SOMETIMES CAKE by Edwina Wyatt

Review by Kristi Mahoney

You may think balloons and cake are just for birthdays, but Sometimes Cake (Candlewick, January 2022), written by Edwina Wyatt and illustrated by Tamsin Ainslie, proves that when it comes to celebrations, thinking out-of-the-box is encouraged.
​
When Audrey meets Lion, he is celebrating something different every day. Whether it’s Tuesdays, coconuts, or the color orange, Lion believes every day holds a reason to celebrate. And Audrey is in for all of it. Better yet, she even adds her own personal flair. But when Lion announces it’s just “an ordinary day”, Audrey must discover if ordinary days are worth celebrating and, if so, --how? Packed with heart and a pinch of humor, I found myself eating up this sweet story about friendship, collaboration, and finding joy in everyday things. 

---

On Writing:
As writers, we love words. I personally have struggled with paring down my stories until landing at a place where every word counts. Cutting words is easy. But cutting words while still maintaining the heart, humor, a strong plot, and a successful arc is something else. Edwina Wyatt has managed to find the winning recipe in Sometimes Cake, by combining two lovable characters, kid-friendly dialogue, and perfectly pared-down prose. You might call Ainslie’s art the icing on this Sometimes Cake with illustrations that are soft, timeless, and filled with adorable details that will have you wanting to read this story on each and every ordinary day.  

To learn more about Edwina Wyatt visit her website here. To learn more about illustrator Tamsin Ainslie visit his website here.