Katie, Batter Up!

Cupcake Diaries #5

by Coco Simon

A sporty addition to a sweet tween series that’s all about friendship—and cupcakes, of course!

Katie’s Cupcake Club friends all have other activities besides making Mia and Alexis are on the soccer team and Emma plays the flute. Katie sets out to find her extracurricular niche and soon she’s dribbling, passing, and catching. Sure, Katie can whip up a great cupcake—but can she cook on the field too? When Katie tries out and makes the softball team it’s batter up….But instead of swinging away, she gets nervous during games. What if she makes a mistake?  What if they lose? Is this the kind of batter Katie really wants to be dealing with? Katie starts to figure out that doing what you love always makes the batter sweeter.

Genres: Middle Grade, Childrens, Fiction, Realistic Fiction, 2nd Grade, Kids, Contemporary

160 pages, Kindle Edition

First published December 20, 2011

About the author

Coco Simon always dreamed of opening a cupcake bakery, but she’s afraid she would eat all the profits. When she’s not daydreaming about cupcakes, Coco edits children’s books and has written close to 100 books for children, tweens, and young adults, which is a lot less than the number of cupcakes she’s eaten. Cupcake Diaries is the first time Coco has mixed her love of cupcakes with writing.

Reviews

[Den Alessandra · Rating 5 out of 5]

Katie wants to attend a school club. But she's terrible at sports! Her best friends are trying to help her so is Katie's crush, Sam Taylor or Sam for short. She tried doing her best but the school bully, Sydney Whitman, is teasing Katie and kept bumping into boys. Katie's friend, Callie, discovers that Sydney is teasing Katie. She wants to stand up for Katie but Sydney will be upset and make Callie quit Popular Girls Club.

Then Katie discovers her secret talent. Softball!!! She joins the softball team but she gets really nervous. She quits the team immediately because it was a lot of pressure. She told this to her friends and they asked Katie why she quit the team. Katie talked to them but her friends cheered her up. Katie's best friends decided to bake Grandma Carole cupcake cake. And threw her a party. And everyone had fun!

Thank you Coco Simon. I am glad you wrote this book. You're one of my favorite authors. Please keep writing amazing stories.

[Kweeby · Rating 2 out of 5]

In 6th grade my teacher had us write letters to ourselves that she mailed to us 10 years later when we were 22. This book is written the same way I wrote that stupid letter, and boy is it not fun to read. Props to the author I guess for getting in the head of a 12 year old girl, but it’s so cringey and annoying it made me miserable. I think the peak low point was when Katie explained how batter up is a pun on how she plays softball and also bakes cupcakes, as if I didn’t already get that from the title. It still gets an extra star though because the ending was a little sweet, albeit annoying, and I feel a little guilty giving this children’s book a scathing review.

[Jahzara Bandele · Rating 4 out of 5]

Book Report: Katie, Batter Up! (Cupcake Diaries, #5)
Title: Katie,Batter Up! ( Cupcake Diaries #5 )



Author: Coco Simon


Illustrator: ( none )


Type of Book and why: I would say that this type of book is a teen drama as it is mainly about teen girls in middle school discovering what they like. There is also drama surrounding the Cupcake Club and the PGC ( popular girl club )

Summary:
This book is mainly about a girl Katie who is discovering what sports she likes and dislikes. While trying to make her grandma who is a sports fan, proud. Her grandma's birthday is also coming up and she has to make the perfect cupcakes for her! Hence the name, Katie, Batter Up!


Main Characters: Mia, Emma, Katie, Alexis.



What do you like or dislike about the main characters:
Mia- I admire the fact that Mia likes fashion and drawing. She can also speak spanish.
Katie - I dislike her attitude at times but I love how she never gives up!
Alexis- I like that Alexis has everything planned out all the time and is ready for any unexpected situation.
Emma- I admire Emma's patience when dealing with her 3 brothers : Sam ( oldest) , Matt ( Middle) , Jake ( youngest)



Setting:
During the book the setting often changes. When they are making cupcakes it at eachother's houses. When Katie is playing it is one her school field. When they have cupcake club meetings, its in school.


