What do you think?
Rate this book
Bread Lab!
It’s always a special day for Iris when Aunt Mary visits. She’s a plant scientist, and Iris likes collecting leaves and seeds for Aunt Mary’s lab. Today, Aunt Mary wants to try a new experiment—baking bread!
Iris helps turn the kitchen into a bread lab with just four ingredients: flour, water, salt, and starter. She also discovers how invisible microbes in the air can make bubbles that grow the dough, and that seeds from wheat make nutrients and flavor. It all seems magical, but it’s really science!
Kim Binczewski and Bethany Econopouly of The Bread Lab make their picture book debut with a story that captures the science and joy of breadmaking. Artist Hayelin Choi, following up with her picture book debut in Alice Waters and the Trip to Delicious, adds bubbling fun with her breezy and playful illustrations.
Published in Cooperation with The Bread Lab with support from The Bread Bakers Guild of America.
Iris helps turn the kitchen into a bread lab with just four ingredients: flour, water, salt, and starter. She also discovers how invisible microbes in the air can make bubbles that grow the dough, and that seeds from wheat make nutrients and flavor. It all seems magical, but it’s really science!
Kim Binczewski and Bethany Econopouly of The Bread Lab make their picture book debut with a story that captures the science and joy of breadmaking. Artist Hayelin Choi, following up with her picture book debut in Alice Waters and the Trip to Delicious, adds bubbling fun with her breezy and playful illustrations.
Published in Cooperation with The Bread Lab with support from The Bread Bakers Guild of America.
32 pages, Hardcover
Published September 11, 2018
50 people want to read
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 22 of 22 reviews
January 26, 2019
This is such a fantastic book to read together with kids in K-4 (ish). And I say "read with," not "read to and forget about it" or "plop it in their lap and hope they enjoy it," because there's no way you're going to get through this book without LOTS of questions about baking and wanting to make a loaf or two yourself.
Sourdough is a fascinating scientific experiment for all ages, but if you're expecting a project that doesn't require much prep aside from shopping for good flour, you're going to run into trouble. There are references in the back to help you get started.
Things I loved about this book: Accessible science! Representations of women and girls who do science together! Biracial families and POC main characters! Connections between farming, plant science, and the stuff on your plate! Friendly, colorful illustrations! Citations and references! Good instructions! A cute dog!
Things that could be better: More body types. Less stilted dialog. But really, what I actually want most are sequels! What else could characters learn by making their kitchen a Bread Lab? This is definitely worth it for any teacher, parent, brownie troop leader, children's librarian, or fun visiting aunt.
Sourdough is a fascinating scientific experiment for all ages, but if you're expecting a project that doesn't require much prep aside from shopping for good flour, you're going to run into trouble. There are references in the back to help you get started.
Things I loved about this book: Accessible science! Representations of women and girls who do science together! Biracial families and POC main characters! Connections between farming, plant science, and the stuff on your plate! Friendly, colorful illustrations! Citations and references! Good instructions! A cute dog!
Things that could be better: More body types. Less stilted dialog. But really, what I actually want most are sequels! What else could characters learn by making their kitchen a Bread Lab? This is definitely worth it for any teacher, parent, brownie troop leader, children's librarian, or fun visiting aunt.
August 9, 2020
See my full review here: https://www.yabookscentral.com/kidsfi...
BREAD LAB! is a cute picture book that walks through the steps of making sourdough bread through the eyes of a budding scientist, Iris, and her Aunt Mary. Beyond the information about how they make bread and the science behind it - complete with Iris's lab notebook - the story also features information about what her plant scientist aunt does and a story about the day they spend together. Luckily, the book includes detailed instructions in the back for how you can create your own whole wheat sourdough bread, as the book will definitely inspire young readers to make their own.
