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Journey Cake, Ho!
Johnny is leaving the farm because of hard times when his Journey Cake leads him on a merry chase that results in a farm yard full of animals and the family all together again.
46 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1953
3 people are currently reading
344 people want to read
About the author
Ruth Sawyer
106 books30 followersRuth Sawyer was an American storyteller and a writer of fiction and non-fiction for children and adults. She may be best known as the author of Roller Skates, which won the 1937 Newbery Medal.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 62 reviews
February 1, 2019
This is such an interesting little story. I couldn’t find it in my library or ILL, but I did find someone reading it on youtube with the pictures. I didn’t watch it with the kids.
It looks like a family is living in a log home in the Appalachian Mountains of somewhere very poor. There clothes are poor indeed. Then one day the animals either run off or die from something and they have no food. They can feed 2, but not 3. The old couple sends the boy off to make his own luck in the world. A parting gift of a journey cake is given by the wife to the boy. He is on his merry way when the journey cake rolls out of his pack and he begins to chase it. Animals follow both of them and they make it back to the old couple.
The artwork is actually rather nice. I mean, it’s Robert McCloskey, so of course it is. The story is just an odd little tale. Not that I didn’t like it, but it was a different sort of story. I like the ending. It’s very circular. It’s rather Forest Gump like in that things just happen and our characters happen to be in the middle of those things.
It looks like a family is living in a log home in the Appalachian Mountains of somewhere very poor. There clothes are poor indeed. Then one day the animals either run off or die from something and they have no food. They can feed 2, but not 3. The old couple sends the boy off to make his own luck in the world. A parting gift of a journey cake is given by the wife to the boy. He is on his merry way when the journey cake rolls out of his pack and he begins to chase it. Animals follow both of them and they make it back to the old couple.
The artwork is actually rather nice. I mean, it’s Robert McCloskey, so of course it is. The story is just an odd little tale. Not that I didn’t like it, but it was a different sort of story. I like the ending. It’s very circular. It’s rather Forest Gump like in that things just happen and our characters happen to be in the middle of those things.
October 17, 2018
Cute kids book with hysterical artwork and an Appalachian flavor.
Johnny is an apprentice on a farm when all the critters go missing or get eaten by foxes, etc. The farmer and his wife can't afford to keep him on so send him out in the wide world with his few belongings and a "journey cake" (aka- a round wheel of cornbread). The cornbread rolls down the mountain, Johhny chases after, animals join him in chasing the journey cake around the mountain until they end up all the way around the mountain and back to the farm. The farmer and his wife welcome Johnny (and his animal cohort) back home. There is much rejoicing...and the journey cake is renamed "johnny cake."
Con: technically it could be argued the animals were stolen...?
But cute little book!
This book would be rated a G.
Johnny is an apprentice on a farm when all the critters go missing or get eaten by foxes, etc. The farmer and his wife can't afford to keep him on so send him out in the wide world with his few belongings and a "journey cake" (aka- a round wheel of cornbread). The cornbread rolls down the mountain, Johhny chases after, animals join him in chasing the journey cake around the mountain until they end up all the way around the mountain and back to the farm. The farmer and his wife welcome Johnny (and his animal cohort) back home. There is much rejoicing...and the journey cake is renamed "johnny cake."
Con: technically it could be argued the animals were stolen...?
But cute little book!
This book would be rated a G.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
May 21, 2012
Other than the fact that it seems like they are essentially stealing the animals from the neighbors, I really enjoyed this one.
January 25, 2022
Not my first read, but probably my last as this is the kind of book that libraries are culling aggressively these days. I love the grace of the writing, the charm of the illustrations, the gimmick of the Journey/ Johnny Cake and Merry and Grumble. I don't understand the theft of the animals or the role of Raucus, [sic] the sentinel crow. Maybe hill people sometimes adopted a wild crow to be 'watchdog' -?
This is available on Open Library, thank goodness. And it's short; go read it. Aloud.
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Reread, happens my library had a copy so I grabbed it, always happy to read in paper. Still loving it. (And this is actually about my fifth read. ;)
This is available on Open Library, thank goodness. And it's short; go read it. Aloud.
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Reread, happens my library had a copy so I grabbed it, always happy to read in paper. Still loving it. (And this is actually about my fifth read. ;)
November 8, 2021
A runaway cake, taking its cue from a famous gingerbread boy, taunts all animals within earshot to eat it as it rolls away from a pursuant boy.
