Blueberry Cake

A bipedal brown bear cub’s desire for blueberry cake leads to a blueberry-picking journey in this humorous picture book by Dillard, relayed solely through speech bubbles featuring concise, repeating prose. “Flowers?” the cub asks, extending a wild bouquet to their apron-wearing parent. “Blueberries?” the parent replies. “No blueberries,” the cub replies on the next page, checking their red bucket. “No blueberry cake,” answers the parent. Despite setbacks, a happy ending awaits, as well as new cravings for the indomitable cub. Fine-lined digital art, showcased in a blend of full spreads and comics-style panels, and rendered in a bright, summery color palette, offers a striking level of detail: plants in the Maine-like setting have individual, minuscule fronds and blossoms, and the bears’ coats feature near-realistic strands of fur, contrasting with their cartoony personalities and energetic movements. A warm, Blueberries for Sal–leaning slice of summer for any reader. Back matter features a note revealing the story’s personal inspiration, as well as a blueberry cake recipe. Ages 4–8. (July)