Kid Konnection: Happy Birthday, Cupcake!

Every Saturday, I host a feature called Kid Konnection -- a regular weekend feature about anything related to children's books. This week we celebrated Booking Son's birthday, so I thought I'd feature a fun "birthday" picture book.

Summary: What’s a cupcake to do when she needs to plan her birthday party? In this hilarious, kid-friendly homage to food and birthdays, Cupcake runs through tons of ideas while her best friend, Blueberry Muffin, finds reasons why they won’t work: Soup gets seasick; Donut melts in the sun; someome might get squashed during musical chairs; and Cupcake is not very good at limbo (her icing might get sliced off!). Just as Cupcake is ready to crumble, Blueberry Muffin has one last idea that just might save the day.

With laugh-out-loud visual gags (like a band made up of beans–the musical fruit, of course), this book is sure to put a birthday smile on any kid’s face (and on adult faces as well). -- Philomel

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, CUPCAKE! is the perfect book for our house this month since we celebrate both of my kids' birthdays! Unfortunately, this picture books is a little young for my 11 and soon to be 16 year-old; however, Booking Daughter still thought it was adorable. (She should have loved this book when she was younger!) It's written and illustrated by Terry Border who is the creator of the photography site Bent Objects -- you have to check out his amazing food photographs as well as the adorable BuzzFeed article where Terry has constructed scenes based on some of the most famous children’s books: http://www.buzzfeed.com/penguinyoungreaders/your-favorite-childrens-books-guest-starringpe-eltl#.sknZlpQN3.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, CUPCAKE! is so cute. The story is simple. A cupcake is planning her birthday party and no idea is perfect for all of her friends. Cupcake keeps coming up with ideas while her best friend, Blueberry Muffin, is a bit of a Debbie Downer (or a realist if you prefer!) For example, Soup could get seasick on a boat, while Donut and Ice Cream Cone might melt in the sun. Donut is just about ready to forget about a party when Blueberry Muffin has the perfect solution!

I loved HAPPY BIRTHDAY, CUPCAKE. The story is cute with few words, yet humor is an evident theme throughout the story. Toddlers and early elementary age kids are going to love the banter between Cupcake and Muffin while also appreciating the adorable photographs of the food.

Terry Border's food creations are positively precious! He has taken sweets like muffins, cupcakes, cookie, eclairs, and more and has added metal limbs (and even a leash!) to make them come alive. He has then photographed them in hilarious scenes like a makeover party, a boat, and a game of musical chairs to name a few. I absolutely love the pictures, and every time I read the story, I have to giggle at the "characters." The potato and corn on the cob are especially funny!

This picture book is a must-have for kids with a sweet tooth or for anyone celebrating a birthday! Highly recommended!

Thanks to the publisher for providing a review copy of this book.

If you'd like to participate in Kid Konnection and share a post about anything related to children's books (picture, middle grade, or young adult) from the past week, please leave a comment as well as a link below with your name/blog name and the title of the book! Feel free to grab the little button too!