"We could try another recipe?
I really don't think that's a good idea.
It'll probably turn out terrible.
I don't get WHY, though.
I mean, I get that you don't feel great
at the start, but baking usually makes
you feel at least a little better towards
the end of it.
Shouldn't that count for something?
I don't know."
Yesterday's post was about family, food, and magic. Today's, while totally different in all other ways, has similar themes. Emily, her mom and her aunt Gina run a family bakery. Their special kind of magic is baking emotions into the desserts they create. If you need confidence, just let them know. They will whip up some millionaire shortbread. Cannoli for contentment; iced donuts for excitement; steamed cheesecake for relief are just some of the treats created to help their customers.
Emily and her best friend Dae are ready to get started at baking some Millionaire Shortbread Cookies under Aunt Gina's watchful eye. After supper, Emily and her aunt make a call to Emily's mother who is away teaching about their style of baking. Aunt Gina is the caregiver (and a great one she is) while Mom is away. Mom gets home for a monthly family dinner, and life goes on.
Emily continues learning under her aunt's tutelage, and shares her baking with classmates. A car accident that claims the life of Aunt Gina, and the heartache it brings, proves that baking bad feelings into desserts is not a good thing. The 'crumble' she makes tastes awful but her friends cannot get enough of it. She accidentally makes her classmates sick. Mom's return is fraught with worry as she tries to deal with her own grief, and the demands of the bakery which has never been her forte.
"Mom is busy trying to understand how the bakery works,
and she always wants to talk, but then she starts crying
and I just end up making her feel worse rather than better."
It takes time and a great deal of patience for mother and daughter to adjust to this new life without Aunt Gina, and to accept the changes that have turned their world upside down. The writing is clear and heartfelt. Andrea Bell's illustrations offer a careful look at the characters, at the changing emotions, and the roller coaster that is grief. Wordless panels allow readers time to consider each character's feelings and reactions.
Back matter provides resources for anyone experiencing what Emily is feeling. The spiral notebook-like pages included for a number of the bakery's recipes will have readers wanting to try their hand. Both author and illustrator add a favorite recipe of their own, and a personal note about each.
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