What I loved: The book does a great job of presenting the steps to making bread within a larger fictional story to capture young readers' attention. Aunt Mary also explains the steps along the way, giving a great nod to science and experiments as well. I also really appreciated that Iris is mixed race, and her family is pictured in the book. The illustrations have bright colors that add to the appeal. The recipe at the end is very helpful if the book inspires young readers to create their own bread lab.
What left me wanting more: As a small thing, the text is lengthy and a little small, making it difficult to read aloud, especially in a classroom setting. It would be better for slightly older picture book readers/elementary school aged children due to the length.
Final verdict: BREAD LAB! is a fun picture book about how to make bread with a cute family story in the background. If you have ever wondered about how bread is made, this book is a great place to start.
Please note that I received a review copy. All opinions are my own.
BREAD LAB! is a cute picture book that walks through the steps of making sourdough bread through the eyes of a budding scientist, Iris, and her Aunt Mary. Beyond the information about how they make bread and the science behind it - complete with Iris's lab notebook - the story also features information about what her plant scientist aunt does and a story about the day they spend together. Luckily, the book includes detailed instructions in the back for how you can create your own whole wheat sourdough bread, as the book will definitely inspire young readers to make their own.
What I loved: The book does a great job of presenting the steps to making bread within a larger fictional story to capture young readers' attention. Aunt Mary also explains the steps along the way, giving a great nod to science and experiments as well. I also really appreciated that Iris is mixed race, and her family is pictured in the book. The illustrations have bright colors that add to the appeal. The recipe at the end is very helpful if the book inspires young readers to create their own bread lab.
What left me wanting more: As a small thing, the text is lengthy and a little small, making it difficult to read aloud, especially in a classroom setting. It would be better for slightly older picture book readers/elementary school aged children due to the length.
Final verdict: BREAD LAB! is a fun picture book about how to make bread with a cute family story in the background. If you have ever wondered about how bread is made, this book is a great place to start.
Please note that I received a review copy. All opinions are my own.
July 26, 2019
Childrens picture book that blurs the line between fiction and non-fiction. Iris and her aunt "Plant Mary," a plant scientist, are turning the kitchen into a bread lab. Mary brought some sourdough starter and is here to bake sourdough bread with just four ingredients: starter, flour, water, and salt. A cute story that discusses where bread comes from and how it is baked. Extensive back matter includes facts about bread, a full recipe for sourdough bread, information about the bread lab in Washington State, information on the books's creators, and resources to learn more ( websites, videos, and articles available online.)
This book is hard to categorize because it is a narrative, but definitely talks about the science and art of baking bread. Would work for older elementary students, and would be best followed by baking if possible.
This book is hard to categorize because it is a narrative, but definitely talks about the science and art of baking bread. Would work for older elementary students, and would be best followed by baking if possible.
August 20, 2020
This was SO CUTE. It's another from the "grab bag" chosen for my kid by the local library (an age-appropriate set of books that was carefully curated and super great), and it's long! It was a surprisingly long book for bedtime! But it was adorable, and full of science and Making Stuff, and as a total side note, featured a multiracial family. HEART EYES. It ends with facts about bread and a sourdough recipe.
Of course, my five-year-old boy's favorite part was the microbes burping gas bubbles to make the bread rise. He even read the word "BURP" all by himself. Look, he's just learning to read, I'll take it! XD
Of course, my five-year-old boy's favorite part was the microbes burping gas bubbles to make the bread rise. He even read the word "BURP" all by himself. Look, he's just learning to read, I'll take it! XD
March 11, 2019
A nice story that follows a girl and her aunt as they make sour dough bread. A pleasant and informative read.
September 29, 2019
Cheerful family story of baking bread that delivers the science behind yeast starter. Inspired by Washington State's Bread Lab, the back matter has handy references.
February 13, 2022
Fun and informative story about bread making. I enjoyed the story and the colorful illustrations.
