Mr. Emerson’s Cook

Sample

Your work should be in praise of what you love. —Ralph Waldo Emerson

Annie is afraid she will fail in her job. But she solves her dilemma by taking inspiration from the great man himself. It is only when she lets loose her own poetic imagination that she achieves the success Mr. Emerson writes about so stirringly.

This story, which weaves fact and fiction, is as rich and satisfying as the warm apple pie that Annie cooks. With lyrical language that begs to be read aloud and illustrations full of whimsy and warmth, this book extols not only the extraordinary Mr. Emerson but the power of imagination to find the magic in a starry night and the sunshine in a cook’s creations. Young readers will want to explore again and again Mr. Emerson’s world as portrayed in the heartfelt book.

Judith Byron Schachner is the great-granddaughter of Annie Burns Byron, Ralph Waldo Emerson’s cook. She is the author and illustrator of The Grannyman, bits & pieces, and the Skippyjon Jones series. Ms. Schachner lives with her family in Pennsylvania.

Read Emerson’s seminal work, Self-Reliance.