  | Full Text Reviews: School Library Journal - 02/01/2008 Gr 3-6-Set in 1945 Chicago, this story about growing up in a Jewish family seems more like a fictionalized reminiscence than a novel. Dorrie Meyers is excited to start fifth grade and anticipates the annual "Sweet Semester" recipe/essay contest. Recipes tied to holidays and other events are scattered throughout, from "Hot Fudge Sundae" to "Chocolate Rapture Cake." While the idea of re-creating the era with recipes as a device is a good one, the disjointed sentences and choppy dialogue keep this simplistic story from ever getting off the ground. There are numerous references to movie stars and other figures of the era, including Ruth Wakefield, who invented the chocolate chip cookie (no recipe included), but neither they nor Hazel Bishop lipstick and Betsy Belle magazine are likely to resonate with readers. Sunny Shapiro, Dorrie's friend, is introduced on the first page, but doesn't show up again until the fifth chapter. In the meantime, a story line develops around the family's sole Holocaust survivor, who is living in a DP camp, and who eventually joins them. Pham's illustrations capture the period well. The author's The Memory Cupboard: A Thanksgiving Story (Albert Whitman, 2003) is a much more enjoyable book for those looking for intergenerational stories.-Cheryl Ashton, Amherst Public Library, OH Copyright 2008 Reed Business Information. - Copyright 2008 Publishers Weekly, Library Journal and/or School Library Journal used with permission. Booklist - 08/01/2008 The excitement surrounding a fifth-grader’s end-of-year bake-off swirls levity into this endearingly illustrated chapter book, while her family’s fears for relatives in post–World War II Europe fold in emotional and historical substance. As Dorrie concocts a series of comically failed foodstuffs, backdrop scenes of her close-knit, Jewish extended family underscore the connections among food, memory, and tradition. It strains belief that the bake-off preoccupies Dorrie so intensely, and some nostalgic episodes seem extraneous. However, the family’s satisfying, “bitter and sweet” reunion with a refugee cousin, who shares a recipe from his lost parents, brings Dorrie’s kitchen journeys to a pitch-perfect close. Accompanying recipes for comfort foods, such as “Bubbie’s Chocolate Mandel Bread,” will entice readers, who will benefit from adult help (as much for the safety issues as for the recipes’ occasional lack of detail). Readers new to chapter books will find a cozy companion in Dorrie, an irrepressible character reminiscent of Carolyn Haywood’s 1940s-era Betsy. - Copyright 2008 Booklist. Loading...
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