CAKE GIRL
by David Lucas & illustrated by David Lucas
A dreamlike episode explores the qualities of friendship. A green, hook-nosed Witch, “alone on her birthday … again,” bakes a Cake Girl, whom she then orders to sing, dance and clean house. “And then,” says the Witch, “I’ll eat you.” Unsurprisingly dismayed by this, Cake Girl engages the Witch in a diversionary conversation that leads to the revelation that if the Witch was nicer, people—Cake Girl included—would like her. “Promise?” asks the witch. Lucas’s busy cartoon scenes incorporate any amount of witchy impedimenta in the margins; it’s the details that delight, from the weathervane on the Witch’s pointy hat to her polka-dotted bloomers. Cake Girl is an expressive presence on the page; her body language speaks volumes. Sweetly surreal. (Picture book. 4-8)