John Dough and the Cherub

In the cozy Grogrande Bakery, Madame Tina and her husband Jules live amid the comforting smells of fresh bread and gingerbread until a frightened Arab customer named Ali Dubh storms in, pursued by shadowy enemies and carrying a tiny golden flask he calls the Great Elixir, or Water of Life. Desperate to protect both the priceless potion and a silver flask he offers as a cure for Madame's rheumatism, he leaves her with a secret that soon leads to an astonishing mistake. Because she is color-blind, Madame unknowingly chooses the elixir that relieves her pain with miraculous speed, while Jules later uses the same wondrous liquid to enrich his Fourth of July gingerbread creation. His masterpiece, a beautifully detailed French gentleman named John Dough, bakes into life with intelligence, strength, and a bewildered awareness of the world. What follows is a whimsical adventure of wonder and peril as John flees dogs, fireworks, and people who fear or covet him, then joins Chick on a flight to a glittering golden palace. There, in the dazzling Palace of Romance, they are welcomed with elegance and charm, only to discover a sinister rule: every guest must tell stories to entertain the residents, and when the tales are spent, the strangers are destroyed. This edition has been fully restored with modern typesetting, custom cover design.