Pocket inside back cover includes of the White House gingerbread template.

Pop-ups, pull tabs, and other moveable features illustrate scenes from the story of Juan Diego and Our Lady of Guadalupe.

Originally published: Boston: Houghton Mifflin, 1981.

"Exhilarating...A wildly imagined, head-spinning, deeply intelligent novel." - The New York Times Book Review "[W]ildly inventive…[Helen Oyeyemi's] prose is not without its playful bite." –Vogue The prize-winning, bestselling author of Boy Snow Bird, What Is Not Yours Is Not Yours, and Peaces returns with a bewitching and imaginative novel. Influenced by the mysterious place gingerbread holds in classic children's stories, beloved novelist Helen Oyeyemi invites readers into a delightful tale of a surprising family legacy, in which the inheritance is a recipe. Perdita Lee may appear to be your average British schoolgirl; Harriet Lee may seem just a working mother trying to penetrate the school social hierarchy; but there are signs that they might not be as normal as they think they are. For one thing, they share a gold-painted, seventh-floor walk-up apartment with some surprisingly verbal vegetation. And then there's the gingerbread they make. Londoners may find themselves able to take or leave it, but it's very popular in Druhástrana, the far-away (or, according to many sources, non-existent) land of Harriet Lee's early youth. The world's truest lover of the Lee family gingerbread, however, is Harriet's charismatic childhood friend Gretel Kercheval —a figure who seems to have had a hand in everything (good or bad) that has happened to Harriet since they met. Decades later, when teenaged Perdita sets out to find her mother's long-lost friend, it prompts a new telling of Harriet's story. As the book follows the Lees through encounters with jealousy, ambition, family grudges, work, wealth, and real estate, gingerbread seems to be the one thing that reliably holds a constant value. Endlessly surprising and satisfying, written with Helen Oyeyemi's inimitable style and imagination, it is a true feast for the reader.

The holiday season at the White House is a magical time of year. The house is beautifully decorated from top to bottom, and for nearly fifty years, a one-of-a-kind gingerbread house has been the centerpiece of the White House Christmas decorations. THE GINGERBREAD WHITE HOUSE: A Pop-Up Book, created by best-selling author of pop-up books Chuck Fischer, invites you to enjoy this beloved tradition in your own home. Discover fanciful decorations, presidential pets in marzipan, and inside stories from pastry chefs Roland Mesnier and Mark Ramsdell. Their memories of the White House pastry kitchen during the holidays and the many first families they worked with are featured in the enclosed booklet. Children of all ages will enjoy the recipes included in the book and playing with the paper punch-outs, including the president's limousine, a Secret Service agent, Santa on his sleigh, and a chef serving pastries. Booklet includes gingerbread scratch and sniff!

A must read for any Presidential buff or foodie! This book provides an insider's view of what it is like to dine at the White House and describes Chef Moeller's most memorable moments cooking for three First Families. It includes over 100 recipes for one-of-a-kind dishes featuring his trademark use of fresh, seasonal ingredients inspired by his classical French training with an American twist. Useful chef notes help adapt fine French cooking techniques for the home cook.