The Secret Remedy Book: A Story of Comfort and Love

by Karin Cates, Wendy Anderson Halperin (Illustrator)

From the talented illustrator,Wendy Anderson Halperin, comes a heartwarming story about what to do when you feel blue and how the love of good friend can be all that you need.

Lolly loves to visit her Auntie Zep. But when her mother and father leave her alone with Auntie Zep for a whole month, a great sadness develops in Lolly and she can't make it go away. So Auntie Zep finds the perfect remedy for Lolly's sadness, the Great-Great-Grandmother's Secret Remedy Book. The book contains seven different remedies for Zep and Lolly to share. Together they slowly drink fresh apple juice, plant a seed, feed a wild thing, read poetry, and much more.

Genres: Picture Books, Childrens, Fiction

40 pages, Hardcover

First published June 1, 2003

Reviews

[Lisa Vegan · Rating 5 out of 5]

I adored this book. I’m wild about it.

I wanted to squeeze the illustrations, and wanted to dive right into them, I loved them so much. Most pages have multiple pictures on them. I loved the country like art style. The pictures are so special and readers/listeners can spend quite a bit of time looking at and enjoying them.

The story is wonderful too. Lolly goes to visit her special Aunite Zep for a whole month, and almost immediately her excitement turns into homesickness. How her aunt helps her niece feel better is so heartwarming. At the back of the book, The Secret Remedies (all 7 of them) are named in their own list. Aunt Zep makes a wonderful day for Lolly, while they perform all the remedies, a day that could otherwise have been somewhat of a disaster. What creative activities! And they’re activities that most children could do, at least in some capacity.

I appreciated how much nature is used in this book, and how books and writing have a cherished place too.

This is a beautiful book, and I can see it giving great solace to homesick or otherwise sad kids, but happy & carefree kids should enjoy it too.

[Abigail · Rating 4 out of 5]

Karin Cates' heartwarming tale of a young girl on her first solo visit with a favorite aunt is combined with Wendy Anderson Halperin's absolutely charming illustrations in this sweet picture-book, which follows Lolly as she goes to her Auntie Zep's country home. Although excited at first, she soon gives way to homesickness, and it falls to Auntie Zep, with her "Secret Remedy Book," to find a way to make her feel better. Enacting the seven remedies recommended by the book, in such a circumstance, Lolly and Zep have such a wonderful day together that homesickness is banished...

I enjoyed everything about The Secret Remedy Book: A Story of Comfort and Love! I enjoyed the story, and particularly appreciated the sensitivity shown to a common childhood experience, in which the first separation from the natal family is traumatic, even when it is the result of a special treat. Lolly's experiences reminded me of that first night of sleep-away camp, when I was a girl. I enjoyed Auntie's Zep's remedy book, and the solution it offered, and I absolutely adored the illustrations! I think the friend who recommended this to me hit the nail on the head in her own review, in which she mentions that although one always gets the first impression, from Halperin's work, that it is going to be "cutesy," somehow it always manages to be more than one expects. This is just a wonderful little "slice of life" story, and is one I recommend to any young reader who has ever been far from home for the first time, and felt homesick.

[Melody Schwarting · Rating 3 out of 5]

A precious little tale about overcoming homesickness by enjoying the place where you are. (The secret remedies are mostly just good things to do when you're feeling low.) Halperin's illustrations have been a favorite of mine since I grew up with the Cobble Street Cousins, and I love the aunt vibe in this story!

[Dianna · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very inspirational.

[Aneesa · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very charming; sure to work.

[Kathy · Rating 3 out of 5]

Very cute. Lolly gets to visit her Aunt Zep at first she is overjoyed, but then starts to get homesick. Aunt Zep has just the fix for that. They follow the Secret Remedy book. A fun Summer read.

[Marcia McLaughlin · Rating 5 out of 5]

Looking for a children's book to use on a women's retreat on hygge. It's perfect!

[Sasha · Rating 5 out of 5]

If you've ever felt simultaneously alive and resplendent while homesick and worrisome, then this is the book for you. Thank God for favorite aunts and heirlooms.

[Dana Beyer · Rating 4 out of 5]

Auntie Zep has a most creative remedy for Lolly's homesickness. Who won't luv wacky Auntie Zep with her rectangle glasses, headband, scraggly pony tail on the top of her head, Capri over halls and matching striped socks? It begins with an old remedy book with brown brittle pages including some pressed flowers found in her old trunk which had traveled far and wide. The seven remedies would take them on a journey of compassion and comfort wrapped in Luv. The outdoor hike, food for a wild thing, writing a cheerful letter with an enclosure (Lolly chose a mockingbirds feather). The day ended reading in peace and quite and dreaming of doing great things beginning tomorrow. The great thing my. Special grand daughter chose was "TO WALK"! The artwork is realistically detailed with answers in little boxes or panels of art. So Get out your hiking stick and travel with them page by page.

[L. Michelle · Rating 3 out of 5]

I loved the idea and illustrations in this book, even of the story dragged a little. Perhaps Lolly's homesickness did not quite feel real to me-not enough of a problem to be truly invested in. But the drawings are beautifully detailed (reminded me of The Quiltmaker's Gift), with tiny inset panels telling pieces of the story. The whole book feels just like opening a well-traveled attic trunk and sifting through the treasures inside. I will send this to my mother, so that when my kids visit their Grandma for the first time on their own, she can have her own Secret Remedy Book ready and waiting.

[Eija · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a wonderful book to share with a young reader. A beautiful story about creating your own fun, discovering the world around you, and teaching a child how to turn those horrible, no good days into adventures.

My favorite thing about this story is the ability to turn it into an activity book. Share this book with a child in your life or an adult and get ready to either make your own secret remedy book or follow the remedies in this story. Magic. Life lessons learned.

[Hannah Jane · Rating 4 out of 5]

- Lolly gets to stay with her Auntie Zep for a month, and she's excited! But then she gets homesick and Auntie Zep comes up with a remedy that is a beautiful nod to practicing gratitude - illustrations are soft, joyful and a little wacky (Auntie Zep's headband!) - there is also lotsa lively language ('spidery handwriting that seemed to scuttle and scurry across the page' and a scarecrow with a 'necklace of cans')

[Mistiemae1 Downs · Rating 4 out of 5]

While the story is quite enjoyable and the illustrations charming, my favorite thing about The Secret Remedy Book is how it virtually begs one to make their own book of secret remedies. We read this book as a bedtime story, but first thing in the morning my children were searching through scrapbooking odds and ends to come up with their own creations.

[Shelley · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved this book. It is magical, with text and illustrations merging beautifully. A wonderful aunt helps her homesick niece to feel better using the remedies in the "Secret Remedy Book." For preschoolers through 4th grade.

[Elizabeth · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love this book! - read it and try the remedy when you're feeling sad.

[Becky · Rating 5 out of 5]

This picture book is for adults as well as children. I have given it as a gift when someone is going through a trial. It has a beautiful message.

[Angie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Cam's favorite. The perfect book for a sleep over with Gramma.

[Elizabeth · Rating 5 out of 5]

An essential reminder of the important things in life

[Claudia · Rating 5 out of 5]

LOVED this book!

[Nicole · Rating 5 out of 5]

Loved loved loved.

[Kosherbaker · Rating 3 out of 5]

A fun read-a-loud to a child who is feeling homesick or nervous about trying something new/different.

[Lori · Rating 4 out of 5]

lovely

[Sandra Muir · Rating 5 out of 5]

It is a girly, feel good book and I loved it. It is a great book to give as a gift.

[Jane · Rating 3 out of 5]

Sweet without cloying.