★★★★★
“Ewww, pickles?”
Penny and her Grandma spend all day together when Penny’s mom and dad are at work. They have so much fun together.
When it was lunchtime, Grandma and Penny would sit at the kitchen table to have lunch.
And then one day, Grandma brought something entirely…new…to the table.
Pickles.
They’re green , and bumpy , and altogether weird .
And at first, Penny wants nothing to do with them.
Penny thought about it and since Grandma loved pickles so much, she decided to be brave….Penny bit into one of the pickles…”Grandma. I like it!”
They ARE something new and exciting.
And then Grandma has an idea.
They (Penny and Grandma) are going to make pickles. But there’s a lot of hard work that goes into pickle-making – you have to grow them, keep critters away and then there’s the actual pickle-making!
There’s so many steps and so many wrong turns – will Penny and Grandma be able to make their own pickles after all??
This was SUCH a cute book!
I absolutely adored the storyline – it felt unique, fresh and exciting.
It was fun to take a peek into Grandma and Penny’s lives and watch them do their best to grow their own pickles.
The gopher – as seen on the cover – absolutely stole the show for me. He was such a lovely little addition to the book.
As with many (if not all) picture books, the illustrations make or break them for me.
And let me just say, these illustrations! Oh they were so beautiful.
They were vibrant, fun and so well-done. They really lifted the story and made the book truly memorable!
After reading so much about how Grandma and Penny worked to make their own pickles, I really wish the book would’ve included a recipe or two at the end.
I could definitely see children wanting to give this a try of their own and having a set of pickling recipes at the end would have absolutely cinched it for me.
(Though, you might be able to piece together something because the book felt rather detailed.)
Overall, I adored this book. I think it would be a great addition onto any child’s shelf.
With thanks to the author for a free copy in exchange for an honest review
Interested in this one from Jane Cerami and Rita DiPaolo? Buy it here: Amazon
Miranda Reads 
Miranda, Thank you so much for your wonderful review. I thought about including the recipe and I plan to bundle it in the future with the purchase of my book. I especially enjoyed writing and illustrating the groundhog character too. I might do some sequels to his travels 😁 I’m going to post this link to my Instagram if possible and tag you. Would you be so kind to do the same ? Would appreciate it. Thank you so much Miranda. Btw your name reminded Me of a first grade teacher who’s name was Miss Miranda, I’ll never forget her kindness. Thanks Jane Cerami
Sent from my iPhone
>
LikeLiked by 1 person
So happy that you are pleased with the review. It truly was an adorable book 🙂 Best of luck with the future writing adventures – and please think of me if you ever are in need of a reviewer 😀
LikeLike
This not only sounds fun, but educational. I’ve made my own pickles myself. It’s quite an adventure. Getting the crispness right was what I found to be a challenge. Great post!
LikeLike