The Bread Pet

by Kate Depalma, Nelleke Verhoeff (Illustrator)

Cora promises to keep Uncle JB’s Bread Pet alive but didn’t anticipate its exponential growth! She needs to come up with a solution -- and fast! This whimsical STEM story of family, creativity and community will inspire young makers to experiment and share their gifts with others. Includes recipes for sourdough starter and sourdough bread.

Genres: Picture Books, LGBT, Food, Childrens, Stem, Science, Cooking

32 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2020

Reviews

[Julie · Rating 5 out of 5]

I am so excited that this book exists! I had no idea until I saw a Youtube video a staff member from our Youth Services department at the Library had made. It was fabulous! I was truly enthralled see/listen to her read the story in a most expressive way.

So, I had to borrow the book to read for myself and show to my daughter who gave me my first 'bread pet' on May 24, 2020. Her name is N033113 (aka Noelle) and she is still going strong today, 12/26/2021.

In fact, I feel pretty proud of myself that I have kept 'Noelle' alive and healthy all this time. I make pizza dough with 'her' every weekend and a loaf of bread every now and then, as the mood takes me. When my daughter visits, she makes pancakes with 'Noelle,' which are very yummy.

This book encapsulates perfectly my experience with my bread pet, which was why I was so very excited to discover it, and maybe you will be too! Over the last year or two, many people in the US and perhaps elsewhere also, have discovered how to keep a bread pet, it's one of the more positive outcomes of our ongoing pandemic due to COVID-19.

[Sue Ellen Hale · Rating 1 out of 5]

I was looking forward to what sounded like a fun children's book about sourdough. (My children think it's strange to name the starter.)

While the little information about sourdough that was presented was pretty accurate, there's also an agenda being played out within this book. The child, Cora, lives with her Mum and Mama in a happy family, with no dad mentioned. Uncle JB, wearing his rainbow sweater, leaves his starter and his goldfish in the care of Cora for a few days while he goes somewhere in his rusty camper van.

I cannot recommend this book be shared with children. It's just another attempt to normalize homosexuality to our children.

[Emily · Rating 5 out of 5]

What’s not to love? There’s math, science, a recipe and description of how starter works, a main family with two mamas, one white and one brown, and a brown child; feeding and sharing with one’s community, teaching the community to feed itself (given free sourdough starter), bright and cheery art—what a winner! Essential library purchase for me.

Grateful for a digital ARC via #edelweiss

[A. · Rating 4 out of 5]

2020, Amiright?

A humorous picture book in which a girl assumes pet-sitting responsibilities for an uncle's sourdough starter, and some misguided math makes for an opportunity to teach and share with others.

[Lois]

A cute story but the little girl in the story does have two moms. It’s not super obvious from the illustrations so I just substituted dad for “mum” when I was reading it aloud.

[Olivia · Rating 4 out of 5]

See my full review here: https://www.yabookscentral.com/kidsfi...

THE BREAD PET is a cute story about Cora, whose favorite uncle asks her to take care of his sourdough starter while he is out of town. He shows her how she needs to feed it twice a day and feels like he is forgetting something. Cora dutifully feeds the bread pet, but it begins to grow and grow. She is soon running out of space, and her mothers are growing wary of all the space it needs. They brainstorm solutions, including baking bread and bringing to the community center. Finally, Cora has a great idea - she will bring the starters to the community center and teach people how to keep their own bread pets alive.

Once she is there, the adult helping run the class says that you can keep it in the fridge to slow the growth - then her uncle realizes that was the instruction he forgot!

What I loved: This is a colorful and whimsically illustrated story with a simple storyline. I loved that Cora took her extra bread and bread pets to give to others who could use it. This pay-it-forward approach was great. I also love that the book includes recipes in the back for children who want to create their own starters and bake sourdough bread. Cora and her bread pets are delightful. I also loved the inclusion of a family with two mothers.

The length of the story is great for preschoolers through elementary school aged readers, and I appreciated the completion of the story with the uncle remembering that crucial step to keep the bread pet under control, a nice comical moment at the end. It definitely inspires the reader to start their own bread pet and make some delicious bread.

Final verdict: A whimsical and cute story about bread pets, THE BREAD PET is also a story about sharing, family, and making bread.

Please note that I received a review copy. All opinions are my own.

[Barbara · Rating 3 out of 5]

Lively digital illustrations with added handmade texture bring this humorous story about bread to life. Sourdough bread might seem to be an unlikely topic for a children's book, but this one works nicely as something of a cautionary tale and one about sharing one's bounties with others. Cora loves her uncle, JB, and when he asks her to take care of his goldfish and his sourdough starter or Bread Pet, as he calls it, she is willing to do so although a bit wary about what caring for the dough will entail. After he leaves, Cora follows his instructions about how to feed the bread, but things get crazy quickly as the bread starter outgrows one container after another. Cora and her two mothers decide to use some of the dough to bake bread, but even that doesn't help much as there is more dough than they could possibly use for themselves. They then decide to share a loaf with the folks who dine at the Community Center. But still, the bread continues to grow. Cora has a brainstorm and decides to give various portions of her Bread Pet to anyone who wants some while also leading a class on baking bread and sourdough starters. To her surprise, Toya, who runs the center, knows the secret to keeping the bread under control, something JB forgot to tell her. The facial expressions on the characters, especially the different sourdough starters, are funny, revealing their personalities perfectly. The text and images do a fine job of showing Cora's growing frustration as her house fills up with Bread Pets and no room to store them. Backmatter includes a recipe for bread as well as tips for working with a sourdough starter.

