I am thrilled to be able to combine two of my great passions in this blog post: fabulous books and chocolate cake!

‘Chocolate Cake’ by Michael Rosen, illustrated by Kevin Waldron ( Puffin Books)

Finally, there’s a gloriously illustrated picture book of Michael Rosen’s now classic funny poem, ‘Chocolate Cake.’ It tells the tale of poor Michael, a little boy with an insatiable appetite for chocolate cake. One night, when everybody else is asleep, the siren call of the cake proves too much. Surely nobody would notice if he just had one teeny-tiny slice, would they?

Perfect for performing out loud, will plenty of yummy noises, chocolatey-goodness and crazy humour, this is a must-have for anyone’s bookcase! It’s fantastic to see the poem brought alive through Waldron’s vibrant illustrations.

‘I Really Want the Cake’ by Simon Philip, illustrated by Lucia Gaggiotti (Templar Publishing)

A tale of the willpower and endurance levels of a little girl when faced with a towering chocolate cake on the kitchen table . However, there is also a note from mum. A note forbidding her to touch the cake.

Unfortunately, as anybody could have predicted, the chocolate temptation proves too much. Follow a feeding frenzy which would be impressive for a shark, the cake is no more.  All that’s left is a few crumbs and a smear of icing. There is still time to try to cover up the crime, but only if the little girl can master making a cake of her own.

The struggle is real for cake-lovers. I am sure that many of us would sympathise with the little girl as she tried, and failed, to ignore the chocolate cake. Full of chaos, humour and cake, and gloriously illustrated by Gaggiotti, this book even has a recipe at the end so the reader can make a chocolate cake of their own.

Both books would be perfect for keen bakers, readers and cake aficionados. A delicious pairing.

After reading these, we were inspired to do some baking of our own and  here’s the delicious finished product:

Right, time for cake!

Library Girl.

*Many thanks to Puffin and Templar Books for sending me these titles to review*