Independence Cake

A Revolutionary Confection Inspired by Amelia Simmons, Whose True History Is Unfortunately Unknown

Illustrated by Giselle Potter
Look inside
Celebrate American independence with this delightful picture book as you travel to Revolutionary America and meet the amazing Amelia Simmons: mother's helper, baker of delectable cakes, and soon-to-be authoress of the first American cookbook!
 
Master of the historical fiction picture book Deborah Hopkinson takes us back to late eighteenth-century America and the discombobulated home of Mrs. Bean, mother of six strapping sons, who simply can't manage—until Amelia Simmons arrives and puts things in order. And how well she cooks—everything from flapjacks to bread pudding to pickled cucumbers! She even invents new recipes using American ingredients like winter squash. Best of all, she can bake, and to honor the brand-new president, George Washington, she presents him with thirteen Independence Cakes—one for each colony. "Delicious!" he proclaims. Author's Note and original recipe included!
 
Praise for Abe Lincoln Crosses a Creek by Deborah Hopkinson:
Abe Lincoln, a storyteller of great repute, would be hard-pressed to beat Hopkinson’s considerable skills.” —The Horn Book Magazine
 
Praise for This Is My Dollhouse by Giselle Potter:
"Celebrates the best of free play, capturing what it's like to be fully engaged and inspired." —The New York Times
 
*“Downright charming watercolor-and-ink illustrations invite close inspection.” —Kirkus Reviews, Starred
© Deborah Hopkinson
Deborah Hopkinson is the author of award-winning books for children and teens including Sky Boys, The Great Trouble, A Bandit's Tale, and A Letter to My Teacher. She visits schools across the country and lives in Oregon. View titles by Deborah Hopkinson
© Courtesy of the Author
Giselle Potter has illustrated numerous books for children, including Cecil the Pet Glacier by Matthea Harvey, Want to Be in a Band? by Suzzy Roche, and The Boy Who Loved Words by Roni Schotter, which was a Parents’ Choice Gold Award winner. Giselle lives in New York’s Hudson Valley with her husband and daughters. Visit her at GisellePotter.com. View titles by Giselle Potter
Educator Guide for Independence Cake

Classroom-based guides appropriate for schools and colleges provide pre-reading and classroom activities, discussion questions connected to the curriculum, further reading, and resources.

(Please note: the guide displayed here is the most recently uploaded version; while unlikely, any page citation discrepancies between the guide and book is likely due to pagination differences between a book’s different formats.)

  • SELECTION | 2018
    Bank Street College Best Children's Book of the Year
"Both budding chefs and those who happily (and patriotically) consume their handiwork will eat this up." — Publishers Weekly, starred review

About

Celebrate American independence with this delightful picture book as you travel to Revolutionary America and meet the amazing Amelia Simmons: mother's helper, baker of delectable cakes, and soon-to-be authoress of the first American cookbook!
 
Master of the historical fiction picture book Deborah Hopkinson takes us back to late eighteenth-century America and the discombobulated home of Mrs. Bean, mother of six strapping sons, who simply can't manage—until Amelia Simmons arrives and puts things in order. And how well she cooks—everything from flapjacks to bread pudding to pickled cucumbers! She even invents new recipes using American ingredients like winter squash. Best of all, she can bake, and to honor the brand-new president, George Washington, she presents him with thirteen Independence Cakes—one for each colony. "Delicious!" he proclaims. Author's Note and original recipe included!
 
Praise for Abe Lincoln Crosses a Creek by Deborah Hopkinson:
Abe Lincoln, a storyteller of great repute, would be hard-pressed to beat Hopkinson’s considerable skills.” —The Horn Book Magazine
 
Praise for This Is My Dollhouse by Giselle Potter:
"Celebrates the best of free play, capturing what it's like to be fully engaged and inspired." —The New York Times
 
*“Downright charming watercolor-and-ink illustrations invite close inspection.” —Kirkus Reviews, Starred

Author

© Deborah Hopkinson
Deborah Hopkinson is the author of award-winning books for children and teens including Sky Boys, The Great Trouble, A Bandit's Tale, and A Letter to My Teacher. She visits schools across the country and lives in Oregon. View titles by Deborah Hopkinson
© Courtesy of the Author
Giselle Potter has illustrated numerous books for children, including Cecil the Pet Glacier by Matthea Harvey, Want to Be in a Band? by Suzzy Roche, and The Boy Who Loved Words by Roni Schotter, which was a Parents’ Choice Gold Award winner. Giselle lives in New York’s Hudson Valley with her husband and daughters. Visit her at GisellePotter.com. View titles by Giselle Potter

Guides

Educator Guide for Independence Cake

Classroom-based guides appropriate for schools and colleges provide pre-reading and classroom activities, discussion questions connected to the curriculum, further reading, and resources.

(Please note: the guide displayed here is the most recently uploaded version; while unlikely, any page citation discrepancies between the guide and book is likely due to pagination differences between a book’s different formats.)

Awards

  • SELECTION | 2018
    Bank Street College Best Children's Book of the Year

Praise

"Both budding chefs and those who happily (and patriotically) consume their handiwork will eat this up." — Publishers Weekly, starred review

PRH Education Translanguaging Collections

Translanguaging is a communicative practice of bilinguals and multilinguals, that is, it is a practice whereby bilinguals and multilinguals use their entire linguistic repertoire to communicate and make meaning (GarcĂ­a, 2009; GarcĂ­a, Ibarra Johnson, & Seltzer, 2017)   It is through that lens that we have partnered with teacher educators and bilingual education experts, Drs.

Read more

PRH Education Classroom Libraries

“Books are a students’ passport to entering and actively participating in a global society with the empathy, compassion, and knowledge it takes to become the problem solvers the world needs.” –Laura Robb   Research shows that reading and literacy directly impacts students’ academic success and personal growth. To help promote the importance of daily independent

Read more