Mr. Emerson's Cook

by Judy Schachner

Book Overview

Your work should be in praise of what you love. -Ralph Waldo EmersonWhen Annie Burns, newly arrived from Ireland, takes a job as cook to Mr. Ralph Waldo Emerson, it is almost more than she can manage.... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0525458840
• ISBN13: 9780525458845
• Release Date: September 1998
• Publisher: Dutton Books for Young Readers
• Length: 48 Pages
• Weight: 0.90 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.6" x 10.8" x 9.3"
• Age Range: 6 to 9 years
• Grade Range: Grades 1 to 4

Customer Reviews

A delightful picture book for the young and not-so-young

Annie Burns arrives in the U.S. from Ireland and immediately takes the job of cook in the Emerson house in Concord, Massachusetts. At first she's not so sure about working for a philosopher who would rather watch sunrises than taste her homemade pies. But after she writes a questioning letter to her mother, she receives a reply that stirs her imagination. Soon she succeeds in enticing Mr. Emerson to eat what she puts on the table. Author Judith Byron Schachner is a descendant of Annie Burns, and it's evident she tells this story with love and respect. The text is Transcendentalism in its most basic form. The illustrations are colorful and lively. Teens and adults can relate to the nuances of the plot, while the younger set can study the animals that appear in every scene. The chickens are wearing the booties that Thoreau made for them, and the cats are as playful on these pages as their breed can be in real life. A successful foray into the world of the Concord authors!

A Beautiful Book!

I just returned from the first day of the NCTE conference in NYC where I attended a session on using picture books in the secondary classroom in conjunction with American classics. Judith Byron Schachner was in attendance and read her wonderful book in a mellifluous Irish brogue. This book is not just for young children. It is a terrific way to introduce high school students to Emerson and Transcendentalism.