I came across children’s book publisher Kane/Miller as a judge at the Cybils, the 2006 Children’s and YA Bloggers’ Literary Awards. Out of La Jolla, California, Kane/Miller is a strong believer in using books to educate children about the world:

We search the world for books that through great stories and arresting illustrations enrich the lives and the imaginations of the children who read them. American children need to learn not just about the United States, but about the world. They need to know that they can share adventures, and fantasies and dreams. Because the children of the coming millennium will not simply be citizens of their own countries, they truly will be citizens of the world.

One of these stories is The Story of Cherry the Pig by Utao Yamada, a Japanese author. For ages four to six, the book teaches about self-esteem, identity, and value of friendship. Cherry the Pig is happy and content. Being a pig, she loves to bake and eat desserts every afternoon – lucky girl! Then one day, she hears a family of mice talking about her “incredible” apple cake. She thinks her apple cake is pretty incredible, too, so she enters  it in a bake-off at the Harvest Festival.

The Kane/Miller website features play pages with discussion topics and ideas, a word search, ideas for activities, and a recipe for a cake like the one in the book. (Cherry doesn’t share her recipes, but this one is almost as good!)

Cherry the Pig’s Winning Apple Cake

Ingredients:

1. 2 cups granulated sugar
2. 3 cups flour
3. 2 eggs
4. 1¼ cups light vegetable oil
5. 1 tsp baking soda
6. 2 tsp cinnamon
7. 1 tsp salt
8. 3 cups diced apples (whichever kind you like – crisp is best though)
9. 1 cup chopped nuts (unless you hate them)
10. 1 cup raisins (or dried cranberries, or dried cherries…)

Directions:

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees and then…put everything in a big bowl and mix it up with your hands. Bake in an ungreased 9 x 13 pan for an hour, and let it cool (if you can wait) before cutting.

I’ll be featuring more Kane/Miller titles this week, so stop on with a cup of tea and a slice of cake.

(Apple loaf picture courtesy of Delia OnLine.)

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