granny torrelli makes soup by sharon creech

Rivalry and misunderstandings grow as the two compete to earn the most money in the waning days of summer. Evan believes himself to be less than clever Jessie’s emotional maturity doesn’t quite measure up to her intelligence.

But the news that bright Jessie will be skipping a grade to join Evan’s fourth-grade class creates tension. Jessie and Evan are usually good friends as well as sister and brother. Unfortunately, the length makes it less likely to appeal to the intended audience. Told from the point of view of two warring siblings, this could have been an engaging first chapter book. Full of good humor and aromatic seasonings, this offering nevertheless may not stick to the ribs. The structure mitigates significant plot development, however: readers are presented with a situation-Bailey and Rosie redefine their childhood friendship-which is resolved ever-so-neatly, thanks to Granny’s remarkably parallel stories and a few pinches of garlic. Rosie’s present-tense voice is fresh and young, with an ingenuous turn of phrase.

The scenario is repeated the following week, only now Bailey himself becomes part of the cooking crew, clearly benefiting as much from Granny’s well-timed pauses as Rosie. The reader meets Rosie and her Granny as they slice and chop, Granny’s penetrating questions and stories of her youth leading narrator Rosie to reflect in short vignettes on her lifelong friendship and on her current pre-adolescent difficulties. The preparation of the two dinners forms the structure for this loose little treatment in which 12-year-old Rosie works out her changing relationship with Bailey, the proverbial boy-next-door.

Granny torrelli makes soup by sharon creech