Family Book Day: Thunder Cake

As soon as we knew that “school” would happen at home for while, we talked to Harper and Jameson about the things we wanted to be sure to include. One of their favorites from summer time were family book days. “Can we do those, mom?” Harper asked. I was thrilled to oblige.

The weather forecasted rain and snow here in Colorado on our first day of spring, so Patricia Polacco’s Thunder Cake was a perfect choice. In my opinion, any Patricia Polacco book is always a good choice, regardless of weather.

Though our summer book days are aimed at pure fun, I did feel the need to throw in some literacy in the midst of our school leave. So we started with a vocabulary preview. Part of the fun in Polacco’s books is that they often tie in her Russian heritage. We loved using the word babushka (grandmother) and samovar (a Russian teapot) and talked about how the weather can make things shudder and the skies look ominous. When we read, we had fun with onomatopoeia words that were in all caps. We read them loudly and then came up with our own. Polacco is also a vividly descriptive writer. We studied some of her sentences and noticed that she often used two to three adjectives for an object or idea. Then, Jameson and Harper each choose an object to describe, too. Jameson wrote that his T-Rex was “huge, scary, and had sharp teeth.” Harper said Florida was “hot, beautiful, and wiiiiiiiiiinnnnddddy.” I am not sure why she felt the need to exaggerate the wind, but she claims it is most true.

After the writing, we had a little fun. We noticed that the babushka wore a patterned dress, so we went pattern-hunting in our house. The kids were successful. Here are a few of their favorite finds:

After patterns, we made a little storm play-dough:

Quick Play-Dough

1 C (may need a bit more to get the texture right)

1/4 C salt

1 tsp veggie oil

Food coloring of choice

Mix the flour and salt together. In a separate bowl, make a little mixture of water and food coloring. Add this to the flour mixture, and work it together in your hands. Add in the oil. Continue to add bits of flour until the dough becomes moldable.

Harper and Jameson added lightning bolts to theirs and then squished and played for a while. I am happy that play-dough is still a hit. Those days will soon be gone.

Thunder Cake is centered on a girl’s fear about thunder and storms. Her grandmother helps alleviate her fear by teaching her to count between the lightning and the thunder, and by baking a “thunder cake” during the time it takes the storm to reach their farm. The book creates a perfect opportunity to talk about what kinds of things scare us. My kiddos made fear storm-clouds:

We saved the best for last. What’s reading Thunder Cake without making a thunder cake? I have to say, however, that we ran into a bit of a snafoo when gathering ingredients for this cake. Babushka’s secret ingredient is ripe tomatoes. So I sent Jason to the store for a can of crushed tomatoes. It really did indicate that we were in strange times when he called to tell me there was hardly a can on the shelf, period, let alone any crushed tomatoes. And so, to the joy of Harper and Jameson (who were a little nervous about putting tomatoes in a cake), we used applesauce instead. But really, who cares? Chocolate cake at noon on a Thursday? We were happy.

None of us know what lies ahead or what our “norm” will be or what our days will look like. Right now, I am certainly most grateful that my family and my neighbors and my friends are healthy and safe. That is most important. But, I also take comfort in the joy that books can bring, and that they can be part of what makes these days positive. Plus, when they are a shared experience, they are all the more powerful.

What’s your family reading?

To all, be well. Thanks for letting me share a little piece of our quarantine with you.