Charming fable, lovely illustrations. ( )

Miriam is a wonderful baker and her favorite bread to make is cinnamon bread. Sebastian comes every day to Miriam’s bakery for a year and they marry. Soon they have a lovely child. The baby cried every day every hour and no one could figure out what to do to stop it from crying. Finally, Miriam took the baby to the bakery and made cinnamon bread and the baby stopped crying.

The whole book has a lovely brown color and almost seems to give off a cinnamon-y smell.

“Miriam loved to take the springy dough from the mixer and knead in all the tasty treasures with her warm, soft hands. Because it was her favorite, Miriam always saved the cinnamon bread for last. As she kneaded the raisins into the dough, she sang all the songs her mother had taught her when she was a child and the smell of cinnamon and the sound of her beautiful voice rose together and curled through the air.” ( )

Miriam the baker makes wonderful bread. Bread to “make your nose twitch and tastes to make your tongue tingle.” She loves her bread, especially the cinnamon bread her mother taught her to make and she sings to it all the songs her mother taught her. Sebastian falls in love with Miriam and her wonderful bread and they are married. Miriam becomes pregnant and continues to mix her marvelous cinnamon bread and sing sweet songs to it and her unborn baby. Their baby is born and “Sebastien knew it was the most beautiful and perfect child that had ever been born.” But then the baby begins to cry. Nothing the parents can do will comfort the baby until Miriam begins to bake bread. When the sweet smell of cinnamon reaches the baby, it stops crying and all is well again.

This story is lengthy for a storytime with toddlers or babies and has a slow and peaceful style that will leave most preschoolers wiggly. But, it’s perfect for a bedtime story for a sleepy child or for one who enjoys the sound of beautiful words. The illustrations swirl and dance along with the poetic language, celebrating families and baking, babies and love.

Verdict: Not a required purchase, but definitely recommended if you have parents and children who like sweet stories that will be favorites to remember as they grow older. A lovely book for a special child and their parents.

ISBN: 9781553378211; Published February 1, 2011; Review copy provided by the publisher through Raab Associates.