Review by Booklist Review
Filling an important hole in history, this picture-book biography on Hanson Crockett Gregory tells the story of the doughnut's invention. In 1847, 16-year-old Gregory was working in the kitchen of a ship called the Ivanhoe, where breakfast usually consisted of small cakes of fried dough. These gained the unfortunate nickname of sinkers from the crew, as their centers were often undercooked and heavy with grease. One morning, Gregory had the idea to cut out the cakes' middles with the lid of a pepper can, so the dough would cook all the way through when fried. And like that, the hole in the doughnut was born. Mimicking the pastry's iconic shape, the watercolor and cut-paper illustrations exist as a round object on the right-side page, while the rectangular background from which it was cut frames the text on the left side. Miller's decision to quickly describe Gregory's maritime career before backpedaling to the doughnut is a tad confusing, but the account remains entertaining. Doughnut legends and an author's note round out this tasty bit of history.--Smith, Julia Copyright 2016 Booklist
From Booklist, Copyright (c) American Library Association. Used with permission.
Review by Publisher's Weekly Review
Playful cartoons and dramatic narration tell the true tale of a New England mariner turned doughnut inventor. Hanson Gregory, a cook's assistant aboard a schooner out of Maine in 1847, prepares the usual breakfast of fried cakes, called sinkers because "their raw centers, heavy with grease, made them drop like cannonballs in the stomach." In this aside (set within Gregory's larger biographical narrative), he removes the gooey centers one morning before frying the cakes, resulting in a welcome-and fully cooked-breakfast. In colorful scenes that evoke 1970s Schoolhouse Rock vignettes, Kirsch (Gingerbread for Liberty!) depict rows of wide-mouthed seafarers with entire doughnuts between their open jaws; later, sailors enter Gregory's mother's harbor-side doughnut shop stooped over and exit dancing jigs on the other side, "holey cakes" in hand. Mimicking Gregory's ring-cutting innovation, the book's memorable design takes large circular cuts out of Kirsch's vibrant watercolors, transplanting the circles to the facing pages while leaving behind an empty frame for Miller's (Substitute Groundhog) text. Ages 6-9. Author's agent: Stephen Fraser, Jennifer De Chiara Literary Agency. Illustrator's agent: Christa Heschke, McIntosh & Otis. (May) © Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved.
(c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved
Review by School Library Journal Review
K-Gr 3-This surprising account of the invention of the doughnut introduces readers to master mariner Hanson Crockett Gregory from Rockport, ME. As a young ship's cook in 1847, Gregory prepared the standard breakfast of balls of fried sweet dough. The sailors called them "sinkers" because although the dough fried up crisp and sweet around the edges, "their raw centers, heavy with grease, made them drop like cannonballs in the stomach." Gregory had a better idea and shaped a new batch by cutting holes in the center of each sinker and then frying them in boiling lard. The doughnut was born. Although Hanson went on to become a ship's captain and was awarded a medal for heroism for his actions at sea, his legacy is his delicious creation. This book relates some of the many colorful legends that have surrounded the origins of this sweet treat over the years. The short, humorous text delivers facts that young children will appreciate, while keeping the interest of the more mature. Kirsch has admirably complemented the story with bright, cartoonlike illustrations that evoke the history and the humor of the tale. Clever "porthole," or "doughnut hole," borders frame each page. Whimsically, the artist has placed doughnuts throughout, from the endpapers, which include several varieties, to the back cover, which features an octopus holding a doughnut on each arm. VERDICT A lively offering for reading and sharing that will encourage the youngest of researchers to wonder and learn about other everyday items in their world.-Carole Phillips, Greenacres Elementary School, Scarsdale, NY © Copyright 2016. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
(c) Copyright Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Review by Horn Book Review
According to legend and the old tar himself, in 1847 Captain Gregory used a pepper canister to remove the hard-to-cook centers of indigestible cakes known as "sinkers" and made history. The playful, cartoony illustrations, a game of cutout circles themselves, match the folksy telling, and both author and artist share the fun they had with their sweet subject. An author's note contains additional quirky facts. Timeline. Bib. (c) Copyright 2016. The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
(c) Copyright The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Review by Kirkus Book Review
Miller shares the true story of the invention of the doughnut with the hole in its center. Hanson Gregory began his career at sea in 1844, at age 13, eventually captaining cargo schooners and clippers. As cook's assistant in 1847, while preparing the usual deep-fried cakes for breakfast, Hanson had an idea. The sailors called the cakes "sinkers": they were crisp at the edges but raw and greasy in the middle. Using the lid from a pepper tin to cut a hole in each cake's center, Hanson fried a batch of cakes that "were brown, and sweet, and fully cooked. Sighs of delight rose above the noisy sea. A new breakfast tradition was born." The author's research unfolds a couple of colorful, alternate legends of the doughnut's seagoing origins, since, naturally, "sailors like their stories bold." Miller also recounts comments that Capt. Gregory made in a 1916 newspaper interview. "He laughed as he teased the reporter that he had invented the first hole ever seen by mortal eyes.' " Kirsch's charming watercolor collages liberally employ round motifs: on many spreads, the circular illustration on the right page is "cut" from the left, freeing up a circle of white space for text. Endpapers sport scores of holey doughnuts, many decorated nautically, and semaphore flags on the copyright page spell out "eat doughnuts." Kirsch does not, however, take the opportunity to represent the racial diversity of 19th-century sailing crews. Delicious! (period photograph, author's note, timeline, selected bibliography of adult sources) (Picture book/biography. 6-9) Copyright Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
