My Pop Pop and Me

by Irene Smalls, Cathy Ann Johnson (Illustrator)

A young boy who loves to sniff the lemon whiff and to clink the dishes in the sink helps his Pop Pop bake a cake.

Genres: Picture Books, Family, Food, African American, Cooking, Childrens, Juvenile

Hardcover

First published May 1, 2006

About the author

Irene Jennie Smalls has been a model, an actress, a radio reporter, and a small business owner, but her favorite job is being a children's author. She lives in Boston Massachusetts.

Reviews

[Courtney · Rating 3 out of 5]

This short children’s book is about a boy who bakes a cake with his Pop Pop, whom the reader can assume is his grandfather. The book gives a step by step description of making this cake through the use of unforgettable language and wonderful illustration. The author Irene Smalls uses rhyming words and sentences that give a memorable description of how the boy and his grandfather made the cake. She uses words that describe the actions such as “Plop plop eggs into the batter glop,” and “Twisk twisk goes Pop Pop’s whisk.” I think the author does a good job at playing with the language in a fashion that describe the actions and shows how much fun the boy had. I could teach students how to playfully use words and create words to describe actions and things. I think this would be a fun activity for young kids.

One thing I do especially like and think is nice touch to the ending is the recipe for Lemon Bar Cake Bake at the back of the book.

[Krystal · Rating 5 out of 5]

This heartwarming children's book manages to illustrate the strong familial bonds often shared between a black grandfather and his favourite in a world that often vilifies black men of all ages.

[Samantha · Rating 4 out of 5]

In this rhythmic read aloud a little boy and his grandpa bake a cake. Water-based paint illustrations are pure fun. The pictures and text do a swirling dance across the pages of the book complementing its catchy rhythms.

I especially enjoyed the scenes in which the little boy shrunk down to a smaller size to perform specific baking tasks and the way in which the grandpa smiled and smiled even when messes were made.

A recipe is included on the inside back cover of the book for Lemon Bar Cake Bake.

[Producervan · Rating 5 out of 5]

Pop Pop and Me and a Recipe by Irene Smalls. Illustrated by Cathy Ann Johnson. Xist Publishing. A beautifully illustrated story about a child baking with his loving grandpa. Cozy, colorful art with endearing pictures of Pop Pop and his grandson, with the recipe in the back of the book. This is fun to read aloud, and makes a great family book. Another wonderful children’s book from Xist Publishing. Highly recommended! Thanks to NetGalley and Xist Publishing for providing this ebook for review.

[Cheryl Meibos · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a fun book to read with the kindergartners. A boy and his grandfather cook together in the kitchen--lots of rhyming words that the
kids enjoy repeating back.

[Kanika · Rating 4 out of 5]

My Pop Pop and Me and a Recipe follows a boy and his grandfather as they make a lemon bar cake. With each page, the author’s use of rhyming and onomatopoeia creates memorable images for readers of the pair’s actions.

“Twinkle, Twinkle goes the salt I sprinkle
Sizzle, Sizzle the butter frizzles
Whoosh, whoosh goes the sugar I push”

The relationship between the boy and his grandfather is so endearing. I absolutely loved that the author portrayed this familial bond through baking. It caused me to wonder how many children’s books I knew that depicted males cooking together, and there were very few that came to mind. You can use the recipe in the back to make your own leman bar cake.

This is also an excellent book for those kids learning about rhyming. It offers so many opportunities on each page for practice. (Ages 5-6)

[Adrianna · Rating 3 out of 5]

"My Pop Pop and Me" celebrates the love between a grandson and his grandfather as they spend the day together making a delicious lemon cake. Every page in the book rhymes and this would be a great book for children who are learning about rhyming. This book would also be great for children who spend time with their grandparents. I liked that at the end of the book the author included a recipe for the lemon bar cake that was the central focus of the story.

