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Cupcake Diaries Graphic Novels #5
Katie, Batter Up!: The Graphic Novel
The bestselling Cupcake Diaries series is now available in graphic novel format! In this adaptation of the fifth book, Katie tries out for the softball team.
Katie’s Cupcake Club friends all have other activities besides making cupcakes. So Katie sets out to find her extracurricular niche. When Katie makes the softball team, it’s batter up…but is this the kind of batter Katie really wants to be dealing with? What if she makes a mistake and her team loses? By stepping up to the plate, Katie realizes that doing what you love always makes the batter sweeter.
Fun, bright, full-color graphic panels tell the story with the same humor and heart as the original novel.
Katie’s Cupcake Club friends all have other activities besides making cupcakes. So Katie sets out to find her extracurricular niche. When Katie makes the softball team, it’s batter up…but is this the kind of batter Katie really wants to be dealing with? What if she makes a mistake and her team loses? By stepping up to the plate, Katie realizes that doing what you love always makes the batter sweeter.
Fun, bright, full-color graphic panels tell the story with the same humor and heart as the original novel.
160 pages, Paperback
Published April 9, 2024
About the author
Coco Simon
135 books268 followersCoco 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.
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Displaying 1 - 18 of 18 reviews
October 28, 2024
Wasn't loving this at the start, but definitely grew on me towards the end! Reminds me of The Babysitter's Club but for a younger audience. Love the 'complicated' family representation, but without making it a big traumatizing deal! And the main issue at the end was so relatable (me with my reading)
June 5, 2024
The Cupcake Diaries Graphic Novel series has become a favorite GN series of mine. I look forward to every volume and I like getting more backstory on each of the girls. The stories are relatable (this one was about Katie trying to find an extracurricular that she is good at) and as always the art was adorable!
September 29, 2024
3.60🌟
I will say I did like this book a lot more than other books in the series.
I’m not a big fan of sports but the story kept me entertained and it wasn’t as boring as the other books in this series. I could relate to the main character because I suck at most sports too and that might’ve been one of the reasons I liked this more.This book gave me lots of nostalgia from when I read the novel version of it and it reminded me of my reading taste from when I was younger. I’m not separating my review into parts because I don’t have that much to say about it. The illustrations were nice as always it was just hard to tell characters apart sometimes because so many of them are blonde. In conclusion, a good read, just nothing special to me. For 9 and up.
I will say I did like this book a lot more than other books in the series.
I’m not a big fan of sports but the story kept me entertained and it wasn’t as boring as the other books in this series. I could relate to the main character because I suck at most sports too and that might’ve been one of the reasons I liked this more.This book gave me lots of nostalgia from when I read the novel version of it and it reminded me of my reading taste from when I was younger. I’m not separating my review into parts because I don’t have that much to say about it. The illustrations were nice as always it was just hard to tell characters apart sometimes because so many of them are blonde. In conclusion, a good read, just nothing special to me. For 9 and up.
May 28, 2026
I like the entire series from what I have read but this one is really enjoyable! This one I could especially relate to because I’m not too big on sports and sometimes felt out of place in gym class like Katie. I also really liked how Katie didn’t give up on finding a sport, and at least tried things out. In the end, she decided to focus on herself and what she likes so it was a really solid ending! To add on, it was good that Katie finally felt confident and brave enough to stand up to Callie and her mean friend!
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
April 22, 2024
I love this series, but this volume was pretty average. Still, the series has cute art and great friendship stories.
September 22, 2025
So, although I don’t enjoy sports, I had pretty high hopes for this one! I was disappointed by book #4 in this series, and was looking forward to the possibility of this one being an improvement…
And no doubt, it was!
This book follows Katie, the founder of the cupcake club! (I swear, for whatever reason she always reminds me of Kristy from ‘The Baby-Sitters Club’) The girls in the club are all trying to come up with the perfect idea for Katie’s grandmother's birthday cupcakes. Her party is only in a few weeks, but they haven’t been able to come up with anything yet. While they are brainstorming, they are also baking some cupcakes, but when Katie opens the oven, she is taken aback with surprise. The cupcakes are flat?! Her mother deducts that the reason is because their baking power is expired, and although Katie wanted to make one more batch, the other girls all begin to rush off. They explain that they are busy, and leave Katie, who doesn’t have anything else to do. Katie is sad to be left alone… and feels just as deflated as the cupcakes. (In my opinion, this was a lovely way to start the book.)
