April & Mae and the Book Club Cake
Megan Dowd Lambert, author
Megan Dowd Lambert is the author of A Kid of Their Own, A Crow of His Own, Real Sisters Pretend, and Reading Picture Books with Children. Her experiences as a white mother of seven children in a blended, multiracial, queer, adoptive family inform her work as an author, reviewer, and educator. A former children's literature instructor at Simmons University, Megan reviews and writes for Kirkus and Horn Book; is a consultant with EmbraceRace, a community focused on race and kids; and serves on the curation team of Our Shelves, a subscription box service that features racially diverse, LGBTQ+, and feminist characters and families.
Read more about Megan.
Briana Dengoue, illustrator
Briana Dengoue is a Philadelphia-born-and-based illustrator and graphic designer. She holds a BFA from Maryland Institute College of Art and is a firm believer in the fact that representation matters. She is always hoping that her work reaches someone who may look like her and see the world like her.
Read more about Briana.
- Coming soon!
Kirkus Reviews
In this installment of a new series that follows two best friends throughout a week, the titular duo attend a weekly book club after they bake an unusual cake for the group.
April, who is African American, a dog lover, and a fast reader, helps Mae, who is Asian, a cat lover, and a slow reader, to finish this week’s book by reading aloud while Mae adds ingredients to the cake batter. April’s expressive reading of the story distracts Mae, who laughs, then cries. After April calms Mae with a hug, Mae pours the batter into the pan and tells April to put it in the oven while she cleans up. Only later do they see the bag of flour on the counter and realize Mae left the all-important ingredient out. Even so, the cake smells good, though it looks “like a bowl,” with a sunken hole in the middle. Together the friends cover the hole with some cream and berries, salvaging a very tasty treat for their successful book club meeting. With short sentences and repetitive vocabulary, this sweet early reader is augmented with digital illustrations that provide some foreshadowing clues to the narrative. April and Mae are strong friends who problem-solve effectively.
A simple, charming tale of friends who work through concerns together.
Children's Literature
April and Mae are best friends. So are their pets. Every day, they do an activity together. On Mondays, they go to book club where there are always delicious, fancy cakes. This time it's Mae's turn to bring the cake, but she hasn't finished reading the book yet. April reads to Mae, but her funny voices and moving read-aloud mean Mae misses an ingredient in her cake. In this upbeat tale of friendship in action, April and Mae work together to get ready for their book club meeting. They giggle and have fun as April dramatically reads, but when Mae realizes she's left an important ingredient out of her cake, she blames April for distracting her. The girls work together to figure out how to salvage the treat for their book club meeting and realize that when things don't go as planned, they can still end up with a delicious outcome. A lively celebration of friendship and compromise perfect for readers advancing beyond picture books.
Hardcover
ISBN: 978-1-58089-887-4
Paperback
ISBN: 978-1-62354-411-9
E-book
ISBN: 978-1-63289-756-5
Ages: 5-8
Page count: 48
6 x 9