“Cooking is like love. It should be entered into with abandon or not at all.” – Julia Child
“Your every act should be done with love.” – 1 Corinthians 16:14
Reading Level
Grades Pre-K–3
Possible Concerns
There are no concerns with this book.
Review and Comments
Mr. and Mrs. Peters are the proud parents of seven beautiful children who are perfect in every way except they are all extremely picky when it comes to what they will eat. Each of the children eats only one particular, favorite food, and their mother happily accommodates their silly eating habits. After all, she loves them for who they are – charming, never cross, and perfect. She is also pleased they all have healthy appetites. However, by the time the sixth and seventh children are born, she isn’t calling their menu demands “silly” anymore. She identifies them as “persnickety.” Mother works diligently to keep up with their ever increasing appetites. She is tired!
When Mother’s birthday approaches, the children hatch a plan to prepare a special breakfast for her. Their plan consists of making all their favorite foods. They want to share their love and serve their Mother just as she loves and sacrifices for them. The one major problem with their plan is that no one knows how to cook. They begin mixing and concocting but their simple plan escalates into one huge mess. The children feel defeated and afraid of the chaos they created so the final product is quickly hidden in the hot oven.
The next morning Mother sees the remaining clutter all over the kitchen, and she also finds a delicious smelling perfect, pink cake in the oven. Her reaction is pure joy as she dances and hugs each of her children. They make sure to give her an account of what each one of them contributed to the cake too. Then of course the family celebrates Mother’s birthday with a party.
After the party, there is a big change in the family’s eating habits. The family agrees they have finally found one food that “is good for everyone.” All the children can now be found in the kitchen making Mother’s birthday cake, from preparation to clean up. And the outcome of their cooperation in the kitchen allows Mother a little extra time to relax and pursue a favorite pastime.
The wonderful illustrations in this book take center stage. The reader will want to inspect every page brimming with action and special nooks and crannies filled with entertaining details. The illustrations show the house morph from an organized and tidy home to one that is overflowing with unfinished chores and a kitchen filled with all the prep work it takes to feed very picky children. Even with all the activity presented, the illustrations show a loving and happy family.
Two more reviews from young readers
“I thought the book was good. I like the part when the kids made a cake for the mom. I like happy endings. If I was in that family I would eat pizza everyday because I like pepperoni.” – Wyatt, 6 years old
“I like how the kids all tried to cook but instead it was a disaster. Then, they stuffed it in the oven but didn’t know it was hot. It turned out to be a beautiful, pink cake. If I was in that family I would eat macaroni and cheese every day because it’s my favorite food!” – Lily, 8 years old
Further Discussion
This story can be used to supplement many English lessons.
- It is written in rhyme, and it is a good resource to teach or reinforce rhyming.
- Action Verbs: serve, spilled, prepare, eat, bellow, squeezed, mop, giggle, grew, peel, frown, dump strained, mutter, rolled, pinning, diapering, mix, groan, whisper, wiped, heaved, shook, chopped, stirred, measure, dumped, threw, tossed, poured, flung, slept, wished, stuck, stepped, smelled, sniffed, woke, running, dancing, mixing, fixing
- Adjectives: little, perfect, cold, hot, warm, proper, sweet, kind, patiently, darling, new, small, fair, curly, blue, pink, homemade, silly, three, one, two, brown, black, happy, young, charming, round, plump, four, foolish, precious, darling, bright, healthy, soft, squishy, splendid, brand-new, quick, smart, poached, fried, persnickety, creamy, special, secret, happy, grim, grumpy, icky, sticky, double, hot, six, good, pink, perfect, piping, high, light, smooth, single, simple
- Vocabulary: temperature, homemade, rind, cross, charming, strain, foolish, appetite, feebly, fussy, splendid, impossible, poached, persnickety, peck, wreck, realize, wearily, crack of dawn, mood, weary, despite, hodgepodge, depressed, plump, piping,
After reading the book, it might be fun to try a new recipe such as:
- Applesauce Cake https://www.allrecipes.com/recipe/7380/applesauce-cake-i/
- Brown Sugar Oatmeal Cookies https://thepioneerwoman.com/cooking/brown-sugar-oatmeal-cookies/
- Kid Friendly Bread in a Bag (mini loaves) https://joyfulhomemaking.com/2016/12/kid-friendly-bread-bag-mini-loaves.html
Catholic Resources
Patron saints of large families or parents of large families:
St. Joseph [feast day Mrch19]
St. Margaret of Scotland [feast day November 16]
St. Nicholas of Flüe [feast day March 21]
St. Thomas More [feast day June 22]
St. Adelaide of Burgundy [feast day December 16]
St. Clotilde [feast day June 3]
Sacrifice is one theme in this story. It is an important part of following Jesus Christ. Mothers sacrifice their time and energy to care for children while fathers sacrifice in their jobs to provide for the family. To be worthwhile, sacrifice must be freely chosen.
Serving others is the secondary obligation of a person.