The Weight of a Mass

When a poor devout widow begs for a scrap of bread from a rich faithless baker, she promises to participate in the king’s wedding mass as payment for the baker’s generosity. The baker writes “One Mass” on a scrap of paper and places it on his scale to determine how much bread it is worth. To his and the entire town’s surprise, nothing in the shop, not even the gigantic wedding cakes made for the king, outweighs the simple piece of paper representing the true worth of a mass. Luminous old-world watercolor paintings grace the interior of the book and gold foil artwork lends an air of solemnity and sacred beauty to the story.

“Wholly beautiful! For those of us with a religious background—or none!” —Kirkus Reviews

Josephine Nobisso is the author of 17 books including Grandpa Loved, Grandma’s Scrapbook, and The Moon’s Lullaby. She lives in Quogue, New York. Katalin SzegediS has illustrated numerous children’s books and was awarded the Most Beautiful Children’s Book Award by the Society of Hungarian Publishers and Distributors.