With her tea cakes, Tosh’s grandma Honey shares stories that always begin with the words, “Long ago, before you and I were born … our people were enslaved.” Honey tells how Tosh’s “great-great-great-grandma Ida” baked tea cakes, too, and hid a few in her pockets to give her own children, slaves like her, a taste and “a promise of days to come.” When Honey begins to have problems with her memory—forgetting where she parked, a familiar phone number, and even how to make tea cakes—Tosh is able to give back the memories (including the tea cake recipe) she’d shared with him. The loving relationship between Tosh and his aging grandma provides both a reassuring snapshot of a family dealing with a common concern of aging, as well as an enduring family history traveling through the generations. Warm watercolor illustrations effectively employ some sepia-toned pages to convey a sense of a time long past, while full-color spreads transport the reader back to the present. Highly Commended, 2013 Charlotte Zolotow Award (Ages 4–8)

A young boy helps his beloved grandmother remember an important family story

Tosh loves listening to Grandma Honey tell family stories. His favorite is about the special tea cakes that smell like vanilla and sunshine. They were great-great-great-great-grandma Ida's specialty when she was a cook in the big house of a plantation. Unlike Tosh, the slave children weren't allowed to have any of the treats, though Grandma Ida always found a way to put the sugary sweetness into their hands anyway. It was a promise and taste of freedom to come.

Tosh knows this is an important story and he takes care to remember every word. And when grandma Honey begins to forget, he can return the gift of tea cakes and stories. A touching family tale, Tea Cakes for Tosh celebrates the important bond between grandchild and grandparent and the stories that make a family strong.