THIS LITTLE BUNNY CAN BAKE
by Janet Stein & illustrated by Janet Stein
Top chefs of all ages will enjoy this romp through Chef George’s School of Dessertology. New “[e]ager students” include Bunny, Poodle, Tiger, Spoonbill, Kitty and Cat (the felines sharing a species but not an attitude: Kitty is open, Cat sly and haughty). Readers see immediately that Bunny’s special: She’s pale pink in a black-and-white world; red text is the sole other color. Stein’s brush-and-ink illustrations are spiritedly funny and inviting despite Chef George’s daunting owl-scowl. A hilarious double-spread blackboard explicates dessert theory, showing geometrical diagrams, arrows and technical terms like “isolating cookie.” But—“What’s an ingredient?” asks Mouse, so Chef starts at the beginning. In the blindfolded smell test, Spoonbill guesses fish for lemon, Poodle guesses bone for a baguette. Meticulous Bunny adds lemon zest to her recipe; Dog adds a sock. Mayhem reigns (eggs lobbed, perfume sprayed, pots boiling over), but quietly diligent Bunny produces a confectionary masterpiece—and it’s pink inside, making it fundamentally hers. Eight real pastry recipes cover the endpapers, including chocolate salami (happily salami-less). Get cooking! (Picture book. 3-7)