It's a sleepy Saturday morning for most people, but not for Iris, who
has to feed her many pets before Aunt Mary arrives. Iris likes to call
Aunt Mary "Plant Mary" because she is a plant scientist.
Today Aunt Mary wants to experiment with making whole wheat sourdough
bread from scratch! As the family kitchen transforms into a bread lab,
Iris is surprised that bread needs only four ingredients--flour, water,
salt and starter. She also learns about the invisible microbes that make
the dough rise, and how flour comes from wheat grown by farmers. It all
seems magical, but it's really science.
Kim Binczewski and Bethany Econopouly, plant researchers at The Bread
Lab at Washington State University, Mount Vernon, make their
picture-book debut with this mouth-watering story that captures the
step-by-step process and delicious aromas, sensations, sights and sounds
of bread-making. The playful art of Hayelin Choi, illustrator of Alice
Waters and the Trip to Delicious, crackle and pop with fun, to inspire
new bakers and young scientists alike!
Published in Cooperation with The Bread Lab at Washington State
University, Mount Vernon. Sponsored by the Bread Bakers Guild of
America.
Kim Binczewski is the managing director of the Bread Lab at
Washington State University in Mount Vernon, where her work includes
field research, community outreach, and connecting farmers with bakers,
chefs and businesses. She grew up on a small farm in western New York
and studied Environmental Science in college. She lives in Bellingham,
Washington. This is her first picture book.
Bethany Econopouly has a PhD from Washington State University and an
MS from Colorado State University, both in agricultural sciences. She
previously worked at the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation in Seattle. She
currently lives near Philadelphia. This is her first picture book.
Hayelin Choi made her illustration debut with Alice Waters and the
Trip to Delicious, which earned a starred review from School Library
Journal. She was born and raised in Gwacheon, South Korea. A visual
storyteller, she studied illustration at the School of Visual Arts in
New York City and is pursuing a graduate degree in graphic design at
Maryland Institute College of Art in Baltimore, where she lives.
