books
A Cake All For Me!
Written by Karen Beil
Illustrated by Paul Meisel
Holiday House, 1998
Recommended ages: preschool - grade 2
Piggy bakes a cake to eat all by himself. What will he do when his hungry friends unexpectedly show up at his kitchen door? Will he share or will he hog it all?
Inspiration
Ideas can come from the strangest places. A Cake All For Me had its start in an old nursery rhyme that drove me crazy as a child.
Remember “one, two, buckle my shoe?” Although I like silly rhymes that make me laugh, that one always just made me say, “Huh? What? What does that mean?” If you remember all 20 verses, you’ll understand. Buckling shoes, picking up sticks, maids a-courting, and empty plates?
One
day I was in my office - then a tiny kitchen closet - when my editor
called. She suggested I write a math-related book. In my kitchen-office,
I began thinking about my children learning their early math right there
in the kitchen. They sorted, measured, and added spices, divided up cookies
to share. They ate and subtracted: 5 cookies take away 2, leaves
3.
Who would play the main character? Had to be a PIG! Who else would eat a whole cake? By himself!