From Publishers Weekly
In her tender collection of connected vignettes, Rocklin (For Your Eyes Only) identifies the secret ingredient for the strudel prized by generations of a Jewish family: the family stories that accompany the baking. The book begins in 1999, when Lori and Jessica's Grandpa Willy has just died. The sisters decide that one way to keep Willy's memory alive is to bake a strudel?and retell the tales he often shared with them. So as the apples get peeled, the narrative flashes back to the time of Willy's great-grandmother, Sarah, who lived in Russia and then came to America with her children in the early 1900s. Sarah tells how she helped outwit the angel of death when he came looking for her younger brother ("He was small and skinny, like a cucumber for pickling"), then recounts her brother's various exploits. Sarah's daughter and Willy carry on the tradition, adding stories of immigrant life in New York City and of WWII to the mix, and so on. Though readers may have some difficulty keeping track of who's who (a family tree at the end helps), they will readily dig into the colorful, sometimes dramatic anecdotes. Rocklin writes with flair and with heart?and for the truly inspired, she includes three generations of strudel recipes?Sarah's in Yiddish, Lori and Jessica's using frozen filo dough. A treat no matter how you slice it. Ages 8-12.
Copyright 1999 Reed Business Information, Inc.
--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
From School Library Journal
Grade 3-5-Mixing memories of her own relatives' stories with a bit of history and imagination, Rocklin makes her Jewish family come alive in these warm, humorous selections. For seven generations, a family has baked apple strudel to comfort and nourish its members. From Great-great-great grandmother Sarah's kitchen in Odessa, to Bertie's kitchen in Brooklyn, and on to Grandpa Willy's kitchen overlooking the Pacific, the recipe has passed from one generation to the next. Over 100 years after the first super strudel, two young sisters turn to the family baking ritual to help them mourn for their beloved Grandpa Willy. Sprinkled amid the ingredients are the stories for, as Willy used to say, "Without stories the strudel will be a big fat flop." There are tales of timid Eli, who danced with ghosts and came back a changed boy, and cousin Leon, who had never even heard of the Brooklyn Dodgers, but caught a miracle at Ebbets Field. Rocklin includes two mouth-watering recipes for apple strudel along with a family tree and an excellent note that places the stories in historical context. As a read-aloud, this book is sure to inspire families to share their own memories and recipes. Strudel Stories is an excellent choice for oral history and intergenerational projects, as well as for immigration units, and pairs well with Kathryn Lasky's Dreams in the Golden Country (Scholastic, 1998), which also documents the Jewish immigrant experience.
Barbara Auerbach, Brooklyn Public Library, NYCopyright 1999 Reed Business Information, Inc.
--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
