Publishers Weekly
- Publisher's Weekly
One by one a host of animals offer ingredients when a child decides to bake a birthday cake. PW called the story "perfectly paced" and said that the "understated" watercolors "shine with the quiet resplendence of happy family life." Ages 2-up. (Feb.)
Children's Literature
- Marilyn Bagel
"It's my birthday and I'm going to make a cake," announces the young child. With that, a host of charming animal friends offer to help. When the cake is completed, what could be better than sharing it with all the friends who help to bake it-the chickens that supply the fresh eggs...the mother and baby bears who bring the flour...the pig that donates a pinch of salt...the grey cat who gingerly climbs up the refrigerator shelves to get the butter and milk...and the monkey that swings up onto the branches of the cherry tree to pick the juicy, ripe cherries. They all sit down together at the birthday table for this joyful celebration, full of fun and good cheer as told and illustrated in Oxenbury's distinctive, charming style. 1996 (orig.
School Library Journal
PreS-K-Wanting to make a birthday cake, a youngster asks various animals to provide the ingredients, and they do. A chicken supplies the eggs; a bear, the flour; a cat, the butter and milk; a pig, the salt; a dog, the sugar; and a monkey, cherries for the top. The creatures then help the child make the cake, and help eat it, too. This is a wonderfully simple story. The soft watercolor illustrations are warm and gently humorous, particularly the depictions of the endearing animals, who stand on two legs and are just as childlike as their human friend. The preschooler's gender is nonspecific, which gives all children the opportunity to identify with the main character. A charming addition to preschool story times.-Elaine Lesh Morgan, Multnomah County Library, Portland, OR
Hazel Rochman
A toddler gathers the ingredients one by one and makes a cake for his birthday with the help of his animal friends. Without being cute or condescending, Oxenbury tells a cumulative story for the very young child with clear watercolors and a simple, cheerful text. The telling has a satisfying rhythm and repetition. It's my birthday and I'm going to make a cake, says the boy each time he names the ingredients he has and asks for the one he needs. The pictures are funny and surprising: the cat grabs the butter and milk from the refrigerator when no one's looking; the pig gets a pinch of salt from a friendly beaver family on a picnic; the monkey picks some cherries for the top of the cake. In the end the friends help the boy mix the cake, and he invites them all to the party to eat it.
