Karin Cates

Karin Cates' heartwarming tale of a young girl on her first solo visit with a favorite aunt is combined with Wendy Anderson Halperin's absolutely charming illustrations in this sweet picture-book, which follows Lolly as she goes to her Auntie Zep's country home. Although excited at first, she soon gives way to homesickness, and it falls to Auntie Zep, with her "Secret Remedy Book," to find a way to make her feel better. Enacting the seven remedies recommended by the book, in such a circumstance, Lolly and Zep have such a wonderful day together that homesickness is banished...

I enjoyed everything about The Secret Remedy Book: A Story of Comfort and Love! I enjoyed the story, and particularly appreciated the sensitivity shown to a common childhood experience, in which the first separation from the natal family is traumatic, even when it is the result of a special treat. Lolly's experiences reminded me of that first night of sleep-away camp, when I was a girl. I enjoyed Auntie's Zep's remedy book, and the solution it offered, and I absolutely adored the illustrations! I think the friend who recommended this to me hit the nail on the head in her own review, in which she mentions that although one always gets the first impression, from Halperin's work, that it is going to be "cutesy," somehow it always manages to be more than one expects. This is just a wonderful little "slice of life" story, and is one I recommend to any young reader who has ever been far from home for the first time, and felt homesick.… (mere)