The Little Crooked Bookshelf

A FINE DESSERT
by Emily Jenkins & Sophie Blackall
This week's pick is from Cottager Anika Denise

What it's all about… 
Four families, in four different cities, over four centuries, make the same delicious dessert: blackberry fool.

Why it's on the Little Crooked Bookshelf…
This is a beautiful book. In concept, language, illustrations and artifact, there is so much to love.

Our favorite lines...
The girl washed the berries inwater from the well. Then she smashed them through a tin sievewith the back of a spoon, getting rid of the seeds.Together, she and her motherpoured sugar on the fruit and then mixed it with the cream."You may lick the spoon, child,"the woman said.So the girl did.Mmmmm.
Our favorite illustrations…

© 2015 Sophie Blackall  © 2015 Sophie Blackall 2015 © 2015 Sophie Blackall -
Why kids will love it… 
First, it's about a dessert—a positively scrumptious-sounding dessert, and Jenkins' delicately descriptive prose makes you want to taste the berries and lick sweet cream off the spoon. Children will pore over Blackall's deliciously detailed illustrations with equal delight.

Why grown-ups will love it... 
In addition to being a satisfying read aloud, it's a subtle history lesson, folded gently into the changes of costume, landscape, and recipe techniques through the ages. But one thing remains constant: blackberry fool is a dessert to be savored and enjoyed. And the same goes for this fine gem of a picture book.