This would be some rollicking good fun to read aloud . . . and I seem to remember my mother doing just that for the benefit of my young ears.
Robert McCloskey's pictures are delightful, particularly the facial expressions.
A classic!
This would be some rollicking good fun to read aloud . . . and I seem to remember my mother doing just that for the benefit of my young ears.
Robert McCloskey's pictures are delightful, particularly the facial expressions.
A classic!
August 5, 2013
I would just like to say again how weird children’s books from the 1940s -1960s are, as far as content goes. I sometimes wonder where in the heck they came up with the subject matter. This is not to say books from these years are bad, but very different. This book won a 1954 Caldecott Honor award. The author, Ruth Sawyer, was mother-in-law to the illustrator, Robert McCloskey and apparently his wife was a children’s librarian. Though I have not always been a fan of Robert McCloskey (with the exception of "Make Way for Ducklings"), I absolutely adore his brown and blue illustrations done for this picture book. They made me crack up! Especially the one in the beginning with Old Man Grumble laying back in his chair. This story was basically a mountain folktale version of "The Gingerbread Man".
Johnny is a bound-out boy (basically an indentured apprentice) who works for Merry and her husband Grumble, on their farm. Everyone has their own work to do. One day, the animals either run away or are stolen, and so Merry and Grumble must let go of Johnny to find his own way in the world, as they can no longer afford to feed him. So he is sent off with a Journey Cake (a giant round cornbread) and some tools. Everything is fine until the Journey Cake pops out of his bag and rolls off town the hill, and gets some pigs, cows, sheep and chicken to follow it. They end up back at Merry and Grumble’s farm, which is now saved thanks to all these free animals showing up. Johnny is welcomed back to the farm. Recommended for ages 4-7, 4 stars.
Johnny is a bound-out boy (basically an indentured apprentice) who works for Merry and her husband Grumble, on their farm. Everyone has their own work to do. One day, the animals either run away or are stolen, and so Merry and Grumble must let go of Johnny to find his own way in the world, as they can no longer afford to feed him. So he is sent off with a Journey Cake (a giant round cornbread) and some tools. Everything is fine until the Journey Cake pops out of his bag and rolls off town the hill, and gets some pigs, cows, sheep and chicken to follow it. They end up back at Merry and Grumble’s farm, which is now saved thanks to all these free animals showing up. Johnny is welcomed back to the farm. Recommended for ages 4-7, 4 stars.
February 21, 2009
This story can be used in SO many different ways. I like to use it when any of the classes are doing their Appalachian unit. Before reading the story, I ask the kids to think about where they would go to get milk and eggs if they lived way up in the mountains with no grocery store or Walmart nearby and to think about what they could NOT do if they lived in a place with no electricity. I also like to ask them, at the very end if this story reminds them of any other stories they may have read. It's a great way to lead in to the concept of versions and variations b/c this is an Appalachian version of the Gingerbread Man story. Other versions/variations include The Gingerbread Baby, The Gingerbread Girl, and The Runaway Tortilla.
November 10, 2021
This was copyrighted in 1953, but this is the first time I've read the book. I think I would have liked it as a child, and now I look forward to reading it with a child. We'll have plenty to talk about, some examples: 'bound-out' boy, carding and spinning and knitting the wool, tending the griddle, churning the butter, journey cake ...
The story begins:
There were three of them: the old woman, Merry; the old man, Grumble; and Johnny, the bound-out boy. They lived in a log cabin, t'other side of Tip Top Mountain.
So Ruth Sawyer was Robert McCloskey's mother-in-law. I wonder if joint projects helped or hurt their relationship.
McCloskey's art deserved the Caldecott!
The story begins:
There were three of them: the old woman, Merry; the old man, Grumble; and Johnny, the bound-out boy. They lived in a log cabin, t'other side of Tip Top Mountain.
So Ruth Sawyer was Robert McCloskey's mother-in-law. I wonder if joint projects helped or hurt their relationship.
McCloskey's art deserved the Caldecott!
June 14, 2017
5* art
5* story
Yup. It's a good one. I like a story that comes full circle, and this one makes me grin. The illustrations are priceless. The one with Johnny peeking in the henhouse got Squirt laughing, "What's wrong with his hair, Mom?" "Oh that's called bedhead, honey. Look in the mirror." This is classic kid's lit, if you ask me. A good partnership of writer and illustrator - McCloskey and his Mother in Law!
