Antoinette Truglio Martin – författare

Lily has to do EVERYTHING. She bakes Daily Bread, minds her thumb-sucking little sister, hangs laundry on the roof, and keeps up with home chores her big sisters list. She even fetched a nurse from the Henry Street Settlement to save Mama and the new baby. Now the bossy public health nurse, who visits each day to attend to somber Mama and the bawling baby, sends Lily on errands throughout the Little Italy streets. Things turn around when Lillian Ward, the Henry Street Settlement head nurse, hears Lily''s powerful voice, she invites Lily to sing in the Children''s Choir. Lily sneaks to the choir and the forbidden play yard with tag-along Gigi on Wednesday afternoons. Her schemes unfold when she needs permission to sing with the choir at the New York Highlanders Fourth of July baseball game at Hilltop Park. The Yanks need a morale booster, and Lily and the choir may be the ticket to keep fans cheering and buying beer, Cracker Jack and ice cream. More trouble arises when a mean girl wants Lily''s solo, and the "Black Hand" terrorizes the neighborhood.

Another excellent read. Great historical fiction should take the reader back in time and let the story unfold as if the reader is there, worrying about every challenge and sharing the joy of every success. It should be a vivid representation of the time, allowing the reader to learn just by enjoying the story.The characters should be as real as any normally flawed good or bad person might be.

As a homeschool father, I would put The Dreams of Singers and Sluggers into the hands of my children and teens. Just like the first book, The Heart of Bakers and Artists, the story depicts what it was like living through the time of the story while developing a great love of reading. The imagery of the story can so easily settle into the readers'' DNA and become almost as real as any other memory.

Gary A Wilson, Author

In The Dreams Sluggers and Singers, nine-year-old Lily Taglia has a secret. The child of Italian immigrants, she''s discovered a paradise in the lower east side tenements of 1911; a place where she can sing her heart out and her little sister Gigi can play in safety, the Henry Street Settlement. When the opportunity to perform with the chorus in public presents itself, Lily has to find a way to get her parents'' permission and risks losing the dream of her lifetime.

As in its predecessor, The Heart of Bakers and Artists, the author uses rich description and well-researched details to bring the dangers and challenges of Lily''s world on the lower east side to life. It is a story of hardships, hopes and growing up.

Jacqueline Goodwin, MFA Author

What do you sacrifice to follow your dream? That''s the challenge Lily, a young girl growing up in New York''s Lower East Side faces in The Dreams of Singers and Sluggers. The story is set in 1911, where being a child of a poor immigrant family makes it difficult to have a dream because it interferes with daily survival and her parents'' expectations.

Today''s young readers are offered the opportunity to step back in time and observe how difficult it was to grow up in an era that was common for young children to attend to school, while also having jobs and helping with family responsibilities. Despite a grueling schedule, Lily, and other children, have dreams and hopes, and they struggle to achieve them, despite the odds.

Pat Black-Gould PhD Clinical Psychologist

It is 1911, and nine-year-old Lily, an American-born child of Sicilian immigrants loves to sing, and wants to, has to, prove she is not a little kid. She and her large family are crammed into a three-room flat in New York City''s Lower East Side. Everyone must do their share to help out. Big sister Betta sews home piece work and bossy Margaret bakes discounted Daily Bread at Goldberg''s bakery for the Taglia family. Lily wants to do more than dry dishes, keep little sister Gigi out from underfoot, and not make her sisters or Mama crazy with her singing. When Mrs. Goldberg, the baker''s wife, notices Lily''s height and recognizes her artist heart, she invites Lily to learn how to bake Daily Bread with Margaret. Lily is thrilled to have a big kid job in the magical bakery basement where Mrs. Goldberg dances and gives away sweet Knot Surprises. Mama thinks this is a good arrangement too. Now Margaret can quit school to work in a factory for a wage. But Margaret likes school and wants to be a somebody. Besides, she says Lily is just a little kid, and there''s more to baking Daily Bread than height and an artist''s heart. Mama stands firm and Lily tags-a-long with Margaret only to learn that being a big kid is fraught with bullies, disasters, and treacherous streets to cross by herself.

Previously titled as Daily Bread

First Place Winner of the Purple Dragonfly Book Award

The Heart of Bakers and Artists ~ Daily Bread is a humbling experience as you read through the chapters and gain a relationship with the characters. It embraces child labor, the hardships immigrant families endured during a time spoken very little about. I couldn''t put the book down and am hoping for a sequel. Daily Bread is brilliant.

~ Marie Yervasi Youth Services Librarian/Programmer Westhampton Beach Free Library

The Heart of Bakers and Artists ~ Daily Bread is a page turning story about family ties, community and struggle on Mott Street in 1911. Antoniette Truglio Martin will captivate young readers wanting to know more about the immigration period as they travel through time with this heartfelt story about the way it was and how Daily Bread from the bakery wafts a ripple effect of meanings for the characters and their places in the world.

~ Adrienne Cirone Associate Principal K-6, Reading Specialist

The Heart of Bakers and Artists ~ Daily Bread, is an impressive piece of MG historical fiction about the Taglias, a Sicilian family who immigrated to America at the beginning of the twentieth century. You will fall in love with the Taglia sisters and their dreams. This novel is definitely a page turner! Truglio Martin has beautifully crafted a story rich with the history of Manhattan''s Lower East Side in 1911. The author deftly captures the essence of the immigrants'' experiences in their new homeland.

~ Suzanne Travis , High School English Curriculum Consultant.

Tales shared through and within generations define our heritage, provide us with empathy over transgressions, and celebrate our adventures. They are as essential as the food that feeds our bodies. Stories fuel our souls. Family food stories are especially rich.

I am blessed with a large, loud and loving family tribe. We enjoy our Sunday dinners and special occasions together. The stories of our ancestors were and still are told around the dinner table. Sitting down surrounded by multi-generations of relations was just as sustaining as the familiar foods served. The memories added spice to our nourishment. Versions of the truth are flushed out as we pass the sauce, laugh out loud, sip wine and dab stained lips.

I included favorite recipes to accompany the stories. The recipes that evolved from the immigration experience to today may differ in procedures, but share taste preferences and a comfort.

Grab a glass of wine. Enjoy the reminiscences, recipes, and love.