[Jamie Macaluso · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is filled with rhymes and beautiful illustrations. It is about an African American boy hanging out with his Pop Pop helping him make a cake. Their facial expressions and the illustrations of the kitchen really make it feel like you are there with them. The language the author used is mostly words that you hear or do "creak creak, pour pour, blat blat, slurp slurp." This adds a lot to the story and gives great descriptions

[Aolund · Rating 4 out of 5]

A lovely (if slightly-too-long) picture book about a child making a cake with a grandparent! Chock full of great onomatopoeiac words and a nice repetitive pattern to the phrases, this book also nicely illustrates all of the steps necessary to bake a cake from scratch.

Themes: Family, Cake, Food, Cooking

[Juliana Lee · Rating 4 out of 5]

The boy and his Pop Pop bond over lemon bar cake. With lively rhymes and colorful illustrations, the reader can really imagine being in the kitchen with them. And if you really get into it, (you will) there's a full recipe in the back of the book!

[Cat · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was cute! Child and grandfather bake a cake together! Nice story for during a grandparent visit. Lovely, exuberant illustrations! Lots of onomatopoeia for kids to enjoy!

[Mrs Tupac · Rating 3 out of 5]

A sing a long cooking book

[Joshua]

This children’s book touched me personally because the relationship displayed in this masterpiece was grand-father and grandson. My Pop Pop and Me is in the family children's book genre. The story is engaging because of the words and language used are short and easy to keep up with while reading along. The setting takes place at what I would assume to be the grandad’s house. It can relate to a lot of the kids who have experiences with their grandparents because the book speaks from the child’s perspective the entirety of the book. There are no negative stereotypes in the book reflecting cultural groups in any way. The illustrations and texts are short but they mesh well together. Though “My Pop Pop and Me” lacks diversity, it incorporates great aspects of love and family. As a child, I feel these aspects are what they truly hold close to their own heart. The relationship in the book between the grandchild and Pop Pop is purely genuine containing scenes of them laughing and enjoying their time together. The author Irene Smalls made this masterpiece through her experiences with her family.

[Jasmine Robinson · Rating 3 out of 5]

This particular book is about a little boy and his grandfather baking together. What is so special and unique about this book is that this is a rhyming book. This book would be great to use in a kindergarten classroom, helping the children to able to determine which words are rhyming words and which words are not. I loved the sound effects that are made in the story. This is also something fun that the children could all say while listening to the story of this book. This book is definitely a great teaching tool.

[Sabrina Henry · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is about a little boy having fun with his grandpa as they baked together. It is a book that shows happiness and togetherness of family. The words are enjoyable and can be used for movement and music. For example,"Sizzle sizzle the butter frizzles, Whoosh whoosh, goes the butter I push."
I also like the illustrations as they were beautiful and simple. Another good thing about this book: The recipe for teh cake they made is at the back!

[Melissa Nastja · Rating 5 out of 5]

Using a plethora of alliteration, this book follows a little boy who loves the different smells of lemons and the sounds that you hear when baking a cake. The story begins with him and Pop Pop as begin to make a cake and end up cleaning and eating!

[Whitney Strickland · Rating 5 out of 5]

My Pop and Me, is a sweet book with a nice rhyming text. It is about a young boy who likes to cook with his Pop! The story is filled with clever cooking words and sounds. Would be great to read to a class before making food. In addition the book has a scrumptious recipe at the end of the story.

[Shamekia · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is adorable and perfect for baby story time! The story is simple with a great rhythm that is perfect for bouncing a baby on your lap. And I'm going to save the recipe in the back of the book it looks delicious.

[Kendra · Rating 4 out of 5]

Love this book! The text is super fun to read and makes for a perfect interactive book. Plus, the illustrations are beautiful!

[Kim · Rating 4 out of 5]

Rhyming text and onomatopoeia with joyous action packed illustrations to match the sunny lemony cake in the making.

[Jen · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book has rhythm and many words happen twice at the beginning of each line. lovely illustrations. shows all the steps in making a cake.

[Tracie · Rating 5 out of 5]

A young boy and his Pop Pop spend special times together.