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The Fabulous Fannie Farmer

Kitchen Scientist and America’s Cook

Author Emma Bland Smith
Illustrated by Susan Reagan
Look inside
Hardcover
$18.99 US
Astra Publishing House | Calkins Creek
10.31"W x 10.31"H x 0.37"D  
On sale Jan 30, 2024 | 40 Pages | 9781635926125
Grades 2-5
Reading Level: Lexile 850L | Fountas & Pinnell R
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Fannie Farmer, America’s most famous cooking teacher, discovers that precise measurements are a recipe for cooking success in this STEAM picture book that includes two of her classic recipes.

When Fannie Farmer learned to cook in the late 1800s, recipes could be pretty silly. They might call for “a goodly amount of salt” or “a lump of butter” or “a suspicion of nutmeg.” Girls were supposed to use their “feminine instincts” in the kitchen (or maybe just guess). Despite this problem, Fannie loved cooking, so when polio prevented her from going to college, she became a teacher at the Boston Cooking School. Unlike her mother or earlier cookbook writers, Fannie didn’t believe in feminine instincts. To her, cooking was a science. She’d noticed that precise measurements and specific instructions ensured that cakes rose instead of flopped and doughnuts fried instead of burned. Students liked Fannie’s approach so much that she wrote a cookbook. Despite skepticism from publishers, Fannie’s book was a recipe for success.

Written with humor and brought to life with charming illustrations, this book explores the origins of Fannie Farmer’s quintessentially American cookbook. A cookbook that was beloved because it allowed anyone to make tasty things, with no guessing, no luck—and certainly no feminine  instincts—required.
Emma Bland Smith is a children's librarian and writer. Her first picture book, Journey, won Bank Street College's Cook Prize and Northland College's SONWA award. View titles by Emma Bland Smith
Susan Reagan earned her degree from the Columbus College of Art and Design. With previous experience in greeting cards, surface designs, and picture books, Susan's titles include YOU AND ME and LIGHTS OUT! She lives in Cleveland, Ohio. Visit susanreaganart.com View titles by Susan Reagan
★  "The writing in this book beautifully spells out the problem home cooks faced with recipes back in Fannie Farmer’s day...'Both in books and out loud, the instructions were often cloudier than clam chowder.' Although the colorful and sprightly illustrations use a style that seems aimed at younger readers, older children will love the fact that the publisher of her book, the meticulously rewritten Boston Cooking School’s cookbook, didn’t think it would sell much; Farmer paid for the printing so that she could keep most of the profits, too. Savvy! A fabulous book...[T]his book rightfully bestows hall of fame status to a woman who insisted on accuracy when it came to getting success—not waste—from a recipe every time. For the biography shelves." —School Library Journal

★ "A very inspiring biography." —Youth Services Book Review

“This picture book biography of 19th-century culinary expert Fannie Farmer should be a hit with kids who love to mess around in the kitchen. The accessible, cheerfully feminist text celebrates Farmer’s application of scientific principles to the process of preparing a meal, and the extensive endmatter is a great launchpad for any reader who wants to do more rigorous research of their own.”—Literary Hub

“Fannie Farmer...gets the picture-book biography treatment in this well-researched, lightly told, and evocatively illustrated recounting of her story...As we follow her to Boston Cooking School, the vintage-style illustrations help transport the reader through time. This is an excellent introduction to a woman who's probably unknown to most but whose work has impacted all, but the real star of this show is the extensive, detailed back matter: an end note with further information on topics covered in the book, suggested reads and watch lists, and a multipage time line. This is a strong addition to library and school shelves with possible curricular tie-ins.” —Booklist

“The prose is peppered with rich cooking imagery...Reagan’s engaging watercolor and digital illustrations convey a sense of Fannie’s world; quotations from her writings are interspersed..Delectable!”—Kirkus Reviews

“A charming book! An evocation of having fun cooking in the kitchen.”—Anne Willan, author of Women in the Kitchen:Twelve Essential Cookbook Authors Who Defined the Way We Eat, from 1661 to Today, and founder of La Varenne Cooking School

“What a delightful read! Fannie Farmer’s story is inspiring on so many levels. I can’t wait to try the recipes with my own kid!”—Georgia Freedman, food writer, cookbook author, blogger at The California Table and coauthor of The Ranch Table

Introducing... THE FABULOUS FANNIE FARMER!