Katie’s mother notices her looking down. Katie notes that she’s at a disadvantage, because unlike kids with two parents, or even siblings, it’s just her and her mom, so it’s impossible to hide something like that when someone’s attention is all on you. The reason Katie can’t seem to cheer up is that she doesn’t feel like there’s anything at all she’s especially good at, besides making cupcakes. She’s terrible at volleyball, playing instruments, she can’t draw, and as she says ‘Trust me, I’m better off singing in the shower.’ Her mom suggests that they look at the school website after dinner, to see if there’s any clubs Katie could join, but noting seems just right. At that very moment, however, Katie’s grandmother calls! She suggests that Katie tries playing soccer, since two of her friends, Mia and Alexis, already play. That way, she won’t be all alone at the start. Katie agrees to try…and at school, her friends are supportive too! Emma even offers to help her out with basketball… but is all this too much?
At gym, Emma and Katie are dreading playing whatever their teacher has planned for them. Katie is upset that she gets stuck on Sydney’s team, and is relentlessly made fun of and mistreated during the game of flag football. Nobody has any faith in Katie during gym, and even she doesn’t have hope in herself. Katie only really gets a break when Sydney begins flirting with one of the boys, and gets completely distracted from teasing her. At the end, George, a boy from Katie’s team who was the first one to give her the nickname ‘silly arms’, does defend her, but Katie still feels discouraged from this class. However…I felt this area of the story was a mess. I feel like writing it in my review was jumbled, but it felt that way in the book too! It was hard to tell what was going on because of the art, and Sydney and Emma really look WAY too alike… when they are wearing matching outfits, how can you tell them apart?! This part was just simply confusing.
Katie tries her best during basketball practice with Emma and her brothers, but it doesn’t go too well. It bothers her that even Jake, a Kindergartener, is better than she is! Emma’s oldest brother Sam does try to help her out, and she gets embarrassed as he touches her arms. She thinks that Alexis should’ve had a crush on him, not Matt. After all, Sam is SO much more handsome! I found it funny to see Katie thinking of boys, because we don’t see that often. She also tries soccer practice, but that also doesn’t goo too well. However, while the girls are practice, Mia’s Step-father and brother are practicing softball… and Katie easily catches it and throws it back! The girls are amazed, and Katie demonstrates again, just to be sure. It really is it…
She’s found her secret skill!
During a phone call, Katie’s grandmother is very proud of her, wishing Katie the best! Katie!s mother is happy for her too- and suggests that they go for a run for Katie’s practice! Katie agrees, but doesn’t want to run too much- it sees tiring and like a waste of time! However, she finds that she enjoys it a lot, and is looking forward to doing it again!
Very soon after, Katie and the girls are working on more ideas for her grandmother’s cupcakes. Emma comes up with the idea to make the cupcakes spring themed, and the others love this! They get to work with two ideas- one where the frosting is blueberry flavored, and the other where it is just plain vanilla with blue food coloring. The one with the mashed blueberries, however, turns out a strange shade of purple. I’ve experienced this in baking! The girls can’t decide if they should pick the prettier one, or the one that tastes better with actual blueberries in it.
In the meantime, they practice playing catch some more, and afterwards, invite Katie to their soccer game to watch! Katie watches, and Callie’s mother is there, getting the wrong idea that Katie is here for Callie. She doesn’t know how to explain what happened between them, so she doesn’t. Katie also soon practices batting, which she isn’t very good at?! Alexis and Matt are trying to help her, and during this, she realizes that Alexis still has a crush on him (I was annoyed with how they handled it last volume, so this helped!) Katie also receives a softball in the mail from her grandmother, who says it is from her high school teams’s championship game! Instead of feeling happy or uplifted, Katie just feels more afraid than ever. She has to make the team now….
Hardly able to sleep, she goes to the tryouts nervous as can be. Maggie from the popular girls club is there, and her and Katie both do their best. Katie does amazing with catching and throwing, but doesn’t do perfect when it comes to batting. Katie can’t decide if she really even wants to be picked for the team, as she doesn’t like the idea of winners and losers. She still goes back home and does what she enjoys- works on the cupcakes! She tries adding just a tiny bit food coloring, and strains the blueberries. Now, it seems to be the perfect color! She happily shows it to her friends and school, and they are impressed!
