Sophie Chen Keller

I thoroughly enjoyed this book. The story was refreshingly novel and engaged my interest all the way. A young boy who has grown up without speaking, although capable, ventures out into New York to search for the lost magical book that belonged to the cafe/cake shop owned by his mother. The discovery of realisations about himself were creatively explored as he delved into aspects of the city that were unknown. His interactions with people who presented him with new ways of looking at things were creative and imaginative.… (meer)

This is an amazing book about a little boy named Walter Lavender Jr. His mother, Lucy creates wonderful magic inspired pastries and desserts in a little shop in New York. He was named after his father, who was a pilot but never came back after the war.

Walter reminds me of my father. My father's father left his wife and four chldren during the Great Depression and never came back. Both Walter and my father longed for the father that they never had. Lucy, keep Walter, the father alive in Walter, Jr, by special stories. Walter had an emotional speech disorder which made talking difficult. He knew what he wanted to say but he had great difficulty getting it out. This caused him to be bullied and pushed around when he was schoo. Walter was fortunate to have a big goofy but sympathetic dog called Milton.

The shop's perfect baking and decoraction all depended on the possession of an old seven page book. One day after the landlord came to the shop, trying to escape a irate mob, the book was no longer in its special place. Walter begins a very long journey to retrieve the book. But really made this book special was the author's talent to make the pastries sand other sweets come alive with words and magical movement. Walter learns an important life lesson from each creature and person he meets along the way. I hope that this book is made into an animated film because the movement and the look of the sweets is so magical. It is a very vivid tale.… (meer)