The Unbeatable Bread - Hardcover

Hoopes, Lyn Littlefield

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0803716125 ISBN 13: 9780803716124

Publisher: Dial, 1996

Synopsis

Hastening the coming of spring by baking a magical, "unbeatable" bread and chanting a rollicking incantation, Uncle Jon brings the sleepy winter world to life with the homemade bread's delicious aroma. Jr Lib Guild.

About this title

From Publishers Weekly:

Hoopes (Half a Button) concocts a catchy, image-rich rhyming text, with a tempo that rises and drifts and winds like the aroma of Uncle Jon's "unbeatable bread" as it wafts its way through a sleepy town. "It whispered 'round snowmen/ stooped under trees,/ and whistled in hives of honeybees,/ rose into bedrooms,/ rumbled in snores,/ and crept with the spiders over nursery doors." Aunt Lucy's admonitions ("Uncle Jon, you've baked enough!") are in vain when Uncle Jon decides to create a bread made of "the yellow of the morning sun," "a whistle in the wind" and "clouds on the run." Sneed (When the Fly Flew In) catches the mood with fanciful compositions. Humorous, subtle exaggerations in perspective and of facial and body features offset the muted tones of his densely layered oil palette. Genial, rotund Uncle Jon tiptoes with the grace of a ballet dancer when reaching for his precious ingredients. After the buildup, one expects the bread to be or look like something more than an ordinary, golden loaf. With the arrival of clamoring children, pets and forest creatures drawn to its scent, however, its crowd-pleasing properties are undeniable. The same could be said of this warm-as-toast tale. Ages 4-8.
Copyright 1996 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From School Library Journal:

PreSchool-Grade 2?Uncle John wakes from a deep winter sleep determined to bake "an unbeatable bread." Undeterred by his wife's protests that there is no one around to eat his creation, the man sings while mixing and measuring. The smell of baking bread rouses not only their human neighbors but also the hibernating animals from the countryside. By the time the loaf comes out of the oven, a crowd has gathered to share the treat. Hoopes's rollicking text moves along at a good pace with bouncy read-aloud appeal. However, it's Sneed's wonderful oil paintings that will send readers hurrying to the kitchen. Uncle John's larger-than-life stature and ambition are exemplified best in the depiction of him as he plucks fluff from passing clouds to add to the dough while the waking sun stretches in his mixing spoon. The tendrils of song and fragrance that shake the winter world from sleep beckon viewers across the pages. Anyone who has awakened to smells of cinnamon and yeast will appreciate the culinary talents of Uncle John and the picture-book talents of Hoopes and Sneed.?Kathy Piehl, Mankato State University, MN
Copyright 1996 Reed Business Information, Inc.

About this edition

• Publisher: Dial
• Publication date: 1996
• ISBN 10: 0803716125
• ISBN 13: 9780803716124
• Binding: Hardcover
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 32