She also sees that…
Everyone says ‘just have fun’ but Katie doesn’t know how to manage that. And her grandmother even shows up at her first real game… the pressure is on!! Katie does her best,
All in all, I liked this one a lot better than the last. It had more of a plot, was more fun, and had a good lesson. I honestly don’t see lessons like that very often… so that made me happy! The art was definitely lacking, as it sadly always is for this series, but I’m used to it at this point. I still think this book is a great pick for young readers, as it will leave a ‘sweet’ taste in your mouth!
(This book contains mild romance (talk of crushes, kids elbowing as a way to flirt, and other innocent but embarrassing touches), and also mild bullying. I would give this book an age rating of all-ages!)
Ps. This is my 300th book logged on Goodreads! 😮
And no doubt, it was!
This book follows Katie, the founder of the cupcake club! (I swear, for whatever reason she always reminds me of Kristy from ‘The Baby-Sitters Club’) The girls in the club are all trying to come up with the perfect idea for Katie’s grandmother's birthday cupcakes. Her party is only in a few weeks, but they haven’t been able to come up with anything yet. While they are brainstorming, they are also baking some cupcakes, but when Katie opens the oven, she is taken aback with surprise. The cupcakes are flat?! Her mother deducts that the reason is because their baking power is expired, and although Katie wanted to make one more batch, the other girls all begin to rush off. They explain that they are busy, and leave Katie, who doesn’t have anything else to do. Katie is sad to be left alone… and feels just as deflated as the cupcakes. (In my opinion, this was a lovely way to start the book.)
Katie’s mother notices her looking down. Katie notes that she’s at a disadvantage, because unlike kids with two parents, or even siblings, it’s just her and her mom, so it’s impossible to hide something like that when someone’s attention is all on you. The reason Katie can’t seem to cheer up is that she doesn’t feel like there’s anything at all she’s especially good at, besides making cupcakes. She’s terrible at volleyball, playing instruments, she can’t draw, and as she says ‘Trust me, I’m better off singing in the shower.’ Her mom suggests that they look at the school website after dinner, to see if there’s any clubs Katie could join, but noting seems just right. At that very moment, however, Katie’s grandmother calls! She suggests that Katie tries playing soccer, since two of her friends, Mia and Alexis, already play. That way, she won’t be all alone at the start. Katie agrees to try…and at school, her friends are supportive too! Emma even offers to help her out with basketball… but is all this too much?
At gym, Emma and Katie are dreading playing whatever their teacher has planned for them. Katie is upset that she gets stuck on Sydney’s team, and is relentlessly made fun of and mistreated during the game of flag football. Nobody has any faith in Katie during gym, and even she doesn’t have hope in herself. Katie only really gets a break when Sydney begins flirting with one of the boys, and gets completely distracted from teasing her. At the end, George, a boy from Katie’s team who was the first one to give her the nickname ‘silly arms’, does defend her, but Katie still feels discouraged from this class. However…I felt this area of the story was a mess. I feel like writing it in my review was jumbled, but it felt that way in the book too! It was hard to tell what was going on because of the art, and Sydney and Emma really look WAY too alike… when they are wearing matching outfits, how can you tell them apart?! This part was just simply confusing.
Katie tries her best during basketball practice with Emma and her brothers, but it doesn’t go too well. It bothers her that even Jake, a Kindergartener, is better than she is! Emma’s oldest brother Sam does try to help her out, and she gets embarrassed as he touches her arms. She thinks that Alexis should’ve had a crush on him, not Matt. After all, Sam is SO much more handsome! I found it funny to see Katie thinking of boys, because we don’t see that often. She also tries soccer practice, but that also doesn’t goo too well. However, while the girls are practice, Mia’s Step-father and brother are practicing softball… and Katie easily catches it and throws it back! The girls are amazed, and Katie demonstrates again, just to be sure. It really is it…
She’s found her secret skill!
During a phone call, Katie’s grandmother is very proud of her, wishing Katie the best! Katie!s mother is happy for her too- and suggests that they go for a run for Katie’s practice! Katie agrees, but doesn’t want to run too much- it sees tiring and like a waste of time! However, she finds that she enjoys it a lot, and is looking forward to doing it again!
Very soon after, Katie and the girls are working on more ideas for her grandmother’s cupcakes. Emma comes up with the idea to make the cupcakes spring themed, and the others love this! They get to work with two ideas- one where the frosting is blueberry flavored, and the other where it is just plain vanilla with blue food coloring. The one with the mashed blueberries, however, turns out a strange shade of purple. I’ve experienced this in baking! The girls can’t decide if they should pick the prettier one, or the one that tastes better with actual blueberries in it.
