THE HOKEY-POKEY MAN
By
According to an author's note, ice-cream cones first made their appearance at the 1904 St. Louis World's Fair. Kroll tells how news of the new treat might have arrived in New York's Lower East Side: Ben and Sarah are especially fond of Joe, the ""Hokey-Pokey Man"" (ice-cream peddler). Joe tells them about the wonderful new ""World's Fair Cornucopia"" that he plans to introduce; they promise to keep his secret, but it escapes them and incites several imitations (not all likely: ice cream on a carrot?). Fortunately, these failures stir up interest so that Joe's version is an immediate success. Ray adds a great deal to this social-history vignette with her lively, evocative, carefully designed illustrations, portraying the recent immigrants and their neighborhood with sympathy and good humor.