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Summary
Summary
A sweet, illustrated tale that starts with an egg and ends with the perfect cake to be shared among friends.
One morning, a mouse decides to make an omelet. There's only one problem. He needs an egg. Where will he find one? He knows, he'll ask his neighbor, the blackbird. As it turns out, the blackbird doesn't have an egg, but does have flour, and an idea.
And thus begins the journey through the neighborhood, as the mouse's original desire for an omelet, and related quest for an egg, turns into a new idea for a cake, with each ingredient contributed by a different neighbor.
Not only does the mouse find all of the edible ingredients he was looking for, but also the most precious ingredients of all--community and friends, from a hedgehog to an owl to a raccoon. Along the way, he learns about the importance of asking for what you need, sharing what you have, and being open to new ideas.
Author Notes
Davide Cali is an award-winning children's book author of more than fifty books, including A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to School , The Queen of the Frogs , and When an Elephant Falls in Love . He lives in France and Italy.
Maria Dek studied art at the Academy of Fine Arts in Warsaw and University of the Arts, London. She is based in Bialowieza, Poland, in the oldest forest in Europe. Her prior books include A Walk in the Forest and When I am Big .
Reviews (3)
School Library Journal Review
K-Gr 2-In this charming cumulative tale, a small mouse is hungry for an omelet, but doesn't have an egg. He reaches out to a succession of neighbors, and each one offers something to improve on his initial request (butter, sugar, flour) and gradually adds their possessions to make a cake. Once the necessary ingredients are added, Owl contributes the use of his oven, and all that's left to decide is the division of the cake-should it be eight slices or nine? A dark watercolor palette introduces each woodland animal, some with humanlike houses in their natural surroundings. The final decision of slicing the confection incorporates the comments of the different animals, an opportunity for little ones to discover repeated phrases, predict the contributions to the cake, and reflect on the final decision to include little Mouse in its division. VERDICT The text repetition and theme of neighborly cooperation make this a suggested general purchase for most libraries.-Mary Elam, Learning Media Services, Plano ISD, TX © Copyright 2018. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Horn Book Review
Mouse asks Blackbird for an egg to make an omelet. Blackbird doesn't have one but offers flour for a cake and suggests asking Dormouse for the egg. After five more encounters yield five more ingredients, the neighbors all bake a cake in Owl's oven. Does Mouse get a slice if he didn't contribute anything? This tale about sharing and fairness is accompanied by playful illustrations. (c) Copyright 2019. The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Kirkus Review
Forest friends need an egg to bake a cake, and while their animal neighbors cannot offer all the other necessary ingredients, they do join the confectionary quest.Mouse needs the egg for an omelet, but Blackbird has only flour, with which they can make cake. They find Dormouse, who has butter and who suggests everybody approach Mole, who has sugarbut still no egg. The roving (and ever growing) band of merry would-be bakers will bring smiles to small readers, who will rejoice in reciting the growing list of creatures and chiming in with their choral salutations of each new animal: "Good morning, neighbor." This endearing story's accumulation of animals, donations, and repetitive phrasing cleverly underscores (and embodies) the abundant, collaborative love of a tightknit community. Dek's watercolor illustrations evoke folk-art charm with their straightforward brush strokes, chunky caricatures, absence of perspective, and inherent warmth expressed through lovely details. Hedgehog sits idly in a bentwood rocker; a window box of plants hangs outside Blackbird's hollow-tree entry; strings of lights drape tree branches; a roped boardwalk spirals up a trunk to Owl's nest; a painted checkerboard motif distinguishes Mouse's doorway. When it's finally time to cut the cake, readers might feel eager to initiate their own cooking project or perhaps simply to run across the way to find a friend. Teamwork, sharing, and neighborly friendship emerge as integral ingredients in this sweet, satisfying book for young readers. (Picture book. 2-6) Copyright Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