About

Fannie Farmer, America’s most famous cooking teacher, discovers that precise measurements are a recipe for cooking success in this STEAM picture book that includes two of her classic recipes.

When Fannie Farmer learned to cook in the late 1800s, recipes could be pretty silly. They might call for “a goodly amount of salt” or “a lump of butter” or “a suspicion of nutmeg.” Girls were supposed to use their “feminine instincts” in the kitchen (or maybe just guess). Despite this problem, Fannie loved cooking, so when polio prevented her from going to college, she became a teacher at the Boston Cooking School. Unlike her mother or earlier cookbook writers, Fannie didn’t believe in feminine instincts. To her, cooking was a science. She’d noticed that precise measurements and specific instructions ensured that cakes rose instead of flopped and doughnuts fried instead of burned. Students liked Fannie’s approach so much that she wrote a cookbook. Despite skepticism from publishers, Fannie’s book was a recipe for success.

Written with humor and brought to life with charming illustrations, this book explores the origins of Fannie Farmer’s quintessentially American cookbook. A cookbook that was beloved because it allowed anyone to make tasty things, with no guessing, no luck—and certainly no feminine  instincts—required.

Author

Emma Bland Smith is a children's librarian and writer. Her first picture book, Journey, won Bank Street College's Cook Prize and Northland College's SONWA award. View titles by Emma Bland Smith
Susan Reagan earned her degree from the Columbus College of Art and Design. With previous experience in greeting cards, surface designs, and picture books, Susan's titles include YOU AND ME and LIGHTS OUT! She lives in Cleveland, Ohio. Visit susanreaganart.com View titles by Susan Reagan

Praise

★  "The writing in this book beautifully spells out the problem home cooks faced with recipes back in Fannie Farmer’s day...'Both in books and out loud, the instructions were often cloudier than clam chowder.' Although the colorful and sprightly illustrations use a style that seems aimed at younger readers, older children will love the fact that the publisher of her book, the meticulously rewritten Boston Cooking School’s cookbook, didn’t think it would sell much; Farmer paid for the printing so that she could keep most of the profits, too. Savvy! A fabulous book...[T]his book rightfully bestows hall of fame status to a woman who insisted on accuracy when it came to getting success—not waste—from a recipe every time. For the biography shelves." —School Library Journal

★ "A very inspiring biography." —Youth Services Book Review

“This picture book biography of 19th-century culinary expert Fannie Farmer should be a hit with kids who love to mess around in the kitchen. The accessible, cheerfully feminist text celebrates Farmer’s application of scientific principles to the process of preparing a meal, and the extensive endmatter is a great launchpad for any reader who wants to do more rigorous research of their own.”—Literary Hub

“Fannie Farmer...gets the picture-book biography treatment in this well-researched, lightly told, and evocatively illustrated recounting of her story...As we follow her to Boston Cooking School, the vintage-style illustrations help transport the reader through time. This is an excellent introduction to a woman who's probably unknown to most but whose work has impacted all, but the real star of this show is the extensive, detailed back matter: an end note with further information on topics covered in the book, suggested reads and watch lists, and a multipage time line. This is a strong addition to library and school shelves with possible curricular tie-ins.” —Booklist

“The prose is peppered with rich cooking imagery...Reagan’s engaging watercolor and digital illustrations convey a sense of Fannie’s world; quotations from her writings are interspersed..Delectable!”—Kirkus Reviews

“A charming book! An evocation of having fun cooking in the kitchen.”—Anne Willan, author of Women in the Kitchen:Twelve Essential Cookbook Authors Who Defined the Way We Eat, from 1661 to Today, and founder of La Varenne Cooking School

“What a delightful read! Fannie Farmer’s story is inspiring on so many levels. I can’t wait to try the recipes with my own kid!”—Georgia Freedman, food writer, cookbook author, blogger at The California Table and coauthor of The Ranch Table

Media

Introducing... THE FABULOUS FANNIE FARMER!

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