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TYLER MAKES A BIRTHDAY CAKE!

Like most desserts, sweet and enjoyable but not essential.

Food Network star chef Florence and esteemed graphic artist Frazier serve up a third entry about cooking and food origins.

This time it’s Tofu the dog’s birthday, so his owner, Tyler, wants to bake a birthday cake. Boy and dog visit their favorite bakery, where Mr. Baker offers to let them help bake a carrot cake. The baker whisks Tyler and Tofu off on a magical journey to see where several specialized cake ingredients originate. The story, told entirely in dialogue, is not particularly compelling, and the ingredients, such as raisins, carrots and walnuts, are only mildly interesting as fodder for illustrations. Tyler helps bake the cake, but Mr. Baker decorates it himself and then brings an additional cake suitable for dogs to the party. Frazier’s accomplished illustrations use a flattened, childlike perspective, thick outlines and white space to create a strong graphic appeal. Tofu is always a source of visual comic relief, with humorous thought-bubble vignettes and indulging in such antics as barking up a tree or wearing a dripping bowl on his head. The birthday party is an amusing scene with a hydrant-shaped piñata and cavorting canines, though only one of the eight party guests appears to be female.

Like most desserts, sweet and enjoyable but not essential. (Picture book. 4-7)

Pub Date: April 22, 2014

ISBN: 978-0-06-204760-1

Page Count: 40

Publisher: Harper/HarperCollins

Review Posted Online: Feb. 25, 2014

Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 15, 2014

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ADDIE ANT GOES ON AN ADVENTURE

Young readers will be “antsy” to join the hero on her satisfying escapade.

An ant explores her world.

Addie Ant’s ready for adventure. Despite some trepidation about leaving the Tomato Bed, where she lives with her aunt, she plucks up her courage and ventures forth across the garden to the far side of the shed. On her journey, she meets her pal Lewis Ladybug, who greets her warmly, points the way, and offers sage advice. When Addie arrives at her destination, she’s welcomed by lovely Beatrix Butterfly and enjoys an “ant-tastic” helping of watermelon. Beatrix also provides Addie with take-home treats and a map for the “Cricket Express,” which will take her straight home. Arriving at the terminal, Addie’s delighted to meet another friend, Cleo Cricket, whose carriage service returns Addie home in “two hops.” After eating a warm tomato soup dinner, Addie falls asleep and dreams of future exploits. Adorable though not terribly original, this story brims with sensuous pleasures, both textual and visual. Kids who declare that they dislike fruits or veggies may find their mouths watering at the mentions and sights of luscious tomatoes, peas, beans, watermelons, berries, and other foodstuffs; insect-averse readers may likewise think differently after encountering these convivial, wide-eyed characters. And those flowers and herbs everywhere! The highlights are the colors that burst from the pages. Addie’s an endearing, empowering character who reassures children they’ll be able to take those first independent steps successfully.

Young readers will be “antsy” to join the hero on her satisfying escapade. (author’s note about ants) (Picture book. 4-7)

Pub Date: April 9, 2024

ISBN: 9781797228914

Page Count: 40

Publisher: Chronicle Books

Review Posted Online: Feb. 3, 2024

Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 1, 2024

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THE WONKY DONKEY

Hee haw.

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The print version of a knee-slapping cumulative ditty.

In the song, Smith meets a donkey on the road. It is three-legged, and so a “wonky donkey” that, on further examination, has but one eye and so is a “winky wonky donkey” with a taste for country music and therefore a “honky-tonky winky wonky donkey,” and so on to a final characterization as a “spunky hanky-panky cranky stinky-dinky lanky honky-tonky winky wonky donkey.” A free musical recording (of this version, anyway—the author’s website hints at an adults-only version of the song) is available from the publisher and elsewhere online. Even though the book has no included soundtrack, the sly, high-spirited, eye patch–sporting donkey that grins, winks, farts, and clumps its way through the song on a prosthetic metal hoof in Cowley’s informal watercolors supplies comical visual flourishes for the silly wordplay. Look for ready guffaws from young audiences, whether read or sung, though those attuned to disability stereotypes may find themselves wincing instead or as well.

Hee haw. (Picture book. 5-7)

Pub Date: May 1, 2010

ISBN: 978-0-545-26124-1

Page Count: 26

Publisher: Scholastic

Review Posted Online: Dec. 28, 2018

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