake when I was young, and this book does the same for young readers by using food as a means of transporting them to the beginnings of our history and revealing a little bit about who we are as a people now. Acknowledging slavery’s significance in African American history, the book examines how ageing affects young people and how they feel when confronted with the issues their elders endure. One of the best stories I’ve ever read. The imagery are stunningly gorgeous, and the narrative is delightful.
There’s A Teaching For Change Site:
“African American tea cakes history for Tosh by Kelly Starling Lyons, author of Ellen’s Broom & illustrated by maestro E.B. Lewis is a priceless new resource and picture book. An African-American kid named Tosh learns how to bake teacakes from his grandmother Honey, whose great-great-great-great-grandmother Ida passed the recipe down to her. “Our ancestors were enslaved,” Honey continues, “far before you and I were born.” Ida cooked these cookies, but she was forbidden from feeding them with her own children, despite the fact that she had done so. Some days, my grandmother, Grandma Ida, produced a few extra of the perfect size for hiding in her pocket. To offer the children a taste of independence, she risked being whipped.” When a youngster asks a question, an adult can respond. This is the only reference of violence in the text. Grandma Honey begins to forget even the things she know by heart, such as the recipe, as she gets older. The more Tosh bakes, the more he finds he already has the recipe memorized from his mother. It’s his turn to tell the tale when he gives Grandma Honey the cookies. It is at this point that Honey join in the story, and “their words fly free.”
Early childhood educator Amy Rothschild, who is also a Teaching for Change volunteer, is featured in this article.
DUE TO ELBERT MACKEY,
The Tea Cake Roundup’s Author:
“Tea and Cakes for Tosh effectively emphasizes the affection between a grandma and grandson. It’s a fantastic book for kids of all ages, and I think everyone will like it. The illustrations in this book are superb, and the tale it portrays is one of great courage.”
The Following Is An Excerpt From A Letter From Washington Parent:
African American Tea Cakes History: In recognition of a generosity of Christmas, Hanukkah mitzvahs or Kwanzaa’s kuumba (unity) and Umoja (solidarity) values, this book is a wonderful gift for any child” (creativity). Tosh enjoys helping Honey, his grandma, bake the cookies that his great-grandmother Ida used to prepare. According to Honey’s recollections, an enslaved plantation chef named Ida used to slip tea cakes to the younger slaves, offering them a “taste of sweet freedom.” Tosh takes over making the cookies and telling his grandma the tea-cake family narrative she first told him when he was a child. In this beautiful narrative by Kelly Starling Lyons, Caldecott Honoree E. B. Lewis’ soft-toned watercolors create the sense of love & generational connection.”