January 21, 2019
Bread Lab! By Kim Binczewski and Bethany Econopouly, illustrated by Hayelin Choi. PICTURE BOOK. Readers to Eaters, 2018. $19. 9780998436609
BUYING ADVISORY: El (K-3), EL - ADVISABLE
AUDIENCE APPEAL: AVERAGE
Iris loves it when her aunt Mary, or as Iris calls her – Plant Mary, comes to visit, because they always do something fun. Today they are baking whole wheat sourdough bread!
While the test is rather wordy, it does an excellent job of explaining the process of making bread with a sourdough starter. There are lots of ideas on the web for making bread with a class and this is a good starter for the experience.
Cindy, Middle School Librarian, MLS
https://kissthebookjr.blogspot.com/20...
BUYING ADVISORY: El (K-3), EL - ADVISABLE
AUDIENCE APPEAL: AVERAGE
Iris loves it when her aunt Mary, or as Iris calls her – Plant Mary, comes to visit, because they always do something fun. Today they are baking whole wheat sourdough bread!
While the test is rather wordy, it does an excellent job of explaining the process of making bread with a sourdough starter. There are lots of ideas on the web for making bread with a class and this is a good starter for the experience.
Cindy, Middle School Librarian, MLS
https://kissthebookjr.blogspot.com/20...
March 24, 2022
When Iris spends the afternoon with her Aunt Mary, the two bake some sourdough bread.
Binczewski's story is a fun mix of science experiment and fiction, cooked just right to give a satisfying ending. Illustrations by Hayelin Choi were rendered in Adobe Photoshop. They are bright and cheery, though have a very flat feeling.
Backmatter includes two pages of facts about bread, a recipe for making sourdough bread, information about the Bread Lab at Washington State University, and resources about making bread and the Bread Lab.
Lots of STEM applications in this one... Recommended for K-5.
Binczewski's story is a fun mix of science experiment and fiction, cooked just right to give a satisfying ending. Illustrations by Hayelin Choi were rendered in Adobe Photoshop. They are bright and cheery, though have a very flat feeling.
Backmatter includes two pages of facts about bread, a recipe for making sourdough bread, information about the Bread Lab at Washington State University, and resources about making bread and the Bread Lab.
Lots of STEM applications in this one... Recommended for K-5.
November 26, 2021
Bread science + silly jokes = 1 terrific book. I like this book’s fact-filled fiction, the story of a girl who turns her kitchen into a bread lab, making sourdough bread with her scientist aunt. The story has lots of silly puns and jokes, but the bread science is solid—the authors are real-life bread scientists. There's even a detailed recipe! This is a great book for any kid into baking.
April 2, 2022
This book was so much fun! You got science, you got baking, you got a biracial main character, you got an interracial couple, you got animals, and the color yellow is featured throughout! Very sunshine-y. I was planning on saving this but then I saw that the first line set the story on a Saturday morning, and it was Saturday morning when I read this!
February 15, 2023
It was a very informative and educational read on how to make sourdough bread from scratch and who a plant scientist is. The illustration style is very cute and simple. The end of the book includes fun facts about bread as well as a recipe for sourdough bread. This would be appropriate for upper elementary.
November 12, 2018
A good explanation of how bread is made from scratch
December 18, 2018
Good enough storyline, but very wordy for a picture book.
January 4, 2019
Oh the text. Too long and too tiny. Maybe a super baker who is hot on this topic will love it?
January 17, 2019
Science! Bread science!
August 12, 2020
3.5 stars
December 30, 2020
A cute book about a niece and her aunt baking bread from a whole wheat sourdough starter. Resources, recipe, and bread facts included in back matter. Diverse cast - mom and aunt appear white, dad appears black, and Iris is brown skinned.
April 17, 2021
Iris makes bread with her Aunt Mary who is a plant scientist.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
May 10, 2021
3.5 stars. Who knew that Washington State University has a bread lab? all aspects of wheat production and bread making. Book went well with King Arthur Bake for Good school project!
July 5, 2022
Informative for making sour dough bread.
October 22, 2022
#69 of 2022
Displaying 1 - 22 of 22 reviews