The Birthday Cake

The Adventures of Pettson and Findus series continues with this second tale, originally published in 1985, which demonstrates why Pettson’s neighbors wonder if he might be “crazy.” His efforts to make a cake for his cat Findus’s birthday (“Findus had three birthdays a year just because it was more fun that way”) turn into a wild goose chase involving missing flour, a flat bicycle tire, lost keys, a gramophone, and an angry bull. Nordqvist’s illustrations are packed with inviting detail, and Pettson and Findus’s testy but tender relationship is as enjoyable as the broad, goofy humor that runs through the story. Ages 4–8. (Feb.)