This told the origin story of the term "baker's dozen" to mean thirteen, spun with a Christmas twist: St. Nicholas himself (disguised as a hag) taught a miserly baker to be more generous when selling his cookies :-) The illustrations were gorgeously detailed and reminded me of Jan Brett's (thought perhaps not quite as refined).

Stunningly-illustrated, a well-crafted retelling of the story of the "baker's dozen" and how it came to be part of American culture. An honest baker, Van Amsterdam (who does no more and no less than what is expected), is visited by an old woman in a black shawl. Her mission: purchase a dozen Saint Nicholas cookies. At the close of the transaction, the woman informs Van Amsterdam that he did not give her enough. Of course, Mr. No More and No Less responds accordingly--everyone knows that a dozen equals twelve. The old woman cancels the transaction and leaves.

Long story short: the baker's business goes downhill, his baked goods have problems and he loses his customers. Van Amsterdam is sad. One night, eureka! the baker has a thought--why not do more than expected? Predictably, the old woman in the black shawl returns the following year and asks to buy a dozen Saint Nicholas cookies. This time (of course), Van Amsterdam gives her thirteen cookies--and the rest is history.

Beautifully illustrated. Thank you for sharing this treasure with us. I loved this story as a child but this is much nicer than the version I had! :)

This is a short, cute tale about the legend of how the baker's dozen started, the 13 not 12 in a dozen.
The illustrations are detailed and highly artistic which my girls and I LOVED!
We found it to be very well written and overall a very cute story!

I thought this was a wonderful tale about how the baker’s dozen came to be. I also appreciate how the story introduces children to a new tradition and culture (St. Nicholas Day and the Dutch culture), and I thought the lesson of having a generous spirit was well thought out and presented so that it was easy for children to see. The illustrations in this book were wonderful, very detailed and elaborate. I also liked the pattern and the recipe. I feel like they were explained in a way which would make them easy for a child to do with a parent’s help. I also enjoy the inclusion of a recipe into the tale (which is about a baker). I feel like it gives the story a more “real” feel, and I like the hands-on approach as well. I feel like a parent or guardian could talk to their child about the story while having fun making their own St. Nicholas cookies.

This is a great Christmas story for children about a baker who's luck runs out. I loved it because it felt magical, and gave me a warm and fuzzy feeling. The illustrations are beautiful. Not only do they compliment the story, they greatly enhance it, even though the story is perfect. I would recommend this as a great Christmas story for children.