Anybody want a cookie?

One of my favorite books as a child was The Tiny Little House by Eleanor Clymer, which is, sadly, no longer in print. Clever monkey that I am, I still own my copy and it is in pretty good shape, all things considered. On a whim I pulled it out of the closet the other day and reread it. For those who are unfamiliar with the book the plot revolves around two little girls who love the tiny house that is sandwiched between their two apartment buildings and who wind up turning it into a cookie shop for an old woman. It is a very cute book with great illustrations, and it renews my love of the girl's name Alice. And of course, it makes me want to eat cookies. I remembered that peanut butter and chocolate cookies both were featured in the climatic scene where they convince the irate landlord to allow them to transform the neglected little house into a shop by stuffing his face with cookies, and I also remembered that there were recipes at the end of the book. Sadly, there is only one, for sugar cookies, and I already have a fabulous recipe for those.
At any rate, the book got me to thinking that perhaps this is one of the reasons I love to bake. Here, in my of my first loves (books), is the story of how homemade baked goods not only calmed an extremely angry man down, but also enabled a little old woman to be self sufficient. Behold the power of baking! I really do think that this book helped sow the seeds of the idea that homemade baked goods have the power to bring people closer. I could wax very philosophical about the symbolism of breaking bread together, but it is a Saturday morning after all, so I won't. I may have to bake some cookies this weekend though. If you have children and happen to come across a copy of this book in a used book store, by all means, snatch it up. (My copy originally sold for fifty cents; the book is tiny too, perfect for a child's hands, so look carefully.)