We Love Bubbles! by Vikram Madan, and: Let’s Make a Cake (review)

[Corrigendum]

In these two spirited beginning readers, pals Bobo the monkey and Pup-Pup the dog learn that cake making is more complicated than it looks and bubble blowing (and popping) sometimes calls for friendship negotiations. In Cake, the animal duo decides to bake up a yummy treat but discover they don’t have the right ingredients. Bobo’s happy to improvise, replacing the sugar with salt, flour with a flower, and eggs with a picture of eggs. As for their lack of an oven? Well, a hat and a hot sun will have to do. In Bubbles, Pup-Pup is hard at work blowing a skyful of bubbles until Bobo shows up and gleefully pops them all; undeterred, Pup-Pup whips up some super bubble mix that will resist any and all attempts at popping—but might swallow up a friend in the meantime. While Cake is more successful, with a Mac Barnett level of absurdity, the clever humor in both calls readers to predict what might happen and then upends their expectations, making for engagingly funny and savvy early readers that build on comprehension skills. Simple dialogue, stealthy repetition, and amusing sound effects emphasize phonics without overtly drawing them out, and the sheer joy had by the two friends give the stories zingy appeal. The slick digital art has a retro flair in both palette and textures, and goofball Bobo bounds through the pages with unrestrained cheer while Pup-Pup’s ears have a tremendous emotional range. For readers who’ve battered the spines of their Elephant & Piggie books, Bobo and Pup-Pup are their next best pals.