5* story
Yup. It's a good one. I like a story that comes full circle, and this one makes me grin. The illustrations are priceless. The one with Johnny peeking in the henhouse got Squirt laughing, "What's wrong with his hair, Mom?" "Oh that's called bedhead, honey. Look in the mirror." This is classic kid's lit, if you ask me. A good partnership of writer and illustrator - McCloskey and his Mother in Law!
February 11, 2018
The book was a little hard for me to follow. The overall information is the journey of a cake and a boy as the people he was staying with made him leave as they could no longer feed him. All the animals were gone to due natural issues and thievery from wolves. As the boy left, he had a wonderful journey and his cake got away from him. As he chased it he ended up back where he started from.
August 3, 2015
I enjoyed this book as a kid. Reading it my daughter I saw it in a whole new light and I was shocked. I am not sure how the journey cake managed to roll back to the house or why the neighbors animals would follow it. In the end the animals stay with the family and the neighbors are ok with the fact they now have fewer.
May 6, 2016
I found Sawyer's anthropomorphism of Johnny's Journey Cake awesome. It's a shame that it's coming off my school library's shelves. I'm seeing other reviews comment on its peculiarity. I'm rather fond of slightly off things like this myself.
It's a fantasy tale for small children, for crying out loud! It'd be nice to read aloud...
It's a fantasy tale for small children, for crying out loud! It'd be nice to read aloud...
May 31, 2022
To my knowledge, this is the only Caldecott Honor Book written and illustrated by a mother-in-law and son-in-law. Storyteller and author Ruth Sawyer was, indeed, Robert McCloskey's mother-in-law. They made a perfect pair to retell and illustrate this very American version of the Gingerbread Man story. A classic every child should know.
December 16, 2017
• 1954 Caldecott Honor Book •
Cute story that made me laugh, and beautiful art by Robert McCloskey!
Uses some old fashioned words but they’re generally easy to figure out in the context. Johnny is a “bound-out” boy on a farm - basically a servant or apprentice, and when a wolf steals all the farm animals, the old man and woman have to let him go. That element is dark and depressing, but the story doesn’t focus on it, and it’s mostly a light hearted story if you don’t think too much about it (like most fairy tales or early picture books). The couple give Johnny a journey cake for his travels which falls out of his bag and rolls around the countryside with him following it. I enjoyed this one.
Cute story that made me laugh, and beautiful art by Robert McCloskey!
Uses some old fashioned words but they’re generally easy to figure out in the context. Johnny is a “bound-out” boy on a farm - basically a servant or apprentice, and when a wolf steals all the farm animals, the old man and woman have to let him go. That element is dark and depressing, but the story doesn’t focus on it, and it’s mostly a light hearted story if you don’t think too much about it (like most fairy tales or early picture books). The couple give Johnny a journey cake for his travels which falls out of his bag and rolls around the countryside with him following it. I enjoyed this one.
May 31, 2012
When hard times fall on the farm a young boy is sent off to find a new home. He is given a journey cake to eat during his travels. Almost immediately the cake hops out of the boy's bag and goes rolling through the hills with the boy chasing after it. Along the way, the boy passes many animals who join the chase and eventually the whole group ends up back at the beginning: the farm. The boy has rounded up exactly what the farm needed and a great celebration ensues. With repetition, rhythm and refrains this book is a great read aloud. Illustrations are colored in teal and brown tones by Robert McCloskey (Make Way for Ducklings).
September 20, 2012
Caldecott Honor (1954)
Life is good on the farm until for the happy old lady, the grumbling old man and the young lad. But bad luck soon follows when the farm animals are systematically stolen by wolves or wander away lost. Food soon becomes scarce, so the boy is sent away to fend for himself. Along the way he, in effect, becomes a pied piper of sorts, bringing a host of animals back to the farm.
McCloskeys' art is whimsical and detailed, while Sawyers text is fine, if a bit redundant. The pictures really do tell the story, making the text superfluous. A fun story without a morality lesson.
Life is good on the farm until for the happy old lady, the grumbling old man and the young lad. But bad luck soon follows when the farm animals are systematically stolen by wolves or wander away lost. Food soon becomes scarce, so the boy is sent away to fend for himself. Along the way he, in effect, becomes a pied piper of sorts, bringing a host of animals back to the farm.
