 | ON: Content is age-appropriate for kids this age. |
 | PAUSE: Know your child; some content may not be right for some kids. |
 | OFF: Not age-appropriate for kids this age. |
 | NOT FOR KIDS: Not appropriate for kids any age. |
Tea Cakes for Tosh
- By Kelly Starling Lyons
- Genre: Picture Book
Common Sense Media says
Touching story of boy's bond with grandma, family history.
Parents say
Kids say
What parents need to know
Parents need to know that Tea Cakes for Tosh is a moving story about the bond between a grandmother and grandson that recalls a family's slave past and celebrates the importance of stories than connect us to our ancestors. It also shows the complex reality of a young boy discovering his beloved grandma is losing her memory. Full of love and tenderness, Tea Cakes for Tosh is a great read-aloud for kids who know a bit about slavery and are ready for a sensitive treatment of an older person's growing forgetfulness.
What's the story?
Tosh loves it when his Grandma Honey makes her tea cakes -- an old family recipe from his Great-Great-Great-Great-Grandma Ida -- and tells him the story of them, which always begins, "Long ago, before you and I were born, our people were enslaved." Ida would bake the tea cakes for the plantation owner's family, but sneak a few for her own children and other young slaves. "She risked being whipped to give the children a taste of freedom ... a promise of days to come," says Grandma Honey. But when she starts to get forgetful and even forgets the recipe, Tosh asks Mama to help him make the tea cakes and surprises Grandma Honey with not only the tea cakes but also the story, beginning, as usual, with, "Long ago, before you and I were born, our people were enslaved."
Is it any good?
TEA CAKES FOR TOSH is a warm, sensitive story that recalls the slave period in American History, celebrates family ties and the courage of our ancestors, and delicately captures the confusion a kid may feel when an older loved one shows signs of senility or Alzheimer's. Caldecott-winning illustrator E.B. Lewis' gorgeous watercolors are full of emotion and perfectly suited to this gentle, moving tale.
Explore, discuss, enjoy
Families can talk about their own family stories. What brave or funny stories have you heard loved ones tell about relatives you never met?
Have you read other books or seen movies about slaves in the American South? What do know about the U.S. Civil War?
How about asking a grandparent to tell you a family story or make a family recipe together?
There aren't any reviews yet. Be the first to review this title below.
| Topics: | great boy role models, great girl role models, history, misfits and underdogs |
| Author: | Kelly Starling Lyons |
| Illustrator: | E.B. Lewis |
| Book type: | Fiction |
| Genre: | Picture Book |
| Publication date: | December 6, 2012 |
| Number of pages: | 32 |
| Publisher's recommended age(s): | 5 - 9 |
| Read aloud: | 6 - 9 |
| Read alone: | 7 - 9 |
Review It
Great alternatives handpicked by our editors
More from Common Sense Media
Top advice and articles
