Chocolate Cake

Chocolate Cake by Michael Rosen. Illustrated by Kevin Waldron. 5+++ Stars. What a joyful story of a cute blond chocolate cake-loving boy who gets into mischief over a midnight snack! LOL funny. Loved the sounds! The illustrations are totally delightful. Its wonderful detail and color—mostly cozy and some dark and scary—make it highly appealing. Highly recommend! Thanks to NetGalley, Penguin Random House UK Children’s, and Puffin (how I do enjoy your books!) for providing this ebook for review.

A young lover of chocolate cake eats a whole one at night - and that's it. The illustrations, complete with scrawled sound-effects and onomatopoeic bits, are very rough and ready, and so weren't completely to my taste. But the active layout and the very opportunity to make silly eating noises when sharing this little adventure with little adventurers is not to be forsaken - in its simplicity it should be right up their street. The book in a way is like its subject - easy, messy fun.

True account of the author's childhood and a delicious chocolate cake...

I can relate. My secret shame was an entire bag of chocolate truffles though. Michael relates his childhood memory of his mum's delicious chocolate cakes, and how he couldn't resist eating a little of the leftovers... then a little more...

It will fascinate any child, hearing of an adult confess this to them, the greed, the disobedience, the possible consequences.

Rosen doesn't use rhyme or humour, he writes a straightforward account in which he tells us what he did when he was young, any child would be able to relate to his feelings.

The illustrations reminded me of my own drawings in childhood, they give the book an authentic feel.

This would work well in KS2 classrooms, talking about consequences and doing the right thing.

Not a picture book for toddlers, rather like the author's 'Sad Book'. Would resonate most with readers aged 5-10.

With thanks to Netgalley for the advance e-copy.

This book is a short picture book all about a boy's love of chocolate cake and having an insatiable appetite for it! Unable to get enough he tell of his a midnight chocolate cake feast, only not to clean up his mucky trail of it afterwards! Mum's always figure what happened after all!

Short and highly entertaining, it's a funny little book that will make young children giggle a lot as well as be drawn to the colourful drawings of his tale!

Many thanks to the publishers for allowing me to review this book for them!

'Chocolate Cake' by Michael Rosen is a well known piece of text to all primary school teachers already. After seeing it being brought to life by Michael Rosen himself in videos he's posted on YouTube, it's lovely to see it being illustrated by Kevin Waldron. The illustrations are fantastic with wonderful detail and colour which I know will engage children as well as adults! It adds another element to Michael Rosen's true story (one many of us can relate to). Thanks to NetGalley, Penguin Random House UK Children's and Puffin for providing this ebook!

Chocolate Cake by Michael Rosen is a poem truly deserving of the term, classic. I enjoyed reading it when I was in school and as an adult helping children foster a love of reading I have loved sharing it with primary aged children. It's truly timeless in that there is no age group I can think of who wouldn't enjoy listening to and sharing this poem. The narrative is funny, clever and suspenseful and the theme, an overwhelming love of chocolate cake that gets a child in trouble, is universal. The poem was first published in 1983 and there have been various iterations since then. One of my favourites being watching Michael Rosen himself read it on his YouTube channel. However, this is a pretty good alternative, as a picture book to share. The illustrations are by Kevin Waldron, and their slightly wobbly style suits the narrative perfectly. I don't know if you can call illustrations child friendly, but I'm going to. risk it. They help make the work more accessible and enhance the humour and the sheer joy of the story. You can see my review over at Making Them Readers https://makingthemreaders.wordpress.com/2017/08/13/3849/

Chocolate Cake is a children's picture book about a boy who loves...chocolate cake! Based on the title and cover art I had huge expectations for this book. While the idea for the story is clever, the execution is lacking. The boy sneaks down to the kitchen in the middle night and bit by bit consumes an entire cake. Even with trying to clean up the evidence he is found out the next morning. The text is clunky for a picture book. The thought "bubbles" are popular to add these days, but sometimes they seem like they were scribbled on just to fill up the page. The colorful illustrations are rough. However, the book is about chocolate cake so there's that. Yum.

Fantastic story, tinged with a child's feelings of remorse. Filled with Rosen's trademark rhythm and word play.
Perfect for bedtime reading to younger children or independent readers aged 6+. Also recommended for class reading and circle time.

Michael Rosen is one of my all-time favourite children's poets and when I discovered that he was releasing his 'Chocolate Cake' poem as a book, I couldn't wait to get my hands on it. I definitely wasn't disappointed! This book is beautifully written with lovely illustrations that accompany the different sections of the poem. I would definitely recommend this to other teachers and parents as a book to read with their children.

Rosen has written his memories of his mother's chocolate cake in a way that we can all, both children and adults, relate to. The short book is beautifully illustrated and would be a great addition to my classroom.

Michael Rosen is obviously a fellow chocolate cake fan and I could empathise with the little boy in the charming illustrations very strongly. Who has not been woken in the night by a craving for leftover food that you know is just waiting to be eaten in the kitchen? Not you? Ah well I recognise the urge to get up and nibble anyway! Couldn't help but hear Michael's voice reading the story in my head and with all the fabulous noises to make, this would certainly be perfect for reading aloud. Now where did I save mum's chocolate coconut cake recipe........!

Chocolate Cake by Michael Rosen is a short picture book about a boy’s love of chocolate cake. The boy ends up not being able to wait for his chocolate cake and this is the storm of his midnight chocolate cake feast. The boys mistake is that is does not clean up his trail of it. His mom figures out what happened in the end, which allows for a lesson on teaching children of being truthful.

The illustrations is great. The illustrations are unique. They appear to be hand drawn which helps the book to authentic.

I have this book 4/5 stars.

Thank you Penguin Random House UK Children’s and Puffin via NetGalley for the advanced copy in exchange for an honest review.

This is a lovely book and it made me chuckle. I love the illustrations and the silly content. It's a story we can all imagine doing at one time or another.
Ideal read for Key Stage 1 or Lower Key Stage 2.

Michael Rosen confesses his childhood love of the delicious chocolate cake his Mum used to make make in this delectable, mischievous story. His greedy crumb by crumb midnight feast consumption of one such cake - and the consequences - is related to readers in Mr Rosen’s inimitable style, with wit and humour which are reinforced by the brilliant illustrations.

A tasty story which could prompt discussions relating to honesty, consequences and doing what is right . . . . I could easily imagine using this to prompt discussions with individuals, groups or a class! The descriptions are also brilliant, bringing the events and tastes to life in the imagination of the reader. Definitely another winner from this brilliant author IMHO.

I requested and received a copy of this novel, via NetGalley, with no obligation. This is my honest review after choosing to read it.

A delightfully illustrated tale of a young boy's undeniable love of chocolate cake

It was a nice read about greed.
It's the story of a little boy who loves chocolate and especially chocolate cake !

It was a pleasant read but I have to say the illustrations are not my favorite.
But the book is perfect for a "story time" because the illustration and story are complete with scrawled sound-effects, onomatopoeic bits.