Thunder Cake Scholastic ©1990
Patricia Polacco 30 pages
Summary: Thunder Cake is a sweet picture book about a young girl staying with her babushka, a Russian grandmother, during a storm. Babushka teaches the little girl to make thunder cake and overcome her fear of storms. They gather the ingredients while counting down how close the storm is to their house. The recipe for Thunder Cake is included in the book.
Character Descriptions:
Babushka is an overweight, Russian grandmother.
The girl in this story is actually Patricia Palocco.
Personal Reflection: This picture book is a great addition to writer's workshop, because it uses good vocabulary like sultry and luscious, which students could then use in their writing. Thunder Cake is also good to teach connections and informational text: recipes.
Subject/Theme:
Realistic Fiction
Topics:
Feelings and Emotions
Food and Cooking
Grandparents
Weather
Discussion Questions:
1. How do you feel when it storms?
2. Would you eat a cake made with tomatoes?