Rating (Bad, OK, Good, Great) and why:
Good. This is book is fun and enjoyable to read tho, I have read better books with more vocabulary words. The other books in the series looks even more interesting especially the last book 33

[Lydia · Rating 4 out of 5]

I like this book because it promotes perseverance, self-confidence and to believe in yourself.

In this book series Katie feels insecure about her self because her friends at the cupcake club have extracurricular activities and she does not. In an attempt to find her talent, she tries out different sports to see which one shes good at. Through family and friends support, she realizes that she is talented in other ways and that she doesn't need to be in sports or play an instrument. What truly matters is doing what you love.

I would add this book to my future library classroom as an independent reading. This would be a great choice for readers that enjoy reading about friendship, softball and cupcakes. Kids can relate to Katie's journey of figuring out what she likes or dislikes. It teaches kids to believe in themselves and never give up.

[Manda Marigold · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.25 stars. This book's central focus is Katie. Katie is searching to find an additional activity she can enjoy after school besides the cupcake club. Katie is self-proclaimed awful at sports but fears missing out. To battle her fear of missing out, Katie tries out many sports until she finds her perfect fit, which happens to be softball and running. Additionally, the cupcake club makes a cupcake cake for Katie's grandma's birthday. Overall, this is a cute book. The cupcakes sound delicious.

[Mia · Rating 3 out of 5]

I read this. It's good, like all of the Cupcake Diaries books. I have read better books, but I have also read worse. But, I must say, the message is great. I'd say it's simply decent. Three stars only.... Sorry! I love all the Coco Simon books, but this one wasn't the best, in my opinion. Not necessarily bad, though.

[lire.des_livres · Rating 3 out of 5]

Même si je n’aime pas trop Katie et Mia, qui sont souvent les personnages principaux lorsque la narrateur est Katie ou Mia (logique 🤣), j’ai trouvé ce tome assez bien. Déjà parce qu’il y a du sport et de la pâtisserie dans un livre (les trois trucs que j’adore), et puis parce qu’il est plus touchant. Par contre, Katie est TRES agaçante

[Tara · Rating 4 out of 5]

Loved this book! Thought it was a great way of showing the pressure Katie felt about excelling at a sport. Her friends were so supportive as well, I couldn't help but smile. Happy things worked out for Katie!

[Erika · Rating 4 out of 5]

I was surprised at how much I ended up liking the many lessons in this book. It was real and showed that you don't have to be the best, but work hard, find what you enjoy, and have fun. Knowing who you are and who your friends are is the most important. Super cute book to read with my daughter!

[Carla Townshend · Rating 5 out of 5]

It was cool as a cupcake

[Nervan · Rating 5 out of 5]

Perfect book!

[Ramlah · Rating 5 out of 5]

I LOVE IT!! ITS AWESOME! THXX! OHH M GEEE! THX THX!!

[Kaitlyn Zambrana · Rating 5 out of 5]

Love it!

[ally · Rating 4 out of 5]

I also loved Katie but thought she was pretty annoying sometimes...

[Crystal · Rating 5 out of 5]

Some similar series similar to this are the sprinkles series and donut dream (I love donuts)lol!

[Addison]

Go Katie!

[Lol · Rating 5 out of 5]

good

[Cadee · Rating 5 out of 5]

"I like this book because I like softball and cupcakes and I like reading books. This book is an amazing book." -Cadee, age 10

[Ann · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5 stars, nothing particularly alarming or outstanding

[thao · Rating 3 out of 5]

it used to be my cup of tea, but now im a little bit too old for this🙂 teen girls… middle school and about having a crush on boys😑 anw i do like their friendship.

[Ilou · Rating 5 out of 5]

4.5/5😻
J'adore!

[Kersten · Rating 2 out of 5]

a bit boring, but glad Katie figured out some things about herself

[Hannah · Rating 3 out of 5]

“‘Hey, she’s Silly Arms, not Skinny Arms!’”
-
Katie falls into the trap of comparing herself with her friends, who do other activities besides cupcakes. She finds out she is decent at softball and enjoys it, so she tries out for the team. She ends up quitting because competitive sports aren’t for her, but she still enjoys the sport, as well as running. She connects with Maggie.
-
Callie is a complicated character. I think she is trying to find herself in middle school with new friends. She is still sort of friends with Katie, but it’s not the same, and can’t really stand up for her against Sydney. She has made some progress, though, by standing up for Maggie. Also, George is wholesome.

