Blueberries for Sal

This tender story of a little girl named Sal and her mother, who go blueberry picking on the rocky coastal shore of Maine, is a beautifully written and illustrated book by a gentle man who so cleverly perceives life through the eyes of a child. Blueberries for Sal, by Robert McCloskey might be a new reading adventure for your child, but it is classic, a 1949 Caldecott Honor Book that most baby boomer's of the 1940's and '50's enjoyed when they were younger. This quiet comedy of a mother and her daughter who adventure out to pick blueberries for winter, at the same time as a mother bear and her cub, is a classic depiction of irrepressible curiosity as well as an appetite...for youth. The endearing illustrations, cleverly rendered in dark blue berry-stain blue, reveal how the two very different children are separated from their own mothers, but pick up with their counterpart mother..and continue to eat and pick blueberries, as if nothing was out of sorts.

This is an excellent book for reinforcing the skill of comparing and contrasting in the natural world. Your preschooler will delight in it, your first grader will love it, and you will hopefully enjoy a deja vu memory from your past, as you read it to your child or your grandchild.

Suggested Baking/Nutritional Activities

Discuss fruits and vegetables and how they are alike and different. Discuss the color "blue" and the blue pigmentation in the blueberry. It is called "anthocyanin" Researchers believe this color may contribute to the fact that blueberry ranks #1 in antioxidant activity (helps fight diseases) when compared to other fresh fruits and vegetables.

Go blueberry picking with your mom (no matter what age you are), if you live in a part of the country where blue berries grow. If not, you can go to the nearest farmer's market and pick them off the produce shelf (not as much fun, but it works!)

Make blueberry muffins... remember though, to freeze your berries, before flouring them and gently tossing them into the batter just before baking. This will keep the batter around the berry from turning green during the baking process. (I will teach the science that supports this culinry tip another day!)

Mix them with peaches and make dad or grandpa "Blueberry Peach Cobbler". Maybe he will help you make the vanilla ice cream that goes deliciously on top of the warm cobbler.

Blueberry and Peach Cobbler
Serves 8

2 pounds peaches
1 pint blueberries
8 ounces melted butter
1/2 cup sugar

11/2 cup flour
2 egg yolks
2 Tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. salt
1 Tbsp. sugar plus1 tsp. cinnamon (cinnamon sugar)

Peel the peaches and cut them into slices. Arrange them in a 13"x 9" ceramic baking dish. Rinse the berries and scatter them over the top of the peaches. Drizzle the fruit with 2 ounces of the melted butter. In a small mixing bowl, combine the sugar, flour, egg yolks, baking powder and salt with a fork, mixing until the mixture is crumbly. Spread the mixture over the fruit. Drizzle the top with the remaining butter and sprinkle with the cinnamon sugar. Bake at 350 degrees for 30 to 35 minutes, or until the fruit bubbles and topping is lightly browned. Serve with vanilla ice cream or whipped cream.