Sticky Fingers

Steve Pitt is a Toronto-based freelance writer and an award-winning journalist. He has written many young adult and children's books, including Day of the Flying Fox: The True Story of World War II Pilot Charley Fox.

Sir Sticky Fingers, the greatest pastry chef in Venice, has decided to
retire. He tells his five children that whichever one of them brings him
the best new dessert from anywhere in the world, will replace him as the
new Sticky Fingers. All the children rush off except for the youngest
because her father believes that she is too young to leave home.
Although highly indignant, she obeys her father’s wishes. A year
later, the older children return home with their discoveries. The
firstborn has brought back bananas from Africa. The second oldest has
returned with chocolate from South America. The third child has brought
ice cream from the Arctic, and the fourth has returned home having
learned how to make caramel in China. The travelers are so tired from
their adventures that they go straight to bed without showing their
discoveries to their father. When they awake, they find that their
youngest sister has concocted a brand-new dessert combining all four new
ingredients. The old chef is so impressed with her creation that he
appoints her as the new Sticky Fingers.

This charming story by Alan MacAulay combines the best of old-fashioned
fairy-tale tradition with modern gender-equality sensibilities. MacAulay
works intriguing subthemes and humor into the plot. Equally charming are
the cut-cloth illustrations by Rosemary MacAulay. Besides having an
appealing texture, each one seems ready to jump off the page and dance
on the reader’s lap. Sticky Fingers is a wonderful book. Highly
recommended.