Although I’m not taking on much new blog material at the moment because life continues to be challenging, I simply had to review the children’s book, The Littlest Baker by Melissa Cummings and illustrated by Ana Graça.
You see, Ana got in touch to tell me about the book and asked how much my reviews cost. I was completely taken aback. My reviews are entirely free and no true book blogger would ever charge for a review. It’s why my reviews are positive ones. If I don’t like a book I simply quietly forget I ever had it! I only blog about the books I enjoy and love.
My huge thanks to Ana for sending me a copy of The Littlest Baker in return for an honest review. I’m delighted to share that review today.
The Littlest Baker is available for purchase here.
The Littlest Baker
Join the Littlest Baker on an adventure as she whisks up goodies for her Grandfather’s bakery. Using ingredients and the melody of the mixer, she captivates all five senses, immersing the reader in a symphony of baking. When she drops the completed treats onto the floor, she is reminded that beautiful things can come from mistakes.
My Review of The Littlest Baker
It’s time to bake cakes for the family shop.
What a charming book for children. The story is an easy one to grasp with The Littlest Baker making cakes for sale in the family shop, having a slight mishap and finding a new positive as a result, so that it is an accessible story for young readers or listeners. I particularly liked the fact that there is space to inscribe a child’s name at the beginning of the book and The Littlest Baker isn’t actually given a name so that the story can ‘belong’ to any young reader.
Plot aside, however, The Littlest Baker is filled with wonderful learning points for the target audience. When the cakes drop to the floor it seems a disaster, but as this leads to a brand new style of cupcake, children come to understand that life often has trials and errors, that we can learn from our mistakes and new opportunities open up.
Other learning opportunities in The Littlest Baker come from the presentation of the story in rhyme so that children can discover actual and near rhyme, homophones and spelling. This is great for enabling children to predict words and engage with the story, as well as illustrating language for emergent writers. Much of the language is familiar, but more difficult words like ‘luxuriously’ increase the vocabulary of both young readers and writers. I thought the health and safety aspects were great too as a grown up helps with the trays hot from the oven.
I loved the fact that not only are all the senses catered for from the sound of the mixer to the taste of the cupcakes, but before the baking begins, the protagonist puts in her hearing aids so that the story feels inclusive too. This is also enhanced by the fact that there is no parent in the story. Children come from all kinds of homes and it is Aunt Tula, Nana and Grandpa who are working with The Littlest Baker so that children without conventional parents are not left feeling like outsiders. Similarly, the characters drawn at the end of the story are from a range of ethnic backgrounds and ages making the inclusivity all the more effective.
Indeed, the illustrations by Ana Graça are delightful all the way through The Littlest Baker. The illustrative style is childlike using pastel shades, without being childish so that it appeals to children. I think there are so many brilliant learning opportunities in the home or other educational settings through the pictures – perhaps in counting the different baked items to help numeracy, or in baking or even in acting out the story using the lovely illustrations to assist, so that young readers can gain in confidence.
If I have one criticism of The Littlest Baker it is that reading it with your class or children is going to make you desperate to try a combined chocolate and strawberry cupcake! Other than that, I thought it was a totally smashing children’s book.
About Melissa Cummings
Mother of two Melissa Cummings lives in South Jersey. She is the head of a book club that was founded in 2016 with a close group of ladies from her community, all of whom share a deep love of reading.
Her debut book The Littlest Barista was written out of necessity. With a child who loves coffee and books, but not a children’s book to be found about coffee, she had no choice but to write it herself.
For more information about Melissa, visit her website and find her on Instagram too.
About Ana Graça
Ana Graça is a filmmaker and a children’s illustrator from Brazil, now based in London.
Ana is particularly interested in visual storytelling and she has a focus on world-building and stories for children. She specialises in children’s illustrations and on pattern and surface design. Ana has collaborated on stationary and pattern design with many brands in Brazil and world-wide, and has had two picture books published.
For further information, visit Ana’s website or find her on Instagram.
English (US) · 