In the meantime, they practice playing catch some more, and afterwards, invite Katie to their soccer game to watch! Katie watches, and Callie’s mother is there, getting the wrong idea that Katie is here for Callie. She doesn’t know how to explain what happened between them, so she doesn’t. Katie also soon practices batting, which she isn’t very good at?! Alexis and Matt are trying to help her, and during this, she realizes that Alexis still has a crush on him (I was annoyed with how they handled it last volume, so this helped!) Katie also receives a softball in the mail from her grandmother, who says it is from her high school teams’s championship game! Instead of feeling happy or uplifted, Katie just feels more afraid than ever. She has to make the team now….
Hardly able to sleep, she goes to the tryouts nervous as can be. Maggie from the popular girls club is there, and her and Katie both do their best. Katie does amazing with catching and throwing, but doesn’t do perfect when it comes to batting. Katie can’t decide if she really even wants to be picked for the team, as she doesn’t like the idea of winners and losers. She still goes back home and does what she enjoys- works on the cupcakes! She tries adding just a tiny bit food coloring, and strains the blueberries. Now, it seems to be the perfect color! She happily shows it to her friends and school, and they are impressed!
She also sees that…
Everyone says ‘just have fun’ but Katie doesn’t know how to manage that. And her grandmother even shows up at her first real game… the pressure is on!! Katie does her best,
All in all, I liked this one a lot better than the last. It had more of a plot, was more fun, and had a good lesson. I honestly don’t see lessons like that very often… so that made me happy! The art was definitely lacking, as it sadly always is for this series, but I’m used to it at this point. I still think this book is a great pick for young readers, as it will leave a ‘sweet’ taste in your mouth!
(This book contains mild romance (talk of crushes, kids elbowing as a way to flirt, and other innocent but embarrassing touches), and also mild bullying. I would give this book an age rating of all-ages!)
Ps. This is my 300th book logged on Goodreads! 😮
July 18, 2024
I always felt the illustrations were low quality but this volume had me wondering if they were AI generated. There is one scene where one of the girls is sitting with her mom, and in the next frame they have switched sides, and the frame after that they are facing each other instead of being 90 degrees from one another. It’s like it didn’t even have an editor. Such poor quality control it’s shameful, especially for a series that has so many loyal young readers. There are far better series out there.
November 11, 2025
All of Katie’s friends play soccer or basketball, her mom likes to run, and her grandma is the most sporty person she knows All of them are encouraging her to find a sport she likes, but she feels like a super klutz in PE, she’s rubbish at soccer, and basketball with Emma and her brothers is ok but not her thing. When she catches a stray baseball at soccer tryouts, the coach encourages her that she has a great arm and to try out for the softball team. So while the cupcake group prepares for Katie’s grandmother’s birthday party and finding the perfect cupcake for that, Katie is also figuring out if she’s food a sport that’s the right fit for her.
I really, really like the message of this story. Katie doesn’t feel coordinated enough for sports until she discovers her natural talent in baseball skills. But once she’s on the team something still doesn’t feel right. I like that she can talk openly and honestly with her mom and grandma and they both fully support her in her decision , and through conditioning for softball she does find something physical she enjoys and feels competent in and she can do with others she likes spending time with. I really like how this models not committing to something just because you’re good at it or others are telling you you should do it. Kids’ schedules are way too full these days and seeing a young person talk to her mom about quitting something she isn’t loving and doesn’t need to do is a very good thing for readers to realize is a viable option. I also like the bits about the cupcake club/business too. The girls are growing in their skills and how they work together and that is good to see. Those parts of this book are likely to make readers hungry, so you’ve been warned.
Notes on content:
Language: None
Sexual content: None
Violence: There’s a little roughness in PE, but it is addressed by the end of the book by people standing up to the bully and the bully realizing she has PE areas she isn’t good at either.
Ethnic diversity: Kids at school and in sports come from a variety of ethnic backgrounds.
LGBTQ+ content: None specified.
Other: Some bullying (but as mentioned, it is addressed). Some anxiety, also addressed a bit.
I really, really like the message of this story. Katie doesn’t feel coordinated enough for sports until she discovers her natural talent in baseball skills. But once she’s on the team something still doesn’t feel right. I like that she can talk openly and honestly with her mom and grandma and they both fully support her in her decision , and through conditioning for softball she does find something physical she enjoys and feels competent in and she can do with others she likes spending time with. I really like how this models not committing to something just because you’re good at it or others are telling you you should do it. Kids’ schedules are way too full these days and seeing a young person talk to her mom about quitting something she isn’t loving and doesn’t need to do is a very good thing for readers to realize is a viable option. I also like the bits about the cupcake club/business too. The girls are growing in their skills and how they work together and that is good to see. Those parts of this book are likely to make readers hungry, so you’ve been warned.
