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The Worldwide Dessert Contest
"The plot goes down as easily as ice cream and is topped with plenty of laughs, both subtle and broad. Certainly its silliness makes for a pithy read-aloud and a booktalker's dream. Call this delicious."
- Booklist, starred review
"Elish writes
- Booklist, starred review
"Elish writes
186 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1988
9 people are currently reading
53 people want to read
About the author
Dan Elish
71 books30 followersDan Elish is the author of eleven novels, including the upcoming KING OF BROADWAY (Olympia Press, 2025). Dan's other books include THE WORLDWIDE DESSERT CONTEST (Orchard Books and Bantam), THE SCHOOL FOR THE INSANELY GIFTED (Harpers), NINE WIVES (for grown-up types/St. Martins), and BORN TOO SHORT (S&S) which won a 2004 International Reading Association Students’ Choice Award for young adult literature.
Dan also writes musicals - many for children (music and lyrics) - but also the script (with Robert Horn) to the musical 13 which played at the Mark Taper Forum and won the 2007 Los Angeles Drama Critics Circle Award for best production; the show moved to Broadway in 2008 and is now a feature on Netflix, named one of the best ten films of 2022 by Variety. Dan is also the book writer and co-lyricist of THE EVOLUTION OF MANN which played at the Cell Theater in NYC in 2018.
Dan has also written scripts for TV (notably CYBERCHASE and THE WONDER PETS), and has won scholarships and fellowships to The Bread Loaf and Sewanee Writers’ Conferences. He was a member of the BMI workshop and a current member of the Dramatists Guild.
Dan lives in New York City with his wife and two children.
Dan also writes musicals - many for children (music and lyrics) - but also the script (with Robert Horn) to the musical 13 which played at the Mark Taper Forum and won the 2007 Los Angeles Drama Critics Circle Award for best production; the show moved to Broadway in 2008 and is now a feature on Netflix, named one of the best ten films of 2022 by Variety. Dan is also the book writer and co-lyricist of THE EVOLUTION OF MANN which played at the Cell Theater in NYC in 2018.
Dan has also written scripts for TV (notably CYBERCHASE and THE WONDER PETS), and has won scholarships and fellowships to The Bread Loaf and Sewanee Writers’ Conferences. He was a member of the BMI workshop and a current member of the Dramatists Guild.
Dan lives in New York City with his wife and two children.
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Displaying 1 - 17 of 17 reviews
April 21, 2012
This is my favorite book of all time. Yes, I read it when I was 9; but I fell in love with it and it forever shaped my love of all things silly and fun. Besides...it features roller-skating apple pies...
May 31, 2012
I raced through this book because - like a good dessert, it was light, funny, just a bit sweet, and oh-so-satisfying! This is the tale of John Applefeller who has his heart set on winning the Worldwide Dessert Contest and earning the coveted Silver Spoon. Each year he enters, and each year his desserts meet with disaster as they change into something else at the very last minute. The judges are tired of tasting something that turns out to be superglue, cement or knee pads and are ready to ban our hero for life. He has one last chance for apple dessert fame. Will he succeed?
September 19, 2008
This is my favorite book ever I probably read it when I was in fifth grade lol..I guarantee you will love it
October 16, 2014
I don't really remember anything about this book except that it was one of my favourites growing up and that I can't seem to forget the image of roller-skating pies. This book is beyond fantastical and I need to get my hands on it somehow so I can read it again.
February 28, 2011
This is my favorite childhood book, good fun for all ages.
October 30, 2019
I really liked this book and would recommend it to others to read!
SPOILERS!!!!!!!
This book is about John Applefeller who wants to win the annual Worldwide Dessert Contest. He has entered the contest for 11 years in a row but every year his desserts change into something else at the last second! For example, his apple pancake turned into a trampoline and the caramel on his caramel apples turned into super glue! Josiah Benson, the janitor, told him about a famous chef called Captain B. Rolly Ragoon who could help him make desserts that wouldn't changed. Ragoon taught him how to make apple pies that could roller skate! When he entered the 12th annual dessert contest he won first place with a plain apple pie because his all his fancy pies were destroyed or stolen. Sometimes a really well-done, simple dessert is better than something fancy!
SPOILERS!!!!!!!
This book is about John Applefeller who wants to win the annual Worldwide Dessert Contest. He has entered the contest for 11 years in a row but every year his desserts change into something else at the last second! For example, his apple pancake turned into a trampoline and the caramel on his caramel apples turned into super glue! Josiah Benson, the janitor, told him about a famous chef called Captain B. Rolly Ragoon who could help him make desserts that wouldn't changed. Ragoon taught him how to make apple pies that could roller skate! When he entered the 12th annual dessert contest he won first place with a plain apple pie because his all his fancy pies were destroyed or stolen. Sometimes a really well-done, simple dessert is better than something fancy!
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
February 20, 2021
Great book! I read this several times as a young child and absolutely loved it. After reading the book, Pie, I was reminded of this favorite from my childhood. I read it aloud to my children, aged 4-11, who also thoroughly enjoyed the humorous and enthralling plot. Highly recommended for young readers and the young at heart!
September 16, 2023
Sweet-natured and fun, this is a wonderful book about a cast a characters children and adults alike could learn from.
January 4, 2012
This was a story about sticking to your dreams no matter what obstacles might be in your way. John Applefeller had plenty of obstacles. His apple desserts kept turning into other things like apple french toast became knee pads used by the Olympics teams, his apple souffle became a hot air balloon, and his apple pancake became a great trampoline. He has come in last at the Worldwide Dessert Contest ten years in a row. Only his belief in the importance of desserts and the support of his young friend Stanley keep him going. Oh, and he would also like to win the Silver Spoon trophy.
