I Love Cake! Starring Rabbit, Porcupine, and Moose

Nothing brings buddies together—or potentially splits them up—like cake. In this good-natured friendship tale, Rabbit, Porcupine, and Moose are the best of pals, fitting comfortably into their respective roles. “I’m good at being the boss,” says Rabbit. “I’m good at having fun,” says Porcupine. “I’m just Moose,” says Moose, the jokester of the bunch. When Rabbit throws herself a birthday party, Moose can’t think about anything but cake, and his sweet obsession leads to a party disaster, a reluctant mea culpa, and an attempt to make amends. Sauer (Roar!) sprinkles humorous asides from the characters between the straightforward narration that moves the story along. Moose’s confessional monologue, which appears in a page crammed with all-caps text, is laugh-out-loud funny (“Is it my fault my mouth’s so big that the whole cake kind of fell right in?” he wails). In mixed-media art accented with candy hues, Rozelaar’s (Don’t Call Me Sweet!) wide-eyed critters match the buoyancy of the story with playfully expressive faces and body language. Ages 4–8. Author’s agent: Laura Rennert, Andrea Brown Literary Agency. Illustrator’s agent: Eunice McMullen. (May)