The Only Way to Make Bread

by Cristina Quintero, Sarah Gonzales (Illustrator)

Overview

WINNER of the Ezra Jack Keats Best New Illustrator Award!
A delicious exploration of all kinds of breads, from sourdough to bannock to bao, that will tickle your taste buds and warm your heart.

What's the only way to make bread?

You might use white flour in your bread, or whole wheat flour or corn flour.

You might use water or milk, maybe an egg or two.

You'll use a handful of this, a dash of that, a bit of this and a splash of that.

Some dough will rise, some dough will bubble. Sometimes it will be sticky, sometimes it will be shaggy.

What's the only way to make bread?

Your way!

This tasty celebration of all kinds of bread will tempt bread lovers big and small. No matter what kind of bread YOU like to make, this book is for you!

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780735271760
Publisher:	Tundra
Publication date:	10/03/2023
Pages:	40
Product dimensions:	10.20(w) x 10.10(h) x 0.50(d)
Lexile:	AD630L (what's this?)
Age Range:	3 - 7 Years

About the Author

CRISTINA QUINTERO is a first-generation Colombian-Canadian of both Afro-Colombian and Indigenous-Colombian descent. As a child of immigrants, she understands the importance of stories that go beyond trauma and struggle and instead highlight the everyday joy that is created within immigrant communities. She grew up in a neighborhood where one mama filled in for another, so while it was not always easy, her childhood was always delicious. Thus was born her lifelong love of food and ideas about community-building through food.


Filipino-Canadian illustrator SARAH GONZALES was born in Saudi Arabia and raised in Canada. Sarah has been drawing ever since she can remember and has never stopped; she eventually went to the Alberta College of Art and Design, where she focused on illustration and design. Sarah lives in Montreal.

Editorial Reviews

WINNER of the Ezra Jack Keats Best New Illustrator Award, 2024
A Shelf Awareness Best Books of the Year for 2023

PRAISE FOR The Only Way to Make Bread:

"You’ll want to make bread after reading this warmhearted book . . .  the story ensures nothing about this process comes off as precious except the time spent together. This is . . . a unifying addition to conversations around community and food literacy." —STARRED REVIEW, Booklist

"The art, combined with Quintero's graceful text, results in a behind-the-scenes glimpse into the ordinary, love-filled lives of individuals from various cultures." —STARRED REVIEW Shelf Awareness

"The warm tones and textures of Gonzales’s colored pencil illustrations evoke the feeling of being in a kitchen baking bread with loved ones. . . . A celebration of differences and the commonalities that unite us." —Kirkus Reviews

"There’s excellent chemistry between Colombian-Canadian debut author Cristina Quintero’s playful, immersive text and Filipino-Canadian illustrator Sarah Gonzales’s softly textured, coloured-pencil artwork with toasty ochre tones and steamy swirls of buttery yellow . . . The Only Way to Make Bread is perfect for savouring and sharing." —Quill & Quire

"This lively celebration of bread offers a welcome emphasis on diversity and collaboration. A warm and engaging read-aloud, it is also an excellent resource for caregivers and teachers." —School Library Journal

"The Only Way to Make Bread proves itself to be a new family favourite. With a timeless message and adorable graphics, this book is certain to be a good read no matter how old you are." —Young Adulting

"[A]s appealing as a warm, freshly baked loaf of bread." —CM: Canadian Review of Materials

"With softly coloured illustrations, children will explore different ways to make bread. . . . Recipes at the back of the book will have young chefs excited to try these delicious variations." —Calgary Herald

From the Publisher

2023-11-18
Families make different kinds of bread that share a common ingredient: love.

In a bustling apartment building, various families of diverse races and ethnicities are making bread. Told in a voice that evokes the absolutist tone of a child, the story opens with the pronouncement, “The only way to make bread is like this.” What follows, however, is not a single recipe to follow but an exploration of what all bread has in common and what makes each kind of bread unique. For instance, you might use flour that’s “soft and white as fresh snow” or “pale yellow and powdery fine” or “coarse and heavy like a pile of teeny tiny rocks.” Different ingredients—“a handful of this,” “a dash of that”—and cooking techniques involving ovens, frying pans, and fires finish the job. In the end, the important thing is to find someone to share it with, “because bread must always be broken together.” It may look and taste different, but “all bread is delicious.” The warm tones and textures of Gonzales’ colored pencil illustrations evoke the feeling of being in a kitchen baking bread with loved ones. The backmatter includes descriptions of the 11 breads featured in the story and recipes for Colombian arepas and Filipino pandesal.

A celebration of differences and the commonalities that unite us. (Picture book. 3-7)

Kirkus Reviews