This is such a fun factual silly read! The illustrations go perfectly with the story of this little impatient rabbit and the turtle that is patiently trying to help the rabbit make a birthday cake. The way the rabbit goes off on his own to make his own version with interesting ingredients makes me think of all my kitchen nightmares I made cooking with my own grandma, I absolutely can't wait to share this with kids !

*I received this book for free through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review*

Was not for me.

Thought this would be a normal cake. Not one made from dirt, honeycomb, pondwater, (stirred fast, not slow), baked under a ducks butt, with mud for frosting, acorns instead of sprinkles, and twigs instead of candles. The bunny was impatient, which might encourage kids to whine to get what they want. He also called someone Garbage (what a name). All-in-all, it was too gross, the illustrations weren't good, and might teach kids to do things you don't want them to be doing.

This clever take on the Tortoise and the Hare fable not only entertains and educates, but also walks young folk through how to bake a cake. It's clever, never talks down to readers, and slyly teaches some basic baking skills as it progresses. The art is dynamic with both single and double page spreads and hugely expressive characters. This would be a great book to read while working in the kitchen with young ones.

This is a really cute book that balances a little bit of history, a little bit of social-emotional learning (re: be patient, take your time, follow directions), and a whole lot of humor! I can see lots of little kids putting their hands to their foreheads and groaning as they follow the rabbit's journey to make a cake. Needless to say, he's not exactly great at any of the above things and there's a reason "disaster" is crossed out on the front. The pages also balance the just right amount of text with cute illustrations and a gorgeous natural color palette. Teachers could use to practice inferencing and predicting. Recommend!

We LOVED This is a Birthday Cake. Such a cute read while sharing some real life tips and experiences. We will definitely be adding this one to our little guys library.

Fun picture book showing young readers why it's best to take time to do certain things and not rush or make substitutions.

After all, cake is worth the wait, as the forest animals discover in this delightful read.

Cute children’s book. Learned a lot about cake history and baking cakes. Also learned about being patient.

I read this is a Birthday Cake for free. It was a cute book. I loved the difference in the recipes. I also like how it showed what happens when we are impatient. I would recommend this book to parents of little ones. It is silly but has a great message.

Bucky bunny is excited to make his first cake ever, and he's sure that he can make it faster than Shelly, the old turtle. Unfortunately, patience is just as important in cake making as it is in racing, and if Bucky can't figure out a better way to make a cake, the party might be ruined!

There are hints of the classic tortoise vs hare in this story, but it's much more humorous and a lot more messy. I read this on my birthday, and I must say that I'm glad I had a more patient baker than Bucky for my celebration.

Read this to my seven-year old and she loved it! Her words: “That was awesome!” This is definitely a funny and creative way to show the steps needed to bake a cake, and a great book to read aloud together!

Such a cute book with a great message about pacing yourself and taking time so as not to rush and make a disaster.
I loved the added cake making tips and tricks. The illustrations and dialogue worked well together. My kids approved!

I really enjoyed this book. This a great lesson for impatient children using both education and humor. I feel like I even learned a few things that I never knew about why certain traditions are used when celebrating a birthday. It was a fun read and I would love to share this book with the children in my life. I really enjoyed the illustrations and humor.

A good book to teach children the value of patience and not cutting corners. Was cute and showed how children do sometimes act through the depictions of animals. Pictures were nicely drawn too,

Thanks to netgalley for a chance to read and review this complimentary ebook.

I was sold the second I read the page about how cake was used to celebrate in Ancient Rome, because as we all know, I bloody love Ancient Rome. This wonderful book takes us through all the ways the birthday cake has evolved over time to the cake we know today. It mentions the use of cake to celebrate, who first used candles on it, The book takes us through how to bake a birthday cake, and I swear, I DIED when I read this quote - “Little bunny boy, I don’t know. I’ve never baked a cake with my butt before.” What a sassy bird hahahah.

This is a wonderful read for kids young and old.

I adored this book! The author and illustrator gave a great collaboration and made me laugh! Kid will love it, especially the duck part!

The book is in the classic Aesop turtle and the hare which is one of my favorites and a great lesson in life. The mixing of history and humor were wonderful. You learn that cakes began 2,000 years ago for only special Romans and that the candles represent the light of life and the smoke from blowing out the candles to carrying our prayers and wishes. Love those additions.

A recipe for making a cake is included and deconstructing the mystery of why a cake turns out from flour, a liquid to bind, and something to sweeten the batter. Throught the sweet humorous book the two characters who couldn't be more different meet in the end and the lesson in patience wins out. Just lovely message with humor and children are going to love this book!

I would like to thank NetGalley and the publisher, Oni Press for the opportunity to read the fun and marvelous book by Andrew Cangelose 'This is a Birthday Cake'. :)

I received and ARC of this book through Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

This is a brilliant little retelling of The Tortoise and the Hare. I can't even get over the genius of taking that story and using it in this way. Kids will love this book because the Hare's cake is absolutely, 100% disgusting. And he gets himself into some situations that he would probably prefer not to have been in. And there actually is a decent birthday cake to eat at the end. This one is a winner!

This was a fun book that stressed the importance of patience and following directions. It was a cute retelling of the Tortoise and the Hare.

My 4-year-old twins giggled several times during this book. Bucky the hair rushes through and makes a dirt cake, while the tortoise is slow and steady while following directions.

My twins have started helping me bake cakes and muffins, so they enjoyed watching Bucky try to follow the cake recipe in this book.

Thank you Oni Press and NetGalley for this digital ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Overall, this was a fun adaptation of the Tortoise and the Hare and young readers will definitely have a fun time with it. The illustrations were fun and it was also really nice to have actual factual information about the history of birthday cakes and the baking process throughout the book. The one thing I did not enjoy was that Bucky, in trying to make a cake with things that he finds in the woods, ends up making a cake with mud filled with actual worms, which I found a little gross. Kids will find the story funny, but if your kid does not like stuff like worms and is easily grossed out, this might not be the book for them.

In this book, the rabbit & the turtle are both planning on bringing a cake to the forest party. The turtle is the local baker & plans to show the rabbit how to successfully bake a cake, but as soon as the rabbit gets the recipe they run out the door without the ingredients. Well the rabbit tries to improvise with new ingredients, but the cake doesn't quite turned out as planned. When Turtle gets there to save the day, rabbit learns a lesson about patience and that good things take time.


This was a cute and silly book. Purchase for libraries where the first two 'This is a' books have been popular or where humor books are top choices.

This is a quick and fun retelling of the tortoise and the hare. In this story we follow Bucky who wants to back a birthday cake. He however doesn’t have all the ingredients needed and lacks some patience. We learn that it isn’t always better to do something fast+ some interesting facts about birthday cake.
Thank you to NetGalley for the book in exchange for an honest review.