Snickerdoodle Takes the Cake

October 1, 2017

PreS-Gr 1- Snickerdoodle is a young chinchilla who cannot resist his mother's Lemon Poppy Seed Cake with Buttercream Icing. She has made a beautiful one, but it is for his grandmother's birthday and thus is off-limits. The wonderful aroma perks him up. He would love a little taste but his smart mother left a "Do Not Touch!" sign on it. Clever Snickerdoodle thinks a smell would be okay because smelling it isn't touching. And he rationalizes that the note doesn't say anything about not trying one tiny crumb. Unfortunately, this crumb is all it takes to send him over the edge. Things quickly go downhill from there, and his hand winds up in the middle of the cake. Snickerdoodle's mother isn't happy when she sees the destroyed confection. She feels slightly defeated when she spies her other two children attacking what's left of the demolished treat. Now it's up to Snickerdoodle and his siblings to make things right. The end result may not be perfect but their intentions are good. This is a fun story about an animal family and how they tackle one of life's problems. The colorful illustrations are large and the characters are animated. The size of the pictures and the small amount of text makes this a perfect book for young listeners. The anticipation of whether or not Snickerdoodle will touch the cake will delight children. VERDICT A great selection for storytimes and one-on-one reads.- Barbara Spiri, Southborough Library, MA

Copyright 2017 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

August 15, 2017
A young chinchilla who just can't resist temptation comes up with a way to make amends.Children (and adults!) will totally understand how Snickerdoodle feels when faced with the irresistible lure of his mother's "Famous Lemon Poppy Seed Cake with Buttercream Icing." And if they don't have personal experience, Long's digital illustrations make the small creature's feelings perfectly clear. Yes, the cake is marked with a "Do Not Touch" note. But even Snickerdoodle's imagined picture of his mother as a forked-tongue, horned monster surrounded by fire and screaming "STAY AWAY FROM the CAKE" can't stop him from rationalizing that the note didn't say not to "try one tiny crumb." Resistance is utterly futile after that, and though Snickerdoodle tries (hysterically) to control his wayward hand, he can't control the tripping hazard that is his cat. Cliffhangers on many of the spreads lead readers to frantically turn the pages as each "But..." leads to yet more disaster for Snickerdoodle. The three siblings' solution is perfectly in tune with what readers might do, and their results are believably childlike and completely satisfactory to their Na Na, whose birthday they are celebrating. While the male chinchillas in the anthropomorphic family are grayish, all the females have eyelashes and a slightly pink cast to their fur. Though Snickerdoodle fails to resist gluttony with either cake, this remains a realistic look at problem-solving and making things right. (Picture book. 3-7)

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October 1, 2017
Preschool-G In this tale about giving into temptation, the trouble starts when a young chinchilla named Snickerdoodle rises early and finds a festively decorated, delicious-looking cake in the kitchen of his comfortable suburban home. Although there's a Do Not Touch! note, it's Mom's Famous Lemon Poppy Seed Cake with Buttercream Icing! Even though Snickerdoodle fears the wrath of his mother, the temptation is too great, and he plunges in his hand for a big helping. Snickerdoodle's mother suggests they fix the cake, only to find that most of it has been devoured by Snickerdoodle's two siblings. Under Snickerdoodle's guidance, the three bake a new cake for the eventtheir grandmother's birthday celebration. The replacement isn't as festively decorated, but it's apparently just as delicious: Snickerdoodle can't help sneaking a second piece. Charming, soft-colored illustrations and a brief text clearly convey the low-key action as Snickerdoodle grapples with and eventually succumbs to his yearning. No hard lessons here, except perhaps that if you're willing to make a replacement, you can have your cake and eat it too.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2017, American Library Association.)