SUNSHINE PIE

Olive and Aunty Jen are making a sunshine pie for a picnic with friends, but how do you turn sunshine into pie?

Together, the two shop for the pie crust ingredients, then head to a farm for the sunshine filling. It turns out that any fruit that grows sweet and juicy thanks to the sun’s rays can fill a sunshine pie. In this case, Olive and Aunty Jen pick blackberries, raspberries, and apples (not usually in season simultaneously). At home, they make the crust and stir the filling (readers may be confused here about the directive that Olive make a wish while stirring, and many will be unfamiliar with the object they place in the middle of the completed pie—a pie bird—before baking). But when Olive goes out to find the perfect spot for a picnic, it’s raining! Looks like the picnic will become a kitchen party, and the pie will be a “sunshine-and-rain pie,” the rain having contributed to “help[ing] the fruit trees grow.” While the tale is pretty simple, it’s a sweet look at relatives working together to make a treat for their friends. A recipe with ingredients listed by weight is included. Edmonds’ illustrations are bright and cheerful. Both Aunty Jen and Olive are light-skinned. Olive sports blue shorts, a red T-shirt, and dark braids. The invitees are diverse in race and age. (This book was reviewed digitally.)

A low-key tale that’s tasty whether it’s sunny or rainy.