Ella and Olivia: Cupcake Catastrophe by Yvette Poshoglian illustrated by Danielle McDonaldPublished July 2012 Scholastic
From the publisher:
Ella and Olivia are sisters. Ella is seven years old. Olivia is five-and-a-half years old. They live with their mum and dad and little brother Max. Ella and Olivia are making cupcakes for Dad's birthday. All the family will be there! But when a cooking disaster strikes, will the party be ruined?
In the last year there have been a large number of easy novels coming out. The kind of novel that still has illustrations throughout, shot chapters and large font. Here’s another series to join the ranks. Ella and Olivia are sisters. Ella is seven years old. Olivia is five and-a-half years old. They live with their mum and dad and little brother Max.
In this, the first book in the series, Ella and Olivia are making cupcakes. This is a big deal for the girls, who have never baked cupcakes on their own before. There’s a special reason for the cupcakes too, they’re making them for their Dad’s birthday, in the colours of his favourite football team. We follow along with the girls as they mix the ingredients, pour the batter into patty pans, bake them, decorate and then finally eat at the party. I did think that this book was a little too sweet and girly…until the funny twist at the end, that I didn’t see coming. It was the ending that made me this book for me.
The thing I found odd about this story is that it’s filled with descriptions about what the girls look like (hair styles and eye colour), what Ella’s wearing (an apron) what Ella’s holding (a wooden spoon), what they like (Ella: Netball & drawing, Olivia: dressing up and pretending to be a fairy princess). To me it felt a bit like listening to a 5 year old tell me the story about the day they made cakes. Children love to add all of that extra information, that has nothing to do with the actual story, but its things that they noticed, so these observations are added.
On the whole, I think that this book will find its place on the shelves of little girls just starting to read novels, who like pink things, princesses and cupcakes. They are a similar level to the Billie B Brown books, the font in this series is slightly smaller and there is a little more text, so it could be a nice little step up from Billie. The first book is a bargain at $3.99, so a good price to give it a go and see what you think. I am yet to hear feedback from a child, so I would be interested to hear what young readers think.
Who will like this
book: Girls age 5+
Read it if you like: Billie B Brown
Read it if you like: Billie B Brown
Hi, my 7 year old has read the first two Ella and Olivia books. She said they were fine... what does that mean? .....they kept her interested enough to read the lot but they won't be favourites to be read over and over again.
ReplyDeleteCheers,
K
Hi my 7 year old daughter received the first Ella and Olivia book "Puppy Trouble" for her birthday recently and loved it so much. I did not think she was ready for chapter books but she loved it so much and it was easy for her to read. She has not been able to put it down. I then ordered three more from Booktophia and she has finished them within the week. I am on the look out for more but they are hard to find, great books for young girls aged seven or above. Fantastic!!!!!
ReplyDeleteClairebear1