Book Review: The Pie That Molly Grew

The Pie That Molly Grew by Sue Heavenrich

The Pie That Molly Grew
by Sue Heavenrich

5 out of 5 stars

Molly plants a seed in the ground and it grows into a pumpkin vine. After many months, she has a ripe pumpkin to turn into pumpkin pie for Thanksgiving! At the back of the book, there are instructions and a recipe to make pumpkin pie from scratch. There is also information about pumpkins and how they flower and grow.

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Christmas Books from Candlewick

Bunnies in a Sleigh by Philip Ardagh

Bunnies in a Sleigh: A Crazy Christmas Story! (Sunny Town Bunnies)
by Philip Ardagh, Ben Mantle (Illustrator)

5 out of 5 stars

A group of bunnies descend on the North Pole, causing mayhem in Santa’s workshop. They tag along in the sleigh on Christmas Eve, helping Santa to deliver presents, making messes, and getting up to all kinds of wild shenanigans. They drink the milk and eat the cookies set out for Santa. They narrowly miss crashing the sleigh. They watch a movie in someone’s house, eat the Christmas candy, get soot all over the carpet, and climb the Christmas trees. These bunnies are crazy, but eventually all the presents have been delivered. Santa and the bunnies go back to the North Pole for a well-deserved snack.

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Non Fiction Review: Everyday Bread Baking

Everyday Bread Baking by Jenny Prior
Everyday Bread Baking: From Simple Sandwich Loaves to Celebratory Holiday Breads
by Jenny Prior,  Thomas J. Story (Photographer)

4 out of 5 stars on GoodReads


This cookbook gives step-by-step instructions for making delicious bread, pretzels, doughnuts, and rolls. There is a special section entirely for holiday sweet breads and desserts.

The introduction gives a lot of information about terminology used in bread baking, like “fermentation, leaven, proofing, and yeast”. It also includes general instructions on kneading the dough, checking the temperature, mixing and measuring, different types of flour, and using “starter” dough. There is a list of types of equipment needed, and a troubleshooting section if something goes wrong.

With step-by-step photos and careful instructions, it’s almost impossible to make a mistake. And there are substitutions suggested in the recipe if you don’t have the right ingredients or starter dough. I really appreciate that there are so many photographs showing each stage of the recipe as the dough rises, then is kneaded, and finally baked. Continue reading