I Really Want the Cake

PUBLISHERS WEEKLY 6 ABR 2020

"It's on the table sitting there./ I cannot help but stop and stare," says Philip's (Be More Bernard) protagonist as she gazes at an impressively decorated chocolate cake. She imagines herself and her canine comrade-in-arms as Wild West outlaws in a stand-off, eating utensils in double holsters. But the child's mother has posted a sign that leaves no wiggle room ("YOU MUST NOT EAT THE CAKE"), and so the duo endeavors to practice self-control. Graphic designer Gaggiotti's boisterous, crayonlike drawings show the girl and dog grumpily going through the motions, playing badminton and reading poetry. But it's no use once they sneak a few licks, the whole cake disappears in rapid order. Maybe Mom will forgive her if she makes a replacement how hard could it be? This diva of cake snatching commands every page, with her proclamations of entitlement (rendered in sprawling handwritten type), her extensive repertoire of operatic expressions, and a hairstyle that seems to have a life of its own especially after she's laid waste to the kitchen. In more ways than one, she really does take the cake. Ages 3 5.