Sweet Potato Pie

In this fictional story set in the South in the 1920s, an African American girl and her family sell Mama’s sweet potato pies at the Harvest Celebration to raise money and save their farm.

The summer a great drought sweeps across the county, the only crop Sadie’s family is able to save is the sweet potatoes. Money is tight, and if Papa doesn’t pay back his loan soon, the bank will take away the farm.

Suddenly Mama comes up with an idea – sweet potato pies! The family can sell her pies at the Harvest Celebration that starts the very next day. There’s not much time to get ready, but as Sadie and her brother enlist the cooperation of their old cow, squawking chickens, and half-blind goat, the family rises to the challenge. And in the end it’s Sadie who comes up with just the right recipe for success.

Sweet Potato Pie is a delicious affirmation of strong family ties and creative problem solving. This lively story will capture your heart, as well as your taste buds. Loosely based on Lindsey’s memories of her great grandmother’s stories, the story took shape in Lindsey’s mind as she sewed a quilt called Sweet Potato Pie.