All of the characters were quirky from the judge who invented sugars and could identify the sugars in each dessert with just a taste to the judge who had one of Applefeller's failures - a caramel apple that turned to a glue - stuck to his face (which, by the way, I found really disturbing because of my personal horror at having things stuck to me).
The villain of the piece is Sylvester S. Sweet who had an ego that will not quit and a very shifty nature. He has won the contest ten years in a row with a dessert called double-chocolate-fudge-raspberry-coconut-lime swirl. No one knows that he stole the recipe from Captain B. Rollie Ragoon.
Even Applefeller's supporters were quirky. Josiah Benson, the janitor at the apple festival, used a huge variety of weird metaphors and similes
"Well, cover me with lettuce and throw me to the rabbits!" Benson exclaimed, pulling on his beard with short frantic tugs. "It's beautiful! As beautiful as a flock of skippin' horsetoads!
Applefeller's other main supporter Captain B. Rollie Ragoon took his dessert making genius to the island of Iambia and now he only speaks in rhyme. The only characters in the book who even approach normal are Applefeller and his young companion Stanley.
This was a over-the-top silly story that reminded me of Roald Dahl at his quirkiest. I had a chance to read this multimedia edition which was enhanced by songs from the musical that the author wrote. The songs were cute and did enhance the experience. I recommend this one for fans of "silly" and for those who like Roald Dahl.
All of the characters were quirky from the judge who invented sugars and could identify the sugars in each dessert with just a taste to the judge who had one of Applefeller's failures - a caramel apple that turned to a glue - stuck to his face (which, by the way, I found really disturbing because of my personal horror at having things stuck to me).
The villain of the piece is Sylvester S. Sweet who had an ego that will not quit and a very shifty nature. He has won the contest ten years in a row with a dessert called double-chocolate-fudge-raspberry-coconut-lime swirl. No one knows that he stole the recipe from Captain B. Rollie Ragoon.
Even Applefeller's supporters were quirky. Josiah Benson, the janitor at the apple festival, used a huge variety of weird metaphors and similes
"Well, cover me with lettuce and throw me to the rabbits!" Benson exclaimed, pulling on his beard with short frantic tugs. "It's beautiful! As beautiful as a flock of skippin' horsetoads!
Applefeller's other main supporter Captain B. Rollie Ragoon took his dessert making genius to the island of Iambia and now he only speaks in rhyme. The only characters in the book who even approach normal are Applefeller and his young companion Stanley.
This was a over-the-top silly story that reminded me of Roald Dahl at his quirkiest. I had a chance to read this multimedia edition which was enhanced by songs from the musical that the author wrote. The songs were cute and did enhance the experience. I recommend this one for fans of "silly" and for those who like Roald Dahl.
November 8, 2007
I read this book when I was younger, and I always loved the descriptions for all the food! I totally forgot about it until recently. It took a bit of googling to find the title, but here it is!
From Publishers Weekly
A little bit of Charlie and the Chocolate Factory with a dash of Homer Price's donut maker, this novel pays homage to the longstanding rapport between children and sweets. John Apple longs to win the Worldwide Dessert Contest, but all his delicious desserts have a penchant for changing into something else at the last minute. The way he overcomes this difficulty and takes first place involves a search for the greatest chef in the world, the defeat of the thieving title-holder of the contest and a run-in with a judge who has, thanks to John, a caramel apple bonded to his cheek from their last encounter. Elish writes with a sure hand of this sugary world, his tongue squarely in the area of his sweet tooth. For his ability to praise desserts in an endlessly original fashion, he deserves a blue ribbon. A Richard Jackson Book. Ages 9-11.
From Publishers Weekly
A little bit of Charlie and the Chocolate Factory with a dash of Homer Price's donut maker, this novel pays homage to the longstanding rapport between children and sweets. John Apple longs to win the Worldwide Dessert Contest, but all his delicious desserts have a penchant for changing into something else at the last minute. The way he overcomes this difficulty and takes first place involves a search for the greatest chef in the world, the defeat of the thieving title-holder of the contest and a run-in with a judge who has, thanks to John, a caramel apple bonded to his cheek from their last encounter. Elish writes with a sure hand of this sugary world, his tongue squarely in the area of his sweet tooth. For his ability to praise desserts in an endlessly original fashion, he deserves a blue ribbon. A Richard Jackson Book. Ages 9-11.
March 17, 2012
This was a delightful and silly book. I passed it to my 7 year old to read. It made me smile and didn't take itself too seriously. I can't believe I have never heard of it. It was a free download but I would pay money for it for sure.
July 14, 2018
This would be an excellent book to read aloud with young children. The plot is amusing and cute; accompanied with some excellent illustrations.
As an adult, I was constantly distracted by a large number of formatting errors and highly disappointed that the multimedia feature did not work.
As an adult, I was constantly distracted by a large number of formatting errors and highly disappointed that the multimedia feature did not work.
October 20, 2008
This is a funny book for kids in elementary school!
February 28, 2014
Third grade
May 5, 2012
This book had it all--action! Adventure! Heroes! Villains! FOOD! Every kid should read this, preferably while within an easy distance from a baking apple pie.
October 4, 2011
Recently purchased and re-read this childhood favorite of mine. Grown-up me says it's charming and imaginative, but my 9-year old self says it's like reading a trip to Disney World.
May 10, 2020
Hilarious! So clever and fun to read with my girls. We love this one!!
Displaying 1 - 17 of 17 reviews