Review by New York Times Review
When Sam finds that someone has "sucked out the jamminess" of his doughnut - and really, what could be worse? - he puts ketchup inside to trap the culprit. Luckily the perpetrators are two "jampires," batlike creatures more cute than scary. Even luckier, they fly him to a land of cake castles, tart flowers and an ice cream moon. With rounded shapes, soft colors and pops of jam-bright red, O'Connell's art works delightfully with McIntyre's supple rhymes to spread a silly, sweetly escapist mood. RUDE CAKES Written and illustrated by Rowboat Watkins. 40 pp. Chronicle. $16.99. (Picture book; ages 3 to 7) Even in the world of cakes, some children never say thank you or please. This witty, original debut makes an example of a young pink cake who shouts mean things at tiny crumbs and thinks that "bedtime is for doughnut holes." It takes a Giant Cyclops - turns out they're paragons of politesse - to steer the wayward cake onto the path of niceness. With adorably scruffy art and a clever, gag-filled story, Watkins brings a refreshing irreverence to the often deadly mind-your-manners genre. ICE CREAM SUMMER Written and illustrated by Peter Sis. 40 pp. Scholastic Press. $17.99. (Picture book; ages 4 to 8) The latest from the masterly Sis ("Starry Messenger," "The Wall") takes the form of a letter from a boy named Joe to his grandfather. The two have a trip planned at summer's end. In the meantime, Joe assures Grandpa he's keeping up his reading and math, even cartography and history. The illustrations tell a different story, in which delicious-looking ice cream plays a starring role. It's a winsome treat, with some nutritious facts (did you know the waffle cone was born in 1904?) sneaked in. ANNA BANANA AND THE CHOCOLATE EXPLOSION! By Dominique Roques. Illustrated by Alexis Dormal. 22 pp. First Second. $15.99. (Picture book; ages 4 to 8) This second book about the wild-haired Anna Banana and her talkative stuffed-animal friends shows why the comics-style picture book trend is going strong: It's action-packed yet lovely to look at. The crew wants some chocolate cake, and Anna decides to teach them to bake. Complications ensue as Fuzzball can't get the hang of whisking (who can?) and Grizzler sneaks off to the bakery to fake his contribution. Teamwork prevails; the happy results leave a mess but look tasty. HUNGRY ROSCOE Written and illustrated by David J. Plant. 40 pp. Flying Eye. $17.95. (Picture book; ages 4 to 8) Roscoe is a raccoon - a hungry one who lives in a city park and is tired of "eating rotten junk" out of trash cans. In search of anything scrumptious, he heads to the zoo, where he's promptly booted out by a burly zookeeper. Penguin and tortoise disguises don't work. But the monkeys step in with a plan that brings hilarious mayhem to the zoo and a succulent bucket of fruit to Roscoe. In this debut picture book, Plant pours on the charm, with retro-looking sorbet-colored art and a perfectly paced story. ONLINE An expanded visual presentation of this week's column at nytimes.com/books.
Copyright (c) The New York Times Company [June 21, 2015]
Review by Booklist Review
*Starred Review* Rude cakes never say thank you, never apologize, and think bedtime is for donut holes. One such cake, two-tiered and pink, terrorizes her fellow pastries. She takes a cupcake's toy. She shouts at a formerly carefree marshmallow. She blows past playground lines, taking as many turns as she wants. The rude cake is very rude, indeed, until a large creature snatches her from her bedroom and delivers comeuppance in an unexpected fashion. It turns out that giant Cyclopses are the epitome of good manners! In a hysterical but slightly traumatic twist, the rude cake is taught the value of being polite and considerate by her unwitting abductor, learning the lesson that no cake is ever too rude to change. Watkins' muted watercolors bounce along with vintage sweetness and whimsy. Kids will connect with the hard knocks on the playground, giggle gleefully as the bullying rude cake is taken hostage, and observe the value of behaving nicely. Using humor and tasty snacks, Watkins demonstrates the importance of good manners without being preachy, sneaking in the lesson like zucchini in a muffin. Pair with Laurie Keller's Do Unto Otters (2007) for extra etiquette. Guaranteed to delight; kids will be asking oh so nicely to Read it again, please! --Smith, Julia Copyright 2015 Booklist
From Booklist, Copyright (c) American Library Association. Used with permission.
Review by Publisher's Weekly Review
So what's it going to be, kid? Are you a Rude Cake or a Giant Cyclops? Watkins, a former Sendak Fellow, debuts with an absurdist "Goofus and Gallant" story for the 21st century, about a thuggish, pink two-layer cake. "Rude cakes never say please, and they never say thank you, and they sometimes take things that don't belong to them," writes Watkins as the inconsiderate, ungrateful, and selfish cake bullies other sweets and disrespects his four-tier parents. But when the cake is spirited away to a land where goofy-but extremely polite-Giant Cyclopses use cakes for "jaunty little hats," the cake discovers a way of life that's kind, patient, and affirming ("Giant Cyclopses always say thank you, and they always say please"). Watkins's delicate lines and translucent colors give his story a sly, understated humor, and his liberal use of verbal asides ("Seriously," says the cake as it sulks in a tub, "I'm a cake... How dirty can I be?") make a familiar message about thoughtfulness as fresh and tasty as his confectionary cast. Ages 3-5. Agent: Rosemary Stimola, Stimola Literary Studio. (June) © Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved.
(c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved
Review by School Library Journal Review
PreS-Gr 1-In this amusing and downright bizarre tale, readers learn about cakes whose dispositions aren't nearly as sweet as their flavoring. One bratty confection, who never waits his turn and refuses to obey his parents, finally gets his comeuppance when a cyclops reaches into his bedroom window one night and eagerly scoops him up. Slyly subverting expectations, the author explains that cyclops don't eat cakes-they enjoy wearing them as hats. But cyclops are far more considerate, and the one-eyed creature quickly returns the dessert to his home, resulting in a kinder, gentler cake. Children learning to say, "Please" and "Thank you" will delight in the over-the-top rude behavior here, such as the cake exploding with anger at a tiny marshmallow and chocolate muffin. The use of dynamic, large fonts for emphasis, hilarious dialogue conveyed through speech bubbles, and the exaggerated expressions and responses of characters add further to the zany flavor of this story. Digitally created, with pencil and ink, the cartoonlike illustrations match the tone of the text, quirk for quirk. The strange creations depicted here have an adorably grotesque feel: the cakes are multilayered concoctions perched precariously on tiny peglike legs, while the monsters are toothy, big-eyed, hairy ovals. Watkins has whipped up a truly surreal story, crammed with hilarious details and gently laced with an important lesson; pair this one with Steve Antony's Please Mr. Panda (Scholastic, 2015) for a fun primer on manners. VERDICT This entertaining offering will make for a riotous storytime.-Mahnaz Dar, School Library Journal © Copyright 2014. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
(c) Copyright Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Review by Horn Book Review
When one particularly rude little cake comes eyes-to-eye with a giant cyclops, the cake gets a few lessons in manners that help him see things differently. The oddball, sweet story will help young kids think about their interactions and understand the importance of being polite. The pencil and ink illustrations use offbeat humor to emphasize the simple lesson. (c) Copyright 2015. The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
(c) Copyright The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
