Cake lust wins out over parental command, as it all too often does. Faced with a huge, luscious, forbidden chocolate cake, a child struggles to stay away but ultimately caves as one lick becomes a feeding frenzy that leaves only crumbs. Well . . . how hard can it be to make another? Rhyming verse accompanies a winning young gourmand with wild black hair and a big personality, and Gaggiotti proves a dab hand at depicting fantastically smeary disaster areas around the cake plate and in the kitchen. Nonetheless, the extravagantly decorated jumble she dishes up at the end has a stylish flair that hints at a bright future as a pastry chef. A scratch recipe at the end offers a similarly mouthwatering but more feasible project for younger bakers. One caveat: in the illustrations, the child has a pooch who freely joins her in chowing down on the chocolate. A word of warning to younger pet owners may be in order.

A child and a dog fight a losing battle to resist a tempting--but forbidden--chocolate cake. Each step in this hilarious struggle is narrated by the child in a three-line rhyme that culminates in an increasingly emotional refrain (in fun type to match) as the battle for self-control escalates. "I think I want the cake" leads to "You must not eat the cake" and "I must… / … forget the cake" until "I'm going BACK for cake." Undone, the child licks the cake, then takes a bite--and then dog and child annihilate the cake. "I know I've not been very wise. / And what I've done I can't disguise. / I might have to apologize… / …because I ate the cake." To make amends, the child, who's never baked, decides to replace the cake. "It's EASY making cake!" until things go wrong. Eggs smash on the table, batter splatters, and a predictable mess engulfs the kitchen, child, and dog. Despite stress and mess, the child is at last able to say, "but hey, I've made you cake!" And it's a delightfully decorated cake at that. Multipanel spreads with exuberantly scribbly cartoon illustrations keep the action moving, and close-ups of the pale-skinned, black-haired child's face capture the emotional turmoil that ensues. This humorous struggle for self-control also models apology and restitution. (Picture book. 3-8) Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.

"It's on the table sitting there./ I cannot help but stop and stare," says Philip's (Be More Bernard) protagonist as she gazes at an impressively decorated chocolate cake. She imagines herself and her canine comrade-in-arms as Wild West outlaws in a stand-off, eating utensils in double holsters. But the child's mother has posted a sign that leaves no wiggle room ("YOU MUST NOT EAT THE CAKE"), and so the duo endeavors to practice self-control. Graphic designer Gaggiotti's boisterous, crayonlike drawings show the girl and dog grumpily going through the motions, playing badminton and reading poetry. But it's no use--once they sneak a few licks, the whole cake disappears in rapid order. Maybe Mom will forgive her if she makes a replacement--how hard could it be? This diva of cake snatching commands every page, with her proclamations of entitlement (rendered in sprawling handwritten type), her extensive repertoire of operatic expressions, and a hairstyle that seems to have a life of its own--especially after she's laid waste to the kitchen. In more ways than one, she really does take the cake. Ages 3--5. (May)