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beecheralyson's review
4.0
This is really a 3.5 star for me. I really wanted to love this book especially since I love chocolate. And I loved the line "I am going to marry chocolate cake!" - betty Bunny. Betty is a challenging child that her parents refer to as a "handful". After she gets her first taste of chocolate cake she doesn't want anything else. Her behavior leads her into some trouble and she has to learn about being patient and eat a healthy dinner before her chocolate cake. However, something just felt a tad bit off to me. Not sure what it was either. I'll sit on this one.
wafflesnbooks's review
4.0
So cute, so funny, and now I want chocolate cake! Unfortunately, it's a little too long for the littles in my 3-6 storytime group.
tashrow's review
4.0
Betty Bunny’s parents are always telling her that she’s a handful. Since she knows they love her very much, she is certain that being a handful is something very, very good. One day, her mother offers chocolate cake for dessert. Betty Bunny refuses to try it at first, because it is new, but then gives in. She realizes that it is very delicious, so delicious that she decides that she will marry chocolate cake. The next day, she is obsessed with chocolate cake, unable to concentrate at all at school. Once she got home, she was told she would have to eat a healthy dinner before she could have cake. When her siblings tease her, Betty gets angry and throws food. She’s sent to her room where she continues to think only of cake. The next day, she is told there is a piece of cake just for her waiting in the refrigerator if only she will be patient through the day. Betty Bunny knows the cake will be lonely all day, so she puts it in her pocket. At home that evening, she realizes it has become a goopy mess in her pocket. Her mother tries again, leaving a piece of cake just for her. What in the world could Betty do next?
I know that this book will have some parents frustrated because it is not a picture book that demonstrates exemplary behavior from the children in the story. But that is where the appeal of this book is for me. Betty Bunny reads as a real child with an obsession. She cries, gets angry, and thinks about it all the time. But this book is not just about a child obsessed. It is also the story of a family with older siblings and parents who use humor and clever approaches to deal with a child.
The writing has wonderful moments built into it. Betty’s insistence that she will marry chocolate cake because she loves it so much rings very real. Her brother’s teasing about that over the course of days also reads as true. It is a picture book that is written by people who have children, love children, and appreciate the humor that comes with them.
Jorisch’s illustrations are done in pencil, ink, watercolor and gouache. They have a great mix of organic watercolor feel and angular modernism. There is a bright warmth to them thanks to how colorful they are and a pleasant busyness that depicts the active family.
Highly recommended, this is not a book for parents who want an example for how their children should act. But it is a great read-aloud filled with chocolate, sweets, temper tantrums and family. Appropriate for ages 4-6.
I know that this book will have some parents frustrated because it is not a picture book that demonstrates exemplary behavior from the children in the story. But that is where the appeal of this book is for me. Betty Bunny reads as a real child with an obsession. She cries, gets angry, and thinks about it all the time. But this book is not just about a child obsessed. It is also the story of a family with older siblings and parents who use humor and clever approaches to deal with a child.
The writing has wonderful moments built into it. Betty’s insistence that she will marry chocolate cake because she loves it so much rings very real. Her brother’s teasing about that over the course of days also reads as true. It is a picture book that is written by people who have children, love children, and appreciate the humor that comes with them.
Jorisch’s illustrations are done in pencil, ink, watercolor and gouache. They have a great mix of organic watercolor feel and angular modernism. There is a bright warmth to them thanks to how colorful they are and a pleasant busyness that depicts the active family.
Highly recommended, this is not a book for parents who want an example for how their children should act. But it is a great read-aloud filled with chocolate, sweets, temper tantrums and family. Appropriate for ages 4-6.
debnanceatreaderbuzz's review
4.0
Betty Bunny discovers the wonders of chocolate cake. Sadly, there is no chocolate cake at school and she cannot, she finds, get chocolate cake until she eats her healthy food. She does not want to eat her healthy food. She only wants chocolate cake. This can only lead to trouble.
“The next morning, Betty Bunny wanted to say good-bye to her chocolate cake before she left for school. So she opened the refrigerator and saw her piece of cake sitting on the plate. Betty Bunny knew that the cake would miss her all day while she was at school. So she picked it up and put it in her pocket.
At school, her teacher said, ‘Betty Bunny, you seem very happy today.’ Betty Bunny just giggled. There was chocolate cake in her pocket and no one knew it but her.’
An all-too-real Betty Bunny and her trials with cake.
“The next morning, Betty Bunny wanted to say good-bye to her chocolate cake before she left for school. So she opened the refrigerator and saw her piece of cake sitting on the plate. Betty Bunny knew that the cake would miss her all day while she was at school. So she picked it up and put it in her pocket.
At school, her teacher said, ‘Betty Bunny, you seem very happy today.’ Betty Bunny just giggled. There was chocolate cake in her pocket and no one knew it but her.’
An all-too-real Betty Bunny and her trials with cake.
falconerreader's review
5.0
I think Bill is modeled on my nephew as a teenager. My kids love these books, and they stand up to repeated re-readings.
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