[Mandy · Rating 5 out of 5]

Informational picture book. Cora is happy to see her uncle on his way out west. He asks Cora to look after his goldfish Poquito, as well as his "bread pet"-- a sourdough starter. Once Cora gets over the gross factor, she agrees to feed it with "half its weight in water and half in flour" every day. But soon the sourdough has expanded into multiple containers-- and they are taking over the kitchen! Finally, she looks at the back of her uncle's note and realizes she is supposed to be baking to use up some of the starter. Trial and error finally produces a good loaf, and Cora takes it down to the community center. Once she sees their appreciation, Cora comes back with the various containers of sourdough starter and offers a class to the people at the community center. Her uncle is at the class and realizes he forgot to tell Cora to keep it in the fridge, which makes it grow at a much slower rate. Back matter includes directions to create a sourdough starter, a sourdough bread recipe, and a bibliography to learn more.

I loved this book! I literally laughed out loud when I saw the jars of sourdough taking over the kitchen. The characters in this book are a young darker skinned girl, her two female parents (one lighter skin, and one darker skin), and her uncle who appears to be white. This book has so many possible connections-- the 2020 pandemic sourdough craze, exponential growth, baking/ chemistry, and sharing food with others. Great fun and will be going on my list for holiday gifts (I know someone who adopted their own bread pet this year!)

[Stephanie Bange · Rating 4 out of 5]

This one has multiple uses in the classroom and beyond...

Cora agrees to take care of her neighbor's goldfish and his sourdough starter. He leaves her with written instructions on what to do, however notes he was forgetting to tell her something she needed to do. Her interracial lesbian mothers help guide her when she discovers a problem, and soon they are giving out starter and teaching others at their local community center how to make their own bread and starter.

DePalma's story has a comfortable flow to it, making me think of when I was in this same predicament in the past. Illustrations were digitally created with handmade textures by Nelleke Verhoeff. They are bright and coloful, with a bit of a "loose and wild" feeling to them.

Appended in the back are a recipe for making sourdough starter, how to bake the bread, and a short bibliography for more information about bread-making.

This would be great to use in science classes, community service, and diverse literature. Recommended for PreSchool-grade 3.

[Tarsila Krüse · Rating 4 out of 5]

Cora is helping her uncle JB to mind two of his pets, his goldfish Poquito and his Bread Pet (a sourdough starter). Mum and Mama help Cora keep both pets alive but the Bread Pet keeps on growing and multiplying and soon Cora needs to find ways to control over this sticky situation.

With lovely illustrations and filled with a supportive spirit this is a book that empowers children to be responsible and creative - and because it also includes the recipe on how to make your own sourbread starter and how to bake a loaf of bread - it allows families and children to also become Bread Pet owners.

Recommended for families and children ages 5-10

[Matthew · Rating 4 out of 5]

Anyone for sourdough? This sounds like a book that was tailor-made for the pandemic, when the cool thing to do became baking bread. I never realized how quickly sourdough starter grew. Seems incredible. This was a fun story, but it seemed like one to learn something from as well, if you're into bread.

[Pam · Rating 3 out of 5]

Cute story about responsibility wrapped in feeding a sourdough starter. Her uncle asks her to take care of his bread pet while he travels. She nurtures it and becomes overwhelmed as it grows so quickly. She finds a solution by sharing it with other community members. Fun story to share as a family.

[Peacegal · Rating 3 out of 5]

Super silly and joy-filled, but also useful, story about making sourdough bread that's a bit like a cross between Strega Nona and the Gingerbread Man. What will the family do with the rapidly expanding "bread pet??"

[Andréa]

Note: I accessed a digital review copy of this book through Edelweiss.

[Steph · Rating 4 out of 5]

Incredibly fun that this is a book - our kitchen has a bread pet from a friend who shared her sourdough starter with us!

[Jen Bojkov · Rating 4 out of 5]

Nice story about sourdough bread and how small things can make a big difference in a community.

[Julie · Rating 4 out of 5]

It's just so perfect that this book was slotted to come out this year, and then it ended up being the year of sourdough because of quarantine!!!

[Virginia · Rating 4 out of 5]

wow I can't believe I finally understand what a sourdough starter is

[Lori · Rating 3 out of 5]

A fun book to share about starter. The recipe in the back makes a big pet. My ongoing pet is 10 grams starter, 50 grams water, 50 grams flour.

[Megan Wagner · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fun book. Now I want to make some bread.

[Jo Oehrlein · Rating 3 out of 5]

Truly a story for 2020. It's about a sourdough starter, making bread to share, and sharing starter so people can make their own.

The illustrations are pretty rough.

[Jessie · Rating 3 out of 5]

About sourdough, bread, and sharing.

[Sarah · Rating 5 out of 5]

Timely premise, creative story. Love that there's a recipe included!

[Sandra]

I pretty much love everything about this book and Hunter said he really liked it too.

[Aolund · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was so cute!

[Cody Francis · Rating 4 out of 5]

I think my mom liked this book more than I did- she won't even let me try any bread yet!!

[Kristina · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book made my 4yo very excited about our own new "bread pet". :)

[abbie (library)]

silly sourdough community story

[Natasha Roslosnik · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very cute!!

Great illustrations - promotes diversity - and encourages community giving.

[Nicole Stanton · Rating 3 out of 5]

I thought some of the illustrations were odd.