RICHARD M. FELDMAN

him. "Nothing,
no object in this
house, including
mother's vase, is
as important to
me as the people
who live here,"
she says. "Evety
thing in this
house is replace-
able, Kenny.
Everything, that
is, but our fami-
ly. "
That's not just
Judy Rosenberg that the boy placed the
bakes some
a nice story about love;
tempting treats call.
it's good writing.
with her little
If only for the Denny,
cookies, Jake,
Yet there are so
Noah and Maya. Israel, Vance, Waugh
many dreadful stories
and Smith pieces, this
— trite, flat and poorly writ-
book is worth it. Just be pre-
ten. Often, it's clear the inci-
pared for a lot of so-so stories
dent behind the tale was
along the way.
genuinely profound, yet it fails
Rosie's Bakery, Chocolate-
painfully in the retelling, bur-
Packed, Jam-Filled, Butter-
dened with cliches and melo-
Rich, No-Holds-Barred
drama. In one such piece,
Cookie Book by Judy Rosen-
"The Other Side of Fifteen," a
berg, published by Workman.
boy named Todd spots a fire at
the convent where he was
once a very unhappy student.
If like any thinking person,
Todd quickly calls 911 and
you've had it up to your eye-
says, "There's a fire. In the
balls with tofu-and-wheat-germ
nuns' house on 35th
cookies, this is the perfect cook-
Street...Has anyone called it
book for you. Virtually every
in? No? Well, I suggest you
recipe is filled with delicious fat
get your butts over to 35th,
and calories, from the Hazelnut
like now."
Crisps to the Raspberry Cream
No doubt it actually hap-
Cheese Bars, from the Choco-
pened that way, and in the
late Dipped Almond Macaroons
end Todd's actions — he final-
to the Chocolate Peanut Butter
ly goes into the convent him-
Volcanoes.
self to warn the nuns — are
Most of the recipes also are
indeed heroic. But I can't help
fairly easy, which makes them
but wish this copy had been
perfect family activities.
edited, without the smart-
You'll find a number of Jew-
alecky, wise-cracking com-
ish dishes in this book — ru-
ments of a teen-age boy. He
galach and hamantashen, of
doesn't have to utter, "For-
course. There are even several
sooth, a fire has descended
healthy cookie recipes that ac-
upon us!" but I would have
tually look tasty. ❑
been satisfied simply to know

HELPING JEWISH
FAMILIES GROW

PUBLISHED BY THE DETROIT JEWISH NEWS

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