Happy Birthday, Alice Babette

K-Gr 3—Alice B. Toklas and Gertrude Stein lived famously at 27 rue de Fleurus in Paris, entertaining and encouraging writers and artists from Ernest Hemingway to Pablo Picasso. Their loving partnership lasted nearly 40 years; while Stein (who was inept in the kitchen) wrote, Toklas cooked and kept home (and later penned a cookbook). In this fictionalized account of a birthday fête, Stein plans to surprise Toklas with a "special dinner" and celebratory poem. As Toklas spends the day strolling about the Luxembourg Gardens, stopping for a carousel ride and a puppet show, Stein shops for the groceries. Disaster ensues when, as the "pot lids tap-dance" on the stove, "the perfect line" for the poem pops into Stein's head, and off she races to write it down. But all's well that ends well: Toklas returns home, tidies up, and makes her renowned brownies; Stein's poem is written; her adventure in the kitchen becomes a story; and friends arrive for dinner, arms laden with food and gifts. Leng's watercolor art—full of fluid line, amusing detail, and movement—is framed by the white backgrounds it rests against. Interior and exterior scenes are comprised of spot-art groupings or span spreads. Pastels predominate, but there's always a splash of red—awnings, a rug, a pot—to draw the eye.