[Alicia · Rating 1 out of 5]

I read this book because I was bored, and my sister had it. 0.5 stars

The characters were flat and one-sided, and the plot was very predictable.

[Crys · Rating 5 out of 5]

The Cupcake Club is back for another round of storytelling.

Katie's grandma is turning seventy-five, and the girls are determined to find just the perfect cupcake cake to prepare for her. But that is not the true focus of the story.

This time the focus is placed on Katie, the only one in the group who seems to not have talent at anything other than baking cupcakes. But she could not be more wrong - and her friends are going to help her prove it. So it is Emma, Alexis and Mia to the rescue!

Katie struggles with being athletic in every way possible, even in gym class. She is mocked by the resident popular girl Sydney, and she has convinced herself that she only belongs in the kitchen baking cupcakes. But with the help of her friends, Katie finds that she does have hidden talents, talents she never realized were there.

Katie is a strong runner and softball player, but when she makes the softball team at school, does she realize that what she wants versus what she thinks she wants are not always the same?

I adore this series. It is wholesome storytelling with four girls that readers can root for until the very last page. I would have been proud to call any of these four girls my friends when I was in middle school.

I highly recommend this series to all tween girls.

[Nancy · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is about Katie and two friends, who have a cup cake group. The make cup cakes for various events. The other girls play on different sports teams, and they play musical instruments. Katie only has a talent for making cup cakes. He grandmother tries to interest her in sports. Katie tries various sports with out being good at them. She was at her friends practicing a sport, when a baseball came her way, and she caught it, and she threw it back. She had discovered she was good at catching and throwing, and from there she goes out for baseball.

Katie was teased in gym class, and she was one of the kids who was picked last. I remember those days. I was one of the kids who was picked first or near the first, even when we were playing with the boys. I always tried to pick my best friends before the last kids were picked. One of my friends learned to swim as an adult, and she and her husband went out to shot basketballs. I taught her how to ride a bike when she was about 12. This book brought a lot of memories back to me.

[Jocelin · Rating 3 out of 5]

In this addition to the series, Katie decides that she needs to find an additional activity besides making cupcakes. She decides to go for the softball team. She is having a hard time being an athlete and she is wondering if she is any good at any sport. This series provides some sweet insight to the inner workings of the pre-teen girl. It is nice to see that this series is exploring growing up and life changes. I have really enjoyed reading this series and I think that it is a good read for girls looking for something different other than scary, paranormal & fantasy books. The stories are not hardcore, gritty or influentially life changing books but, they are sweet and fun.

[Charlou · Rating 3 out of 5]

Katie and her 3 best friends have a cupcake business. The kind when mom is called to put them in and take them out of the oven so readers won't start using their ovens unsafely. Katie's dilemma in this story is to find the right sport for her. The story is a realistic one about what goes into Katie' decision and other dynamics with kids at school. It doesn't settle the the expected solution. The girls are in middle school maybe adding to the appeal of these written-for-4th-graders books. Nicely done for this demographic. I understand why it's so often requested. Does that mean I should give it 4 stars?

[Apiraa I · Rating 5 out of 5]

Katie's Cupcake Club friends all have other activities besides making cupcakes. Mia and Alexis are on the soccer team and Emma plays the flute. Katie sets out to find her extracurricular niche and soon she's dribbling, passing, and catching in an effort to find the right sport for her. Sure Katie can whip up a great cupcake but can she cook on the field too? When Katie tries out and makes the softball team it's battered up...but instead of swinging away she gets nervous during games. What if she makes a mistake? What if they lose? Is this the kind of batter Katie really wants to be dealing with? Katie starts to figure out that doing what you love always makes the batter sweeter.

[Vspit · Rating 5 out of 5]

I think they are awesome reads!!! Every time i read one i wanted to keep going.............. in the summer it would be 10 oclock and i would keep going and going!! I would start it on monday - and finish it that night thats how much i like them. i hope she keeps writing more of them............... and gives the last couple ones a twist!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! LOVE ALL OF THE BOOKS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! ;]