Hattie Baked a Wedding Cake - Hardcover

Kindergarten-Grade 2-A bit of stray sunbeam, music from a string quartet, a breeze from the windchimes, and a stray kiss are just a few of the unusual ingredients that Hattie beats into this wedding cake. She takes the finished cake to the gathering on the lawn as everyone prepares for the happy occasion. Things, though, seem a bit gloomy as the ceremony begins. The judge must squint (his specs got mixed into the batter), the musicians cannot play a note, the windchimes are silent, and there is no kiss for the bride. Hattie assumes full responsibility for the mishaps and, with a grand display of ingenuity, puts everything where it rightfully belongs. After the joyous reception, everyone agrees with Hattie-"What a fine wedding to be in a cake!" Readers and audiences soon discover from the effervescent pictures that Hattie is far from the ordinary baker. Her kitchen is a marvel of gadgets and incongruous articles that have uses that only she can understand. Never mind-there is fun in the mayhem. The use of sepia, spring green, and yellow as background tones in the watercolors lends softness to the constant, flamboyant action. Characters' facial features are at times grotesquely exaggerated, but, somehow, they fit perfectly with the story line. This bit of magic stirred up with lots of imagination is a sure recipe to delight young audiences.
Mary Lou Budd, formerly at Milford South Elementary School, OH
Copyright 1994 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Ages 5-8. The cobbler and the cook are getting married, and Hattie is baking the wedding cake. Now, Hattie is no ordinary cook; just check out her kitchen, which has live chickens, ice skates, and even a beach ball crowding the cooking utensils. Hattie takes her baking seriously, though. She beats the flour, she beats the eggs, she beats the raisins, and then she beats so hard some other things get mixed in, too--like the wind chimes, a pair of socks, a ring, some notes from a string quartet, a couple of sunbeams, and a kiss. The batter gets too big for the bowl and has to be baked in a tuba. Does all this make a very strange wedding cake? Yes, and one that leads to some fantastic wedding day goings-on. The story has charm and chuckles, but it's really Hepworth's art that makes this such a standout. Readers may remember her book Antics! (1991), in which ants and wordplay combined in imaginative art. Here the accent is on wit and style as Hepworth offers a sanguine Hattie who takes all her ingredients in stride--until it's time to dig through her creation to find the kiss that flew in the cake. The bride and groom gotta have that kiss! Fun for kids and the adults who read to them. Ilene Cooper