BENNY BAKES A CAKE

A resonantly simple book that demonstrates what can be done with very few words, little action, and only ordinary kitchen objects for props. The words--which tell how Benny helps to make his birthday cake, then cries when the finished cake is destroyed by dog Ralph, hungrily on hand throughout--have a satisfying, warm ring and no sharp edges, and there is a loving glow to the pared-down, brilliantly balanced pictures, which are two-dimensional but rounded, in soft, grainy, pastel colors. The story begins with Papa's good-morning birthday greeting and departure ""to town"" with Benny's older sister JoJo, and it ends, satisfying the simple structural expectations as well as the need for a cake, with their return bearing a new, presumably store-bought birthday cake. Even the choice of type contributes to the sense of elementary rightness and fulfillment.