Independence Cake

Starred review from March 6, 2017
Next to nothing is known about Amelia Simmons, whose American Cookery, published in 1796, was the first cookbook to be written by an American and to incorporate native ingredients. So Hopkinson (Steamboat School) and Potter (This Is My Dollhouse) create a lively backstory for this culinary revolutionary. Orphaned and sent to work as a housemaid for the frazzled Mrs. Bean, Amelia impresses with her unflappable demeanor and soon takes over the kitchen. “We are independent now,” she tells Mrs. Bean. “I want to learn good, plain American cookery and share recipes with my fellow citizens.” She wows the Bean children with cornmeal flapjacks and President Washington with a slice of Independence Cake created for his inauguration. Hopkinson’s text can be a little on the nose (“You’ve brightened our lives like a star on the flag,” says Mrs. Bean), but Potter’s signature rendering style is an ideal match for the subject matter, her flattened perspectives, understated expressions, and creamy colors harking back to 18th-century portraiture. Both budding chefs and those who happily (and patriotically) consume their handiwork will eat this up. Ages 4–8. Author’s agent: Steven Malk, Writers House.

March 1, 2017
The true history of Amelia Simmons, the author of America's first cookbook, has been lost. Enter this whimsical, fictionalized account of what could've been, delectable cakes included!After Amelia's parents die in the first two sentences, the mob-capped white girl is taken in by Mrs. Bean to help with chores and watch her six rambunctious sons, all also white. Amelia cleans clothes, scrubs pots, picks apples, and that's only half of it! What she doesn't already know how to do, she learns. Mrs. Bean is ever so grateful. "You've brightened our lives like a star on the flag." In addition to her chores, Amelia wants "to learn good, plain American cookery and [to] share recipes with my fellow citizens." Soon, Amelia is inventing delicious new recipes using American ingredients and becomes the talk of the town, eventually baking the titular (enormous!) cake in honor of the newly elected president, George Washington. The tale presents a distinctly rosy vision of life as an orphaned "bound girl" in late-18th-century America. Too good to be true? Perhaps. But Hopkinson's lively text--rife with allegorical Americana--and Potter's charming watercolor-and-ink illustrations team up to tell an entertaining story. Readers will delight in spotting every single rosy-cheeked Bean boy on the page, all up to no good! One part fiction, one part history lesson, this likable story is an amusing introduction to one slice of early American life. (author's note, recipe) (Picture book. 4-8)

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April 1, 2017
Gr 3-5-Just as cooks wash their hands before they get to work, so does Hopkinson come clean about this story: Amelia Simmons, the writer of the first American cookbook, did exist, but almost everything else in the following pages is a delightful concoction based on the scant details known about her life. Amelia describes herself as -an American orphan-: her father is imagined to be a fallen soldier; her mother, a victim of smallpox; and Amelia, a -bound girl- taken in by a large family to help with the household. She learns to cook English dishes and eventually creates new recipes using local ingredients, such as winter squash for pudding and cornmeal for flapjacks. Culinary parallels to the Revolutionary War are cleverly woven throughout, and the watercolor and ink illustrations, relying on a delectable, warm palette, depict red apples, pumpkins, lemons, pickles, and sacks of grain. Though the details are made up, Amelia is still an inspiring character, so much so that readers may even want to tackle the -independence cake- recipe, with its 20 pounds of flour and 15 pounds of sugar. An author's note and links for modern versions of Election Day cakes are also included. VERDICT A strange but appealing bit of Americana that might fit into some history and maker units. Like most confections, it's an additional but nonessential purchase.-Joanna K. Fabicon, Los Angeles Public Library

Copyright 2017 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

April 1, 2017
Preschool-G In 1789, an orphan goes to live with Mrs. Bean and her six sons, to help with household chores. Amelia Simmons washes clothes, scrubs pots, picks apples, feeds chickens, gathers eggs, spins, knits, sews, quilts, weaves, and hoes. She teaches herself to read and learns to cook exceedingly well. When the town wishes to honor General Washington after his election, Amelia bakes 13 Independence Cakes and presents a slice to the incoming president, who proclaims it, Delicious! The book's inviting introduction and informative author's note explain that little is known of Simmons, the first American to write a cookbook (American Cookery, 1796), except that she calls herself an orphan. Perhaps somewhat restrained by choosing a little-known historical figure, Hopkinson fictionalizes Amelia as a paragon of virtue and adds enough convincing details to make the story plausible, if rather bland. Painted in a style that suits the period, Potter's watercolor-and-ink illustrations have the charm of folk art and, in depicting the boys' antics, add action to the story. A pretty picture book featuring an obscure historical figure.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2017, American Library Association.)