April 1, 2021
K-Gr 2-Sloth and Lemur have a dilemma. They found a beautiful three-tiered, pink-iced cake with one orange and black-striped candle and briefly consider throwing a party to share their find with others. After going through a list of animals they know, they decide against inviting each one for a specific reason: the elephant would eat the entire cake, the python has deplorable manners, the porcupine is too prickly, and the rhino is too rambunctious. The two partake of the delicious dessert themselves. After Sloth and Lemur devour the cake and all that's left are crumbs, the animal that made the cake for her own birthday arrives on the scene. Now Sloth and Lemur have an even bigger predicament. The digital illustrations are placed on pastel backgrounds that allow the animals and their imagined party behavior to stand out. Only two pages have black backgrounds: one when Sloth makes an unfortunate decision and the other when justice is served. The droll humor is reminiscent of Jon Klassen's I Want My Hat Back. VERDICT While not a first purchase, this funny take on "revenge is sweet" makes for an understated and humorous tale.-Maryann H. Owen, Oak Creek P.L., WI
Copyright 2021 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.
April 1, 2021
A fractured fable about sharing. A sloth and a lemur find a gorgeous cake: three-tiered, pink-frosted, topped by a single orange-and-black-striped candle. The two decide to throw a party, but whom to invite? Sloth tries making suggestions, but Lemur shoots them all down: They're afraid that Tiger will eat the cake and then them; it's too much work to serve tiny pieces to an entire anthill; Chameleon is nowhere to be found; and "Sugar does things" to Tortoise, shown singing into a microphone clad in a top hat and with an inflatable pool toy around his waist. The two animals decide that their only choice is to eat the entire cake themselves. When the rightful baker and birthday-cat, Tiger, sees what they've done, she ominously tells them that she "can still get it back." There's shades of Jon Klassen's Hat trilogy here as well as Lucy Ruth Cummins' A Hungry Lion (2016), and this is a worthy addition to the trend of picture books showing the more ominous consequences of one's actions in an anthropomorphized animal kingdom. The effective use of background color, subtle expressions, gravity, and pacing make this a winning choice for storytime, so long as the audience can handle the implications of the ending. (This book was reviewed digitally with 11-by-18-inch double-page spreads viewed at 19.6% of actual size.) Dark and delicious. (Picture book. 4-7)
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July 1, 2021
Sloth and Lemur stumble upon a beautiful (and unattended) three-tiered cake with pink icing and sprinkles. "We should have a party." Coming up with a guest list, however, is challenging. Elephant would eat the whole thing; Tiger would, too, "...and then you. And then me!" Peacock, Ant, Dolphin, and others all have their negatives. Eventually, Sloth and Lemur realize that if they want a job done right, they need to do it themselves, which they do until their faces and distended bellies are covered in chocolatey evidence. The dialogue-only story plays out on clean pastel-colored pages, focusing attention on the characters' interactions in the illustrations. McKee's deft use of line and dots for eyes clearly communicates tone and mood. If the book ended after the feeding frenzy, this would be an amusingly predictable story. Instead, the cautionary tale (don't eat found cake) concludes after an unexpected I Want My Hat Back-esque turn, in which the cake-eaters are, ultimately, dessert. Storytime audiences will devour this book's sly humor, effective page-turns, and subtle visual foreshadowing. Kitty Flynn
(Copyright 2021 by The Horn Book, Incorporated, Boston. All rights reserved.)
July 1, 2021
Sloth and Lemur stumble upon a beautiful (and unattended) three-tiered cake with pink icing and sprinkles. "We should have a party." Coming up with a guest list, however, is challenging. Elephant would eat the whole thing; Tiger would, too, "...and then you. And then me!" Peacock, Ant, Dolphin, and others all have their negatives. Eventually, Sloth and Lemur realize that if they want a job done right, they need to do it themselves, which they do until their faces and distended bellies are covered in chocolatey evidence. The dialogue-only story plays out on clean pastel-colored pages, focusing attention on the characters' interactions in the illustrations. McKee's deft use of line and dots for eyes clearly communicates tone and mood. If the book ended after the feeding frenzy, this would be an amusingly predictable story. Instead, the cautionary tale (don't eat found cake) concludes after an unexpected I Want My Hat Back-esque turn, in which the cake-eaters are, ultimately, dessert. Storytime audiences will devour this book's sly humor, effective page-turns, and subtle visual foreshadowing.
(Copyright 2021 by The Horn Book, Incorporated, Boston. All rights reserved.)