McCloskeys' art is whimsical and detailed, while Sawyers text is fine, if a bit redundant. The pictures really do tell the story, making the text superfluous. A fun story without a morality lesson.
October 5, 2017
I feel like I have heard a version of this story before, but can’t place where. I do know that I have never read this book because I’m quite sure I would have remembered Robert McCloskey as the illustrator. The story is slow to start, with lots of background information, but it picks up when the journeycake begins to gather the animals. I really like the simple palette McCloskey uses to illustrate the story, and his portrayal of each characters’ facial expressions is spot-on. Not my favorite book of the challenge by any means, but I liked it.
September 20, 2017
This book is a Caldecott Honor book from 1954. It is a really neat story about a family who loses their farm animals, and subsequently having no way to feed themselves, has to send the boy out to fend for himself. Although this seems like a harsh premise for a children's story, it does not have a negative feel to it. The boy goes out with the Journey Cake that his mother made for him, and through the course of events he makes it back home.
Illustrations are in muted tones (par for the course for the era, I suppose), but are very expressive.
Illustrations are in muted tones (par for the course for the era, I suppose), but are very expressive.
June 5, 2008
If this story hasn't been put to song yet it really should be. There is a lot of singing by various characters and the story has a lot of movement otherwise. It is a very physical story and would be fun to read aloud to a groups of kids to act out. Pictures are by the incomparable Robert McClosky. The pictures seem to be in his standard pencil but this time the pencil is brick red on sage green paper with white accents.
December 11, 2016
Nothing anybody does in the story moves the plot forward at all -- it's all chance that anything goes wrong or anything works out. The animals, save for the ducks, which could be wild, are coming from somewhere -- the chickens are even coming from a barnyard! So bad luck is befalling somebody else to give the characters good luck. Some of the illustrations are really lovely, though. The ones from far away, showing the hill and the trees and the cabin are so gorgeous.
March 22, 2018
If one needed to know if I had any mountain raisin' in me, all they would need to know is if I like this book. I do, but it's not for every child. There are hard times described and illustrated well here. The ending is upbeat, however, if the child can just hang on... kind of like life itself.
I have since read it to my boys, but I think I enjoyed it much more than they did. They are just too removed from that experience to recognize it, perhaps.
I have since read it to my boys, but I think I enjoyed it much more than they did. They are just too removed from that experience to recognize it, perhaps.
October 15, 2018
The story is okay and the illustrations are delightful!
Ages: 4 - 8
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Ages: 4 - 8
**Like my reviews? I also have hundreds of detailed reports that I offer too. These reports give a complete break-down of everything in the book, so you'll know just how clean it is or isn't. I also have Clean Guides (downloadable PDFs) which enable you to clean up your book before reading it!
Visit my website!
September 30, 2014
McCloskey's brown and white drawings over a pale sea green background are energetic and full of life, and his draftsmanship is impeccable. The people and animal faces are very expressive. The story is similar to, but not exactly the same as "The Gingerbread Boy" folktale. The text has a rollicking pace with the feel of a folktale, and the story comes full circle.
(Caldecott Honor, 1954)
(Caldecott Honor, 1954)
January 18, 2013
McCloskey's illustrations are really amusing as they accompany this rural tale of the disastrous loss of all Johnny's family's farm animals. His departure with a "journey cake" turns into the wheel of a cake leading him on a roundabout circuit that brings him home with a train of livestock that replenishes all that were lost.
August 20, 2016
Old Caldecott Honor book. Rural catastrophe solved by runaway cake. Huh? Not sure if I like the message in this one or not. Probably not. Hoping for random goodness doesn't sound like a good plan. And the art is only okay. But interesting and silly.
November 2, 2017
Structured perfectly for a read-a-loud (somewhat like a cumulative tale with a refrain the group could repeat and animal noises galore to make!).
February 14, 2018
An older Caldecott honor book that doesn’t quite hold up about a boy who doesn’t quite do what he should and finds out the consequences.
February 21, 2018
Kindergarten range. Somewhat charming, but not a keeper.
March 1, 2018
A variation on the Gingerbread Man
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
April 27, 2018
The boys like this books and I think it’s clever. I do like the illustrations by Robert McCloskey but it just doesn’t have the wonder that just his books have.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 62 reviews