Horn Book
(c) Copyright The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.

Fiction: PB A little girl overcomes her fear of thunderstorms with the help of her grandmother. Polacco fills her illustrations with the bright colors and rich patterns of Russian folk art. Review 3/90. Horn Rating: Superior, well above average. Reviewed by: hbz (c) Copyright 2010. The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.

Kirkus
Copyright © Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.

Drawing again on her midwestern, Russian-American heritage, Polacco tells how Grandma comforts a child who is afraid of approaching thunder by distracting her with the making of a cake. It's from scratch--including getting eggs from the hens and an unusual ingredient, tomatoes, from the garden--but they get the cake done by the time the storm arrives. Polacco's illustrations--combining folk motifs, softly modeled faces, generous white space, and wonderfully evocative glimpses of the weather--are her best yet. There's a bit of poetic license in the countdown (sound travels one mile in five seconds, not five miles), but never mind. The cake recipe (with minimal instructions) is included. A heartwarming vignette. Copyright ©Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.