Have you ever read a book and been absolutely captivated by it? I was recently when I read this book - A Fine Dessert by Emily Jenkins, illustrated by Sophie Blackall. I immediately took it to 2nd grade because it reminded me of their TEKS - comparing technology from the past and present, and how it affects our lives. We follow the history of a dessert through time as four families make it in 1710, 1810, 1910 and 2010.
Check out these photos of the art that show some of the book.
Sophie Blackall, illustrator, had a fascinating note at the back about how she researched for A Fine Dessert, the questions she had, and steps she took to make sure the art in this book was accurate. She also used older forms of technology to make the dessert to experience it just as her characters did in 1710.
To get the same experiences, we rented a truck of 100+ years old items from the Williamson Museum. We looked at the 1810 whisk at the top right, and the 1910 mechanical whisk at the bottom right, and compared and contrasted them. We also noticed how some items like the colander haven't really changed much in the past hundred years.
We have big plans in 2nd grade- next, we're going to skype with the awesome Sophie Blackall, and also will make blackberry fool using different implements to see how hard it really is to whip cream by hand. It's going to be delicious!
G. Neri, author of the Texas Bluebonnet Award nominee Ghetto Cowboy, was kind enough to Skype with a group of 4th grade boys who are currently reading the book as part of our Book Club. They asked him lots of insightful questions despite being starstruck by the author of this wonderful book, and he was so gracious and kind to spend his time with us. 
