Harry and Gran bake a cake by Fiona McIntosh and Sara Acton

Readers will laugh out loud as they watch the mishaps that occur when Harry helps Gran bake a cake. All children will have had some experience in the kitchen and will be greatly amused seeing their efforts reflected in the wonderful illustrations by award winning author, Sara Acton, complementing the assured, expressive words by Fiona Macintosh. The two work together well, reinforcing the sound relations between a grandparent and their grandchildren.

Harry is sent to the recipe book to find a cake he would like, and then Gran passes all the ingredients down to Harry from the pantry. All appears to be ready, but they need eggs. Gran finds a carton but in turning to place them on the bench with the other ingredients slips over the cat and the eggs go flying. Gran is a pretty sight with egg over her face. They measure out the ingredients needed for the cake, but Gran cannot find her glasses. Together they search the kitchen until Harry finds them in the most obvious of places. It is time to use the Mixmaster to put everything together. And here another problem emerges as Gran puts the flour into the bowl, without first turning the machine off. The kitchen has a fog of flour, but eventually the cake is in the tin and placed into the oven. Now comes the best bit, tasting the mixture left in the bowl as two sets of fingers scrape out a bit of the mix that remains. Dishes are washed as the pair wait for the oven timer to ring.

The cake is turned out of the tin to cool on the wire rack and Gran collects the things needed for the icing.

The icing sugar is quite high, but with an extra effort, Gran manages to tip it over and it falls to the floor, covering the cat with sugar. Of course, the last page shows a delightful image of Gran and Harry eating a slice of the cake, and I could almost smell the chocolate.

Each time Gran does something that Harry can see will end badly, he calls out ‘Watch out Gran,’ and younger children will repeat and predict that line when reading the book.

Kids will love reading this tale of the close relationship between a grandparent and a child, recalling loving times spent with their own grandparents. The ingredients are well spaced, giving kids a model for a plan of action, and the procedure for making the cake is shown sequentially, which will make it easy for younger readers to follow. I can imagine lots of households and classes trying the recipe after reading the book, especially as the recipes are given on the end papers. The directions are easy to follow, the illustrations giving a lovely backdrop to the story, including a few traps to avoid when venturing into the kitchen.

Themes: Family, Grandparents, Relationships, Fun, Food, Kitchens.

Fran Knight