Pink Cupcake Magic

November 4, 2013
Zoe loves cupcakes and princesses with equal passion, but lately neither is very satisfying. Her older brother and his buddies are constantly eating her cupcakes, and Zoe’s pretend tea parties with her stuffed animals are unfulfilling. “Shall we walk around our kingdom today?” she asks her fuzzy bunny, who “looked at her blankly. Zoe sighed. Maybe pretending to be a princess wasn’t such a great thing after all.” Luckily for Zoe, simply making a wish while she bakes a new batch of cupcakes is enough to transform her into an actual princess, turn her “plastic playhouse” into a castle, and give her truly interactive animal friends/subjects. There are many books available that celebrate the power of a child’s imagination; this isn’t one of them. Instead, author/publisher Tegen (Snowman Magic) uses magic to instantly solve every problem that comes Zoe’s way, from the tedium of pretending to be a princess to her royal subjects’ need for new outfits and her brother’s cupcake thievery. Varner’s dynamic acrylics are a bright spot in an otherwise uninspiring tale. Ages 4–8. Illustrator’s agent: Maggie Byers-Sprinzeles, Byers-Sprinzeles Agency.

December 1, 2013
Princess Zoe gets sweet revenge on her thieving brother with a special batch of magical cupcakes. Zoe loves to make cupcakes, but whenever she whips up a batch, her pesky brother, Ralph, and his friends eat them all up. Zoe also loves princesses, but pretending to be one just isn't satisfying enough, so she decides to bake a wish right into her next batch of pink cupcakes. Her wish--to be a princess--is granted, and she spends a lovely day in her magical kingdom, granting, in turn, the wishes of her furry subjects for shoes and coats. This meandering and disjointed storyline is only partly rescued by the funny exercise of harmless sibling revenge that draws the tale to a close: When Zoe discovers that Ralph has once again stolen her precious pink cupcakes, she hatches a plan to bake some magical green ones for him and his friends that will turn the lot of them into frogs for a day. The illustrations, in acrylic on watercolor paper, lend a feistiness to redheaded Zoe and a sparkly sheen to her fluffy, pink confections. The right ingredients--cute cupcakes, a dash of magic, one determined princess and plenty of pink--are all accounted for, but this recipe still falls flat. (cupcake recipe) (Picture book. 3-6)

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January 1, 2014
Grades K-3 Zoe loves cupcakes and tea parties, and she dreams of being a princess. When she bakes a wish into a batch of special pink cupcakes, her simple playhouse turns into a castle, and her toys turn into her subjects. Her brother and his friends, habitual cupcake stealers, try to take the leftovers, but Zoe decides to make a different type of cupcake just for them. Zoe's creative solution to the boys' thievery gives this sugary sweet story a clever twist and will leave readers laughing. The bright illustrations, with their exaggerated, rounded shapes, keep the action moving and provide plenty of details to notice. A recipe for Pink Cupcakes is included for anyone that would like to try their hand at magical baking, although a wish is not included in the ingredient list. Fans of Pinkalicious, by Victoria Kann (2006), and the Fancy Nancy books, by Jane O'Connor, will take to Zoe and her magic cupcakes.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2014, American Library Association.)