Charise Mericle Harper (web.me.com/chariseharper) has created a number of books for children, including the Fashion Kitty series and the Just Grace series. Charise lives with her family in Westchester County, New York
"One day, in a big bowl, flour, sugar, eggs, milk, and baking
powder were all mixed together" and "Cupcake was born." The first
thing friendly Vanilla Cupcake does after receiving his coating of
frosting (also vanilla) is introduce himself to his brothers and
sisters: a double-page spread shows six fancy cupcakes, including
Pink Princess Cupcake ("Charmed, I'm sure") and Chocolaty Chocolate
Cupcake ("It's chocorific to meet you"). At the end of the day,
Cupcake is bummed to find himself the lone cupcake left on the
plate-unwanted and ordinary. A little candle hears his sobs and
shares his own tale of being a plain candle among fancy siblings
(Number Candle, Twisty Candle, etc.). What a downer: "Now both
Cupcake and Candle were feeling sad." Think you know what's coming?
Not so fast-Harper stays true to her absurdist tale, drawing out
the silliness and supplying a funny, unpredictable conclusion that
exactly fits the eclectic story's humor. Dialogue that appears in
the faux-childlike, pastel-colored art is connected to each speaker
via dotted lines (straight, crooked, or swirly) that neatly convey
mood. Horn Book"
Flour, sugar, and a few other ingredients get mixed in a bowl, then
baked, and, voil, a cupcake is born. With a coating of icing, he
becomes Vanilla Cupcake and introduces himself to his family, Fancy
Flowertop Cupcake and Chocolate Chocolatey Cupcake, et al. But by
the end of the day, when the others have been chosen, Vanilla
Cupcake realizes he's, well, plain. He meets up with Candle, also
plain, who has some sparkling siblings. Despite their simplicity,
when the duo get together, they are more than the sum of their
parts. There's not much actual story, but there's plenty of humor
as Candle comes up with some out there ideas of what to crown
Cupcake with (pancakes, pickles) before realizing what the perfect
topping is. The art, a mix of black lines, patterned backgrounds,
and swirly sweetness, makes the simple moral about being special
quite palatable. Booklist"
The plucky hero of this story may be a "plain and white and
ordinary" cupcake, but Harper (Fashion Kitty) shows she's no fan of
vanilla endings, leaving unresolved the conflict she sets up in the
beginning. Cupcake is convinced that his relatives-Happy-Face
Cupcake, Pink Princess Cupcake, and others-have more pizzazz than
he does, until he meets a candle with the same problem and a bright
idea. Harper's black-outlined cartoon characters appear on sparsely
decorated, pastel pages to cheery effect, but it's the line-drawn
facial expressions that provide most of the action. Cupcake reacts
to the screwy toppings Candle brings him with appropriate horror
and dubious smiles, as he is sprinkled with spaghetti, pancakes,
and smelly cheese. The plot continues to focus on Cupcake's
problem-Candle even apologizes for not being able to find him
"something special"-but the gag ending doesn't go where some
readers may suspect it's headed. After Candle retrieves a nut that
a squirrel left in Cupcake's frosting, Candle stands tall atop the
cupcake and delivers a closing zinger: "Hey, wait a minute....
Tomorrow, let's try celery!" PW"
Vanilla Cupcake feels woefully inadequate compared to his
deliciously decorated siblings. "Chocolaty Chocolate," "Fancy
Flower-Top," and "Rainbow-Sprinkles" are immediately chosen,
leaving him alone on the plate. A green candle overhears Vanilla's
sobs and comes up with a solution: "Hey, you just need a special
topping." Candle's kooky suggestions pickles, smelly cheese, a
squirrel will elicit a lot of laughs. Candle and Cupcake are
eventually united, but a surprise ending will bring more chuckles.
Harper imbues her childlike line drawings with lots of personality.
A recipe for cupcakes (plain, of course) is included. Readers will
gobble up the goofy humor. SLJ"
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