How do you bake an American pie? Just follow this grandiose recipe and you’ll have a taste of the first American pie made on the Fourth of July. Starting with a preheated world that’s “hot with a hunger and thirst to be free” and a “giant melting pot,” you spread out the “crust of fruited plains” and fold in amber fields of grain, add some “purple mountain majesties” and “leaven with dawn’s early light.” Ladle in some liberty and sprinkle with freedom. Wilson takes her ingredients from American history and song to concoct a patriot pie that fairly bubbles and steams with noble ideals and geographical splendors. Colón’s ink-and-watercolor illustrations cleverly incorporate tons of iconographic Americana, surreal kitchen images and feline and canine master chefs who measure, fold, roll, pour, whisk, spice and bake this gargantuan culinary masterpiece with breathtaking skill. From page to shining page, this should be a tasty treat for young patriots. (Picture book. 4-8)
