Bake Sale

by Sara Varon, Sara Varon (Illustrator)

Overview

Cupcake's life is pretty good. He's got his bakery, and his band, and his best friend, Eggplant. His days are full of cooking, socializing, and playing music. But lately, Cupcake has been struggling in the kitchen. He's sure the solution to all his problems is out there somewhere. But maybe that solution is hiding closer to home.

Sara Varon returns with an ageless tale as dreamy and evocative as her break-out hit graphic novel Robot Dreams. At once deeply metaphorical and hilariously literal, Bake Sale is a story for anyone who's ever looked for an easy answer to life's intractable difficulties. It's also a cookbook: Varon includes seven delicious recipes, from classic cupcakes to sugared flower petals to marzipan.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781596434196
Publisher:	First Second
Publication date:	08/30/2011
Pages:	160
Sales rank:	294,330
Product dimensions:	6.00(w) x 8.40(h) x 0.60(d)
Age Range:	8 - 12 Years

About the Author

Sara Varon is a graphic novelist and children’s book author/illustrator living in Chicago. She is the author of Robot Dreams, which has been adapted into an Oscar-nominated animated feature film. Her other books include Odd Duck, Bake Sale, New Shoes, Hold Hands, My Pencil and Me, and the Detective Sweet Pea series. Her work has received many accolades—among others, Hold Hands was named a Best Children’s Book of 2019 by the New York Times; Odd Duck was selected by Kirkus Reviews as one of the Best Children’s Books of 2013; Bake Sale was chosen as a YALSA Great Graphic Novel of 2012; and Robot Dreams was on Oprah’s Kids’ Reading List in 2008. In 2013, Sara was a recipient of the Sendak Fellowship.
saravaron.com

Reading Group Guide

For Discussion:
Bake Sale is a graphic novel, a story told in words and pictures. How do you think this story would be told differently if it was a novel, with only words?
How would it be different if it was a movie, with just pictures?
Make at least one of the recipes from this book. Is it delicious?
What effect does the protagonist being a cupcake have on the way this story is told? What effect does it have on your reading experience?
Is there something you feel passionate about like Cupcake does about baking? If you had to do it for ten hours a day, do you think it would get less interesting?
Cupcake makes a big sacrifice for Eggplant, giving up his visit to Turkey. Do you think you could do something like that for a friend in need?
Do you think Cupcake and Eggplant will win the baking contest?
If you lived in a world where everyone was a food, what kind of food would you be? What about your friends?
Do Cupcake's adventures with baking inspire you to bake yourself? Have you

ever had a book inspire you to do something in the real world?

Editorial Reviews

In a world of anthropomorphized food, Cupcake is a pink cupcake who runs his own bakery and idolizes the culinary work of Turkish Delight, a famous foreign chef. Cupcake's best friend, Eggplant, has a way for Cupcake to meet his idol, but first Cupcake must spend extra time earning enough money for the plane trip to Turkey. Cupcake has to drop out of the band he enjoys and go the extra mile to sell as many baked goods as he can. Much of the book shows Cupcake's hard work, which doesn't actually get him anywhere in the end because he gives his money to Eggplant—who has lost his job—instead. This seems to be showing that it's good to help others, and not to idolize when one can believe in oneself. However, it does make the ending feel a tad anticlimactic and as if nothing has been solved, since it seems that Cupcake has worked hard and pushed himself for nothing. Altogether the book has a mellow, easygoing feel, using soft colors and showing many yummy foods. As an added bonus, recipes for how to make the various scrumptious meals readers watch Cupcake prepare are provided. As in her previous Robot Dreams, Varon's art is simple and cozy, making this sweet tale a confection of its own. Ages 9–12. (Aug.)

Publishers Weekly

"[Bake Sale] may be the most adorable graphic novel of the year." —USA Today

"Another beautiful homage to friendship." —Booklist

"An offbeat story about the sacrifices made for friends, about the very everydayness of such acts and the pitfalls and pleasures in their wake." — Kirkus Reviews


"This book has a will-o’-the-wisp charm and a distinctive, quirky voice." —SLJ

From the Publisher

Gr 2–6—Cupcake, a cupcake that owns a bakery in Brooklyn, is in a band with his best friend, an eggplant. When he finds out that Eggplant is going to be seeing Cupcake's idol, the pastry chef Turkish Delight, in Istanbul, he tries a series of new projects and ways to sell baked goods in order to buy a plane ticket to join him. His efforts reinvigorate his excitement for creative baking, but they keep him from playing in the band. It's difficult to guess what readers will think of a book that both stars foodstuffs and yet is about the consumption of food. Cupcake doesn't seem at all conflicted about being friends with an anthropomorphic carrot while also chopping one up to make carrot cake, but some kids might find it confusing and distracting. The book is filled with details, labels, and readable actions, which makes it nicely interactive. The friendship between Cupcake and Eggplant is interestingly complex, with a great dream sequence spelling some of it out. Gentle, domestic, and with a plethora of particulars and seven recipes at the back that are featured in the story line, this book has a will-o'-the-wisp charm and a distinctive, quirky voice.—Benjamin Russell, Belmont High School, NHHigh School

School Library Journal