The Baker's Dozen [Paperback]

Heather Forest (Author), Susan Gaber (Illustrator)

Book Description

Age Level: 4 and up | Grade Level: K and up | Series: Voyager Books

In this retelling of a colonial tale about how thirteen became a baker’s dozen, a greedy baker almost loses his business before he discovers the joys of giving.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

The baker Van Amsterdam becomes known far and wide in Colonial America for his St. Nicholas cookies and, in his prosperity, becomes stingy about his ingredients. When an old woman buys a dozen cookies from him and expects to receive 13, he withholds the last one. His business falls off until the day she returns for 12 more cookies, and he gives her an extra measure. After that, the custom of offering a "baker's dozen"or 13 itemsis secure. Graber's elegant watercolors are vivid and stylized, showing a dusted palette of burgundies with charcoal and burnished oranges. This is a fine explanation of a longstanding custom, and Forest backs it up with an author's note on the facts. Ages 4-8.
Copyright 1988 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From School Library Journal

Kindergarten-Grade 4-- Because the term "baker's dozen" may be unfamiliar to most children, this folk tale will need some introduction. In colonial New York there lived a baker whose special St. Nicholas cookies brought him fame and fortune until he refused to give an old woman 13 cookies for the price of a dozen, and his greed almost destroys his business. A year later the woman returns, and he honors her request. His business is restored, and the custom of the "baker's dozen" began. Forest has retold the tale in the same smooth, appealing cadence that she uses in her live performances, with each comma and phrase carefully placed to create a musical whole. Several major changes in detail do not detract from the story. (One version of the original can be found in Cothran's With a Wig, with a Wag David McKay, 1968; o.p..) Gaber has covered each page with a white-bordered watercolor/pencil illustration in muted colors that draw readers' eyes toward the old woman's great lavender-flowered black cape and the red icing on the baker's cookies. Many pages feature attractive wide borders filled with items mentioned in the story that sometimes flow beneath the adjacent illustration and become a part of it. --Susan Scheps, Shaker Heights Public Library, Ohio
Copyright 1989 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 4 and up
  
• Paperback: 32 pages
• Publisher: Sandpiper (August 27, 1993)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0152056874
• ISBN-13: 978-0152056872
• Product Dimensions: 10 x 9 x 0.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 5.6 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #755,878 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #54 in Books > Children's Books > Fairy Tales, Folk Tales & Myths > United States

More About the Author

Discover books, learn about writers, read author blogs, and more.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

5.0 out of 5 stars The Baker's Dozen, August 2, 2005

By 

Patricia M. Fagan "drama mama" (ohio) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Baker's Dozen (Paperback)

As a professional storyteller, I am always on the look out for stories that explain "why things are," and "how they came to be."
This will be a delightful tale to add to my collection and use in my drama classes.

1 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Number one Christmas book, December 7, 1999

By 

Cindy Bean (Texas) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Baker's Dozen (Paperback)

The hardcover copy of The Baker's Dozen is my favorite Christmas book. I read it every year to children at a school across from my office.