Notes on content:
Language: None
Sexual content: None
Violence: There’s a little roughness in PE, but it is addressed by the end of the book by people standing up to the bully and the bully realizing she has PE areas she isn’t good at either.
Ethnic diversity: Kids at school and in sports come from a variety of ethnic backgrounds.
LGBTQ+ content: None specified.
Other: Some bullying (but as mentioned, it is addressed). Some anxiety, also addressed a bit.
December 6, 2024
I read this graphic novel with my 6.5yo daughter. The illustrations are cute and colorful. We have enjoyed the series up to this point and were excited to read this installment. In this book Katie struggles to find her athletic niche. She doesn't excel in gym or soccer but ultimately finds she is good at softball. Interestingly, this book is not about finding Katie's physical gifts but rather it is about Katie's acknowledgement that competitive sports are not her thing. I will admit the take-home message surprised me. It is not that she gives up... she listens to what she wants to do and doesn't force it when it's not fun. I thought this was a refreshing take on youth activities. She admits that there are some not-fun things we have to do, but there are also fun things we don't have to do. This was worth a read.
April 22, 2024
Story 4 stars
Artwork 3 stars
Color 5 stars
Lettering 5 stars
Overall rating: 4.25 stars
I downgraded the artwork because there was little-to-no differentiation between the blond girls Sydney, Callie and Emma. All three had the exact same blond coloring and almost identical hairstyles. There could have been a variation in the blond hue, more platinum or more dirty blond. Also, why same hairstyles? One girl could have a ponytail, another could have a braid(s). Instead all had long blond hair with bangs. I easily confused each character with one another.
Theme/genre: Sports, realistic fiction
Likeable characters: Katie, Emma, Alexis, Mia
Artwork 3 stars
Color 5 stars
Lettering 5 stars
Overall rating: 4.25 stars
I downgraded the artwork because there was little-to-no differentiation between the blond girls Sydney, Callie and Emma. All three had the exact same blond coloring and almost identical hairstyles. There could have been a variation in the blond hue, more platinum or more dirty blond. Also, why same hairstyles? One girl could have a ponytail, another could have a braid(s). Instead all had long blond hair with bangs. I easily confused each character with one another.
Theme/genre: Sports, realistic fiction
Likeable characters: Katie, Emma, Alexis, Mia
March 15, 2024
The Cupcake Diaries are like the Baby-Sitters Club only the kids make cupcakes instead of babysitting. In this volume, the first I had read in the series, Katie decides she wants to take up a sport like her friends, but she bombs out at basketball and soccer. Then it turns out she is actually good at softball, but she doesn't like the competitive aspect. Good depiction of Katie's emotions and the struggles she goes through, especially when she turns out to be good at softball and the whole family goes all in on supporting her. Art is kind of generic but doesn't get in the way of the story. Read for SLJ piece on sports graphic novels.
November 20, 2024
I don't really like books about sports, so this was kind of boring to me. But also, I really feel like this series lacks heart. (Which apparently I've mentioned before.) It really feels like it's made with AI, like in the gym class scene, I could not tell the difference between the blonde Cupcake Club girl and the token mean girl. They look identical!
February 1, 2025
A super cute graphic novel about Katie wanting an after school activity. She's not very good at sports until she discovers a natural talent for softball. She goes out for the team but then realizes its too much stress for her. She discovers a love of running and I can relate! Cute! They're also doing cupcakes for her sports and spring loving grandmas party!
April 13, 2024
Cute story. Lessons thrown in along the way. Quick read. Bright, colorful graphics. Bought it for my daughter, and I decided to give it a read. Love the graphic novel format, I just need to find one geared more toward adults.
October 4, 2024
This is one of my favorite stories out of the Cupcake Diaries - the graphic novel is pretty much how I remember the book to be. There’s always a bit about friendship and creativity with cupcakes, and this one is about Katie finding something she enjoys doing.
July 24, 2024
"I like this book because I love graphic novels."-Cadee age 12
April 28, 2025
fine. got kinda boring
December 14, 2025
For my first Graphic novel it was great! And the illustrations where beautiful!
Displaying 1 - 18 of 18 reviews