The Magic Cake Shop

September 19, 2011
With its exaggerated villains; tongue-tripping, made-up words; and magical, confection-filled setting, this delightfully goofy novel offers a faint whiff of Charlie and the Chocolate Factory. Emma Burblee’s self-absorbed and superficial parents, who “drank fancy champagne and ate rare caviar by the gallon,” have little use for their plain, down-to-earth daughter. After they foist 10-year-old Emma off on equally horrid Uncle Simon, she seems destined to spend the summer cooking for her gluttonous uncle and cleaning his toilets with a toothbrush, until she meets pastry chef extraordinaire, Mr. Crackle. When Emma walks into his bakery, she “felt like she had been dropped in the middle of a miracle.” The shop, which contains a portal to an enchanted spice storeroom, is the scene of Crackle’s race against time to concoct “The Elixir of Delight,” a potion that makes all food taste divine and that will also save Crackle’s life (he’s been poisoned by Uncle Simon’s scheming cohort). Though not Dahl, this is considerable fun for readers who have a taste for sweet, whimsical adventure. Final art not seen by PW. Ages 8–12.

December 1, 2011

Gr 3-5-Don't be fooled by the sugary pink cover featuring sparkly cakes and candy stripes; Emma Burblee's story is not sweet. Emma, whose parents are obsessed with being perfect, is sent to stay with her lazy, fat, nefarious Uncle Simon for the summer. He forces her to do all of his CHORES-including hauling massive quantities of dessert from the town bakery on her back. Soon, 10-year-old Emma finds herself working against the clock to save the town's much-loved baker, who has been poisoned as part of Simon's latest get-rich-quick scheme. The story line is erratic (all of the elixirs, poisons, and antidotes are hard to keep track of), and the focus is less on magic and baking and more on ridiculous family members and bizarre turns of events. At times, the line between irreverent and inappropriate is pushed (Uncle Simon tells Emma that she won't be able to sit for a week if she steals any of his treats). Readers will likely lose their appetites for this book long before reaching the end.-Amanda Moss Struckmeyer, Middleton Public Library, WI

Copyright 2011 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

October 15, 2011
Grades 3-5 Emma's chic, narcissistic parents are planning her modeling career, though she longs to become a pastry chef. When her tenth birthday party ends disastrously, they pack her off to stay with her odious Uncle Simon. Sensible and resourceful, Emma befriends Mr. Crackle, a renowned local baker, and the boy who works in his shop. When her uncle and his nefarious pal, Mr. Beedy, blackmail Mr. Crackle into cooking up the magical Elixir of Delight, Mr. Crackle and his friends deliver justice in the potion. In this very readable first novel, the good characters are mighty good and the bad guys are really bad. An element of fantasy comes into play in the second half of the book when the baker leads his friends to a magical place beneath the cake shop. A frothy confection, this chapter book should appeal to readers who like their humor broad and a bit silly. To be illustrated with drawings not seen in the final form.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2011, American Library Association.)