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Peeny Butter Fudge: 03/05/18
Two years ago saw release of two books involving parents and children cooking that have sparked protest over the depiction of smiling slaves: A Fine Dessert by Emily Jenkins and A Birthday Cake for George Washington by Ramin Ganeshram. Parents and children do cook together, it's a way for the generations to bond. It's a way to pass down family recipes. It's a way to teach life skills. But the narrative depiction of food: cooking it or preparing can bring tons of excess baggage. Food as narrative is so laden with gender roles, racism, stereotypes, sex, etc. etc. that authors writing for children need to write with care and consideration. One way to circumvent troubles in this type of story is to make the story about a grandparent and grandchild, and to keep the story within the confines of a single family. Peeny Butter Fudge by Toni Morrison and Slade Morrison does exactly that. It's about a mother leaving her children in the care of their grandmother so she can go to work. She leaves a schedule and menu behind to make things as easy on Granny as possible. Of course the instant Mom leaves, the fun begins, culminating in the creation of peeny butter fudge. The book includes fudge recipe, something similar one of the fudge recipes my own grandmother made. Five stars Comments (0) |