Tea Cakes for Tosh

When family recipes are passed down from one generation to the next, stories often accompany them; so it is with the tea cakes that Tosh's grandmother, Honey, bakes for him. Lewis's milky watercolors shift from color to sepia as Honey shares the story of Tosh's "great-great-great-great-grandma Ida," an expert cook who would secret away a couple of her famous tea cakes to give to her children and other young slaves. Back in the present, however, Honey's memory is becoming spotty, and Tosh organizes a role reversal of sorts, baking tea cakes for Honey and telling her Ida's story. "In a blink, Tosh's words carried his grandma from her seat to the plantation, a place neither had been but their hearts knew well," writes Lyons (Ellen's Broom). Caldecott Honoree Lewis's (Coming on Home Soon) watercolors glow with intergenerational tenderness and %E2%80%A8familial pride; recipe cards showcase the items needed to make tea cakes (a recipe is also included), underscoring the idea that a few simple ingredients can create not just a treat but, as Honey puts it, "a promise of days to come." Ages 5%E2%80%938. Agent: Dwyer & O'Grady. (Dec.)