Cake vs. Pie

A sweet and pun-filled story like this can be tough to beat for storytimes and read-alouds.

In zippy text and dialogue written almost entirely in food puns, Bardhan-Quallen (the Purrmaids series) serves up the tale of a deliciously silly rivalry between flavorful friends Cake and Pie, who each want to be deemed the sweetest dessert around. Universally adored Cake eagerly introduces new-treat-on-the-block Pie to everyone, only to learn that Pie really loves the limelight ("Yes, I know--I am quite a dish!"). After Pie is named Toast of the Town, makes an on-fire appearance at the Cherry Jubilee, and turns braggart, Cake, feeling crushed, declares a food fight to finally settle the matter of who's top tier. A crack team--Brownie, Croissant, Cupcake, Danish, and Waffle--are in Cake's corner as a black-and-white cookie referee calls "Leeeet's get ready to cruuumble!" and the battle of the baked goods begins. The aftermath of a full-fledged food battle finds Cake and Pie patching things up and realizing that their friendship is the sweetest thing of all. Alongside the nonstop punning, Stilwell (A Pizza My Heart) renders an amusingly dizzying parade of bright, big-eyed anthropomorphic snacks cracking wise that play into a light friendship story about resolving conflict. Ages 4-8. Author's agent: Rachel Orr, Prospect Agency. (June)

PreS-Gr 2--All's well in the shop as everyone--croissants, cupcakes, brownies, caramel apples, ice cream sandwiches, cookies, doughnuts, etc.--gets along well with one other. However, once Pie moves in, everything changes for Cake who up to this point has been "top tier." The two are friends at first and Cake happily introduces Pie to everyone. Pie soaks up all the praise from her new acquaintances and it quickly goes to her head. She is soon convinced that "I am quite the dish" and a dejected Cake slinks away feeling as if she's "been desserted." The competition to be "flavor of the month" soon leads to a battle which involves all the sweets in the shop. Paper, ink, and digital combine in illustrations filled with detail, color, activity, and speech bubbles galore that burst with food puns and expressions. Due to the intricate details in the desserts and the ongoing conversations, this tale should be shared one-on-one so the pictures can be scrutinized. VERDICT Clever wordplay and detailed illustrations keep this animated tale moving along at a fast pace to delight readers with a scrumptious tale of friendship.--Maryann H. Owen

The mixture of pun-filled text and speech bubbles, sprinkles of delightful descriptions, and curvy line work showcase a variety of each desserts' best qualities and will have readers' stomachs rumbling...A surprising twist encourages readers to come to the table and overcome salty debates with sweeter friendships. — Bulletin of the Center for Children's Books