Cherry Pies and Lullabies [Hardcover]

Lynn Reiser (Author, Illustrator)

Book Description

Publication Date: April 14, 1998 | Age Level: 4 and up | Grade Level: P and up

Here is a book about everyday love and how one family expresses it. Four generations of mothers and daughters share family traditions that are the same but become slightly different as the times change. And whether they are sharing cherry pies or quilts or lullabies, what matters is that it is done with unconditional love. Lynn Reiser has created this spectacular picture book -- and its English-Spanish companion, Tortillas and Lullabies, Tortillas y cancioncitas -- for all families to read and share.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Cherry pie is the appetizing first course in Reiser's (Best Friends Think Alike) mirthful celebration of domestic traditions. With each appearance of the treat, a new generation is marked: fresh-picked cherries are baked in the homemade pies of the narrator's great-grandmother on the farm; cherries are retrieved from a tin can in the grandmother's suburban kitchen; cherries come frozen in the microwave pie that the narrator's business-suited, urban mother "bakes" for her; and cherries are made from clay in the pie the girl serves her teddy bear. "Every time it was the same, but different," sings the refrain. After the pies, Reiser offers similar treatment to family traditions of making garlands of flowers (once gathered in fields, now wrapped from the florist) and quilts (once hand-sewn, now store-bought). But when Reiser turns to lullabies, she delivers a pleasing surprise: each mother sings them the very same way. (Music for Brahms's "Lullaby" appears at the end, with Reiser's lyrics.) The illustrations, flat and boldly outlined, are true to Reiser's established style. The depictions of women border on stereotype?the great-grandmother with her spectacles and old-fashioned bib apron; grandmother with her perky '50s hairdo and sewing machine?but Reiser's attention to the reworking of similar detail in each frame is commendable and her gently poked fun a warmly effective way to reinforce stories of family history. Ages 4-up. (Apr.) FYI: A bilingual companion volume, Tortillas and Lullabies/Tortillas y cancioncitas ($16, -14628-7), also by Reiser, uses a Costa Rican setting; it is due out simultaneously.
Copyright 1998 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From School Library Journal

PreSchool-Grade 3-In a story that celebrates maternal love across the generations, a child reflects on gifts that are given again and again. The narrator relates how her great-grandmother baked a cherry pie for her grandmother, who in turn baked one for her mother, who baked for her. In the end, the little girl pretends to bake a pie for her teddy bear. The pictures, which are simply drawn yet rich in color and detail, reflect the changes that time brings to the baking process. While great-grandmother rolls her own crust and uses fresh fruit, grandmother can call on a frozen crust and canned pie filling. The mother of today, dressed for success, slips a home-style pie into the microwave. "Every time it was the same, but different." The following "chapters" trace the same women as they weave crowns of flowers (meadow picked, garden grown, and now purchased at the florist) and wrap their daughters in quilts (hand stitched, machine stitched, and then mail ordered). The final chapter maintains the warm feeling as each mother sings her daughter a lullaby. This time, in spite of changing scenery, "Every time it was the same." The words and music (sung to Brahms's "Lullaby") are included. Reiser's Tortillas and Lullabies (Greenwillow, 1998) tells essentially "the same, but different" story, narrated by a little girl in Costa Rica. The warmth and energy of these books make them perfect choices for intergenerational sharing.
Lisa S. Murphy, formerly at Dauphin County Library System, Harrisburg, PA
Copyright 1998 Reed Business Information, Inc.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 4 and up
  
• Hardcover: 40 pages
• Publisher: Greenwillow Books; 1st edition (April 14, 1998)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0688133916
• ISBN-13: 978-0688133917
• Product Dimensions: 12.1 x 8.9 x 0.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (6 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #415,953 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars sweet mother daughter thing, July 17, 1998

By A Customer

This review is from: Cherry Pies and Lullabies (Hardcover)

A little girl describes how cherry pies, flower garlands, quilts and lullabies have been passed down through her family from great-grandmother to grandmother to mother to her and then to her teddy bear. Each picture's details shows how different each generation is or, as the text explains, Every time it was the same, but different. The bold outlined drawings have an appealing, colorful, cartoon-like quality which is charming and homey. The outlined frames for each picture add to the quilt-like mood and give the book an inviting feel. Included is the author's lullaby lyrics (to the tune of Brahms' "Lullaby".)

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Engaging book of one family's changing traditions, June 5, 1998

By A Customer

This review is from: Cherry Pies and Lullabies (Hardcover)

I just loved this book. It conveys the sense of tradition that we grew up with and long for in todays fast paced world. Thank you to Lynn Resier for giving us a means to demonstrate to our children how things used to be.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Good Family Tradition Themed Story, February 7, 2004

By 

Mich_ele (USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Cherry Pies and Lullabies (Hardcover)

This story is part of our first grade reading series. The illustrations are beautiful and give good clues as to what the story is about. The text offers appropriate and varied vocabulary as well as a predictable pattern that helps children read it more fluently. Though the theme of the story is challenging (concerning tradition: some things stay the same, some things are a bit different) it gives children an opportunity to think about the meaning of the story, instead of just reading a story with a bunch of meaningless rhymes.