Ken Marantz and Sylvia Marantz (Children's Literature)
A young boy recalls the Saturdays he would bike to visit his Mammaw. In language rich with the sounds, smells, and tastes of days gone by, the story takes us down the road, through the town to his grandmother's hug of welcome. He cuts the lawn while she tends the garden. Then they have some lunch, and it's time for "something sweet to eat." With his help, she makes the dough and bakes the teacakes he enjoys so much. These vivid memories he "won't ever forget." The sentimental tale gets additional emotional strength from the large watercolor scenes which at times resemble color photographs. The pictures describe the idyllic small town with friendly folks, flower-bordered roads, and Mammaw's house and garden. The furnishings are right out of the mid-twentieth century. The sequence of images tells a story rich in the joy of a boyhood and the valuing of the special relationship between the generations. And the recipe for those delicious-looking teacakes is available on line. 2004, Peachtree Publishers, $16.95. Ages 4 to 8.

Marya Jansen-Gruber (Children's Literature)
Every Saturday when he was nine, the boy, with his dog at his heels, left home early in the morning on his bike. It was a ride he knew well with familiar landmarks. He is eager to get to his destination and we can feel his swoops and turns, the hills and the bumps as he goes "pedal, pedal, pedal" to his grandmother's house. At last there is his "Mawmaw's" house, and as he goes up the gravel drive the "humming" of his bike tires turns into a crunch. Every Saturday Mawmaw is waiting for him, sitting on her old metal glider which squeaks a "crick-craaack" as she moves backward and forward. The best part of it is that the boy knows that Mawmaw is waiting for only one person and that is "Just me." He feels special and loved. What follows is a series of little rituals that the boy and grandmother share. They begin their day by sharing some hot biscuits and coffee. Then they get to work in the garden. The boy struggles with his grandmother's old lawn mower, eventually getting it started and getting the lawn mown into "fresh stripes." Lunch of fresh tomato sandwiches follows and then the two get to work making a batch of teacakes, a delicious treat that the boy loves to help his grandmother make. With a simple, warm and yet a living text the author shares a very special time with his readers. Bright and luminous watercolors help to bring this day in the life of a nine-year old to life. We hear the voices of Mawmaw and her grandson as they go about their day, and sense the peace and calm that lies in Mawmaws house and garden. This is truly a testament to the joys of the simple things in life and to the love shared between a grandmother and her grandson. 2004, Peachtree, $16.95. Ages 5 to 7.

Kirkus (Kirkus Reviews, February 15, 2004 (Vol. 72, No. 4))
Readers will have a hard time resisting this cover: a grinning boy of nine or ten is lord of the pile of treats in front of him: teacakes he bakes with his grandmother as the culmination of their Saturday visits. Also on the weekly agenda: mowing Mawmaw's lawn and enjoying sandwiches crafted with her just-picked tomatoes. Set in 1964 in Heflin, Alabama, there's little tension in this vignette-riding his bike there safely through the rural countryside is the hardest part of the boy's day. The impeccably rendered paintings illustrate with astonishing historical accuracy the slightly long text and capture the details of the time: gasoline pumps and automobiles in the service station, the boy's bicycle, and kitchen furnishings that suggest an even earlier time. The author crafted this as a tribute to a childhood tradition with his grandmother, to whom the book is dedicated; while not all of us had his childhood, filled with sunshine and smiles, this nostalgic look back offers up the childhood many of us wish we'd had. 2004, Peachtree, 32p, $16.95. Category: Picture book. Ages 4 to 8. © 2004 Kirkus Reviews/VNU eMedia, Inc. All rights reserved.

Wendy S. Carroll (Library Media Connection, August/September 2004)
In this story, a young boy describes what it was like growing up in Heflin, Alabama in 1964. The boy rides his bicycle through his small town every Saturday past Thompson Street, Mrs. Cofield's house, and the cemetery. He continues past the bank and finally pedals up the hill to his Mammaw's house, where she is waiting for him. They eat breakfast together and then they go outside. The story is illustrated with Soentpiet's paintings spread over two pages. This is a very detailed narrative of a boy sharing time with his grandmother; but, the timeframe that the story takes place in might not be of interest to young children. Additional Selection. 2004, Peachtree Publishers, 32pp., $16.95 hc. Ages 5 to 8.

Horn Book (The Horn Book Guide, Fall 2004)
Reminiscing nostalgically about his boyhood in Alabama in the 1960s, the narrator recalls his weekly visits to his grandmother's house, where he mowed the lawn and helped her make delicious teacakes. The watercolors are minutely lit and detailed, but the figure painting is stiff. While both text and illustrations are occasionally self-conscious, they invite readers into the narrator's memory. Category: Picture Books. 2004, Peachtree, 32pp, $16.95. Ages 4 to 9. Rating: 4: Recommended, with minor flaws.