It landed on a Tuesday, which is wash day, which was very inconsiderate. Where the prize roses used to be there is now a crater forty feet across, the sky has turned the color of orange sherbet, and a warm, glowing green meteorite named Rocky has moved onto the back step. Father says it will blow over. A sensible homemaker puts on her apron, sweeps the step and gets breakfast on the table. Sixty cheerful skills, from mock apple pie and biscuits baked on a meteorite to turning the crater into a duck pond. Every skill fits on one illustrated page.
“A crater is just a hole with ambition.”Mother, the morning after
The power is out, the toaster is full of dust and the grocer will only take canned peaches. This book is the calm, cheerful voice your household needs, written in the trusted style of the old homemaking guides, with a painting for every step.
From discovering a crater where the rose bed was to being the homemaker every crater needs, every skill fits on a single page.
Painted 1950s scenes of Mother, her family, Rocky the meteorite, Buster the beagle and the crater pond show exactly what to do.
Mystery-can casserole, mock apple pie with no apples, luncheon meat fritters for company and a Crater Cake that is supposed to sink.
US Letter pages with color tabs on the edge, ready for a binder or a print shop.
Each chapter opens with a full-page painting and a short introduction, then moves through its skills one page at a time.
Chapter One · Skills 01–06What to do when the sky falls in on a Tuesday
Chapter Two · Skills 07–13Stocking, sorting and rationing the shelves that saved the family
Chapter Three · Skills 14–20Cheerful cooking from the fallout pantry
Chapter Four · Skills 21–27Cleaning, washing and ironing when the whole world needs a wipe
Chapter Five · Skills 28–33Making the most of a very large hole
Chapter Six · Skills 34–39Making the basement shelter cozy, cheerful and full of board games
Chapter Seven · Skills 40–46Shopping, visiting and keeping up standards around town
Chapter Eight · Skills 47–53Pebble showers, tremors, green sunsets and other new kinds of weather
Chapter Nine · Skills 54–60Parties, prizes and the cheerful homemaker every crater needs
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A green side panel lists what to gather, from a cup of coffee and your garden gloves to your sunniest attitude, with a picture of each item.
The skill number, its chapter, how long it takes and how hard it is. "Skill 01 · The Morning After · 10 minutes · Easy."
Six painted steps, each with a short title and plain instructions you can read across the kitchen, even during a pebble shower.
The things that go wrong, called out before they happen. “Do not climb down into the crater in your good shoes. The sides are crumbly, and Father will have to fetch the ladder.”
Tap a page to see it full size. Scroll sideways for more.
Rocky the meteorite, Mr. Fenwick the warden, the scientists and Buster the beagle: where to find them and how to handle them, plus a pantry chart with what each can will fetch at the grocer.
The fallout pantry shelf, the shelter shelf, and everything for a happy crater-rim party.
Labels fell off the cans, the cake sank in a tremor, the dog is burying the meteorite: a handy chart for every mishap.
Tick off each skill once you’ve done it, look up odd words like “chondrite,” and find any topic fast.
The printed book is a full-color paperback with a glossy cover, the size of a magazine. Each copy is printed fresh when you order it and mailed to your door. Take a look inside above; the rest is waiting in the book.