Rags-to-rich­es immi­grant meets Holo­caust escape! This slim mem­oir reveals fam­i­ly love, Nazi cru­el­ty, deter­mi­na­tion, a woman’s lead in eco­nom­ic know-how and suc­cess through clever think­ing and hard work. Read­ers gain a new slant on immi­gra­tion and Ho­locaust top­ics plus a sense of empow­er­ment. Through seri­ous, straight­for­ward prose and illus­tra­tions that sup­port this true and high­ly moral tale, read­ers will dis­cov­er, as the title says, that a cook­ie did it! The Ger­man cook­ie, called a Lebkuchen, is in great demand dur­ing Christ­mas hol­i­days. Baked in three lay­ers, its 700-year-old recipe is a close­ly guard­ed secret.

When the author was ten, Hitler came to pow­er. His par­ents decid­ed to flee, but as they were Jew­ish, they could only take sev­en dol­lars! How to live in Amer­i­ca? They need­ed to escape Ger­many with some­thing valu­able that could evade a Nazi search. Mama hires a neigh­bor­hood mas­ter bak­er to teach her the Lebkuchen recipe and mem­o­rizes it. She pass­es all search­es because sol­diers can­not read her mind. Once in Amer­i­ca the fam­i­ly mem­bers take menial jobs while they learn English.

When World War II begins, the U.S. no longer imports Lebkuchen. Mama knows this is the time to start. She makes so many in her kitchen that she is forced to open a bak­ery. Both her chil­dren help. A news­pa­per sto­ry about the cook­ies spreads sales across the coun­try. Mama nev­er tells her two chil­dren the secret recipe. Was it in the bank vault when she died? Mama is a great role mod­el. She influ­ences her son, the author, who grew up to be senior vice pres­i­dent and chief econ­o­mist of the New York Stock Exchange. This sto­ry breaks the typ­i­cal Holo­caust or immi­grant sto­ry mold for chil­dren. High­ly rec­om­mend­ed for ages 6 – 10.