Cake vs. Pie by Bardhan-Sudipta Quallen (review)

In this sweet and silly story, all the desserts celebrate Cake for being such an admirable friend, and when Pie joins the table, Cake forms a bond with the delectable dish. Things start to crumble, however, when Cake is no longer under the oven spotlight and becomes jealous as Pie is named the Toast of the Town and is literally on fire at the Cherry Jubilee. Overstuffed with fame and fortune, Pie takes the bragging too far, and Cake declares a Food Fight battle against Pie to show which dessert is the best. After a buttery bout, Cake and Pie realize their friendship is more important than being the center of attention. Stilwell’s digital ink illustrations, with a bright color palette and tasty textures, showcase the hilarious and never-ending battle between two popular desserts. Side-by-side spreads track Cake and Pie’s dissolving friendship, with Pie happily celebrating their achievements with trophies and fan letters while Cake is miserably laying back on a recliner, munching on a bag of chips. The mixture of pun-filled text and speech bubbles, sprinkles of delightful descriptions, and curvy line work showcase a variety of each desserts’ best qualities and will have readers’ stomachs rumbling. With desserts spraying whipped cream and flying ice cream scoops, a double-page food fight spread effectively shows how one fiery argument can lead to things toppling out of control. A surprising twist encourages readers to come to the table and overcome salty debates with sweeter friendships.