Book Reviews:

“Readers will have a hard time resisting this cover: a grinning boy of nine or ten is lord of the pile of treats in front of him: teacakes he bakes with his grandmother as the culmination of their Saturday visits. Also on the weekly agenda: mowing Mammaw’s lawn and enjoying sandwiches crafted with her just-picked tomatoes. Set in 1964 in Heflin, Alabama, there’s little tension in this vignette–riding his bike there safely through the rural countryside is the hardest part of the boy’s day. The impeccably rendered paintings illustrate with astonishing accuracy the slightly long text and capture the details of the time: gasoline pumps and automobiles in the service station, the boy’s bicycle, and kitchen furnishings that suggest an even earlier time. The author crafted this as a tribute to a childhood tradition with his grandmother, to whom the book is dedicated; while not all of us had his childhood, filled with sunshine and smiles, this nostalgic look back offers up the childhood many of us wish we’d had.” – Kirkus Reviews, February 2004

“Every Saturday morning, the young narrator pedals his bike through town, passing familiar landmarks like the bank and the gas station, until he reaches his grandmother’s house. The two share a special day talking, doing chores, and finally baking and feasting on Mammaw’s special teacakes. Drawing on his childhood in Heflin, AL, the author splendidly re-creates those nostalgic scenes, carefully bringing the memories to life by describing the sunny kitchen, the crunch of gravel under bicycle wheels, and the sweet aroma of the cakes. The brilliant watercolor paintings glow with light and idyllically capture the world of yesterday. Older readers may enjoy sharing this book with their grandparents, and teachers might incorporate it into lessons about writing descriptive memoirs.” – School Library Journal, April 2004

“In this heartwarming nostalgic book, the narrator recalls spending his childhood Saturdays with his grandmother. Every part of the day — riding his bicycle to her house, mowing her lawn, baking and eating sugary teacakes together — is expressed in elegant, evocative prose and resplendent watercolor illustrations.” – Child Magazine, February 2005

“Every Saturday morning, the young narrator pedals his bike through town, passing familiar landmarks like the bank and the gas station, until he reaches his grandmother’s house. The two share a special day talking, doing chores, and finally baking and feasting on Mammaw’s special teacakes. Drawing on his childhood in Heflin, AL, the author splendidly re-creates those nostalgic scenes, carefully bringing the memories to life by describing the sunny kitchen, the crunch of gravel under bicycle wheels, and the sweet aroma of the cakes. The brilliant watercolor paintings glow with light and idyllically capture the world of yesterday. Older readers may enjoy sharing this book with their grandparents, and teachers might incorporate it into lessons about writing descriptive memoirs.” – School Library Journal, April 2004

“The book tells the wonderful story of a boy’s memorable visits to his grandmother every Saturday afternoon. Lester explores that special love between a child and his grandmother with great honesty and integrity, for the story is autobiographical. The time-out-of-time interlude described brings all of us back to our own childhood’s enchanted moments.

The art is by Chris Soentpiet and is nothing less than extraordinary. The detail is so beautiful that the reader is totally enveloped in the magic of the world recreated by Laminack and Soentpiet.

Although the publisher states this books is for ages 4-8, we can see it as a lovely read at many levels, including being read to older family members and friends. We feel it’s something children will go back to again and again for the feelings of comfort and stability it engenders. Just $16.95 for this treasure at your local bookstore.” – Patricia Broderick and Allen Raymond for Teaching K-8, April 2004

“Illustrator Soentpiet notes that his idol is Norman Rockwell, and this picture book, set in rural Alabama in 1964, certainly evokes Rockwell’s idyllic visions of family togetherness. It’s Saturday, and everyone is smiling as a young white boy rides his bike through his small town and over the hills to his grandmother’s house, where she sits on the sunlit porch: “She was waiting for me. No one else. Just me.”Detailed watercolor pictures show the loving bond across generations as the boy mows the lawn in her bright garden, Grandma bakes him delicious teacakes in the kitchen, and together theylisten to the calls of the blue lays around them. Most young children won’t respond to the nostalgia and period detail, but the pictures are gorgeous, and the bond between child and grandparent is timeless.”—Hazel Rochman for Booklist (4/04)