Blueberry Cake

by Sarah Dillard

In the tradition of Blueberries for Sal, author of I Wish It Would Snow! Sarah Dillard presents a witty and whimsical tale of a young bear who can’t get enough of his favorite treat!There’s nothing Little Bear loves more than delicious, delectable blueberries. And one of the very best ways to eat blueberries is in Mama’s sweet, scrumptious blueberry cake. But when Little Bear goes to pick berries so Mama can fix him a treat, he can’t resist eating them all! Can Little Bear figure out how to save some yummy blueberries, or will he once again come home empty handed and never get any blueberry cake?

Genres: Picture Books, Food, Animals, Childrens, Storytime, Nature, Fiction

32 pages, Kindle Edition

Published July 13, 2021

About the author

Sarah lives on a mountain in Vermont with her husband and their fidgety brown dog. Though Sarah strives for perfection, she seldom achieves it. Her house is rarely clean and her garden, when not buried under a snowdrift, is usually full of weeds. Overall, though, she has a pretty nice life. And if windows would only wash themselves, it would be just about perfect! Visit Sarah online at www.sarahdillard.com and www.mousescouts.com

Reviews

[Melki · Rating 4 out of 5]

An easily-distracted little bear attempts to pick blueberries so that his mother can bake a cake . . . with hilarious results. A cute, and tasty tale, and, of course, there's a recipe.

So much for my diet again this week . . .

[Kathryn · Rating 4 out of 5]

Cute. Colorful and fun with a good message for little ones about actions and consequences. Though I would rather just reread Blueberries for Sal ;-) (I smiled at the nod to Sal and her Mother in one of the final illustrations.)

[Moonkiszt · Rating 3 out of 5]

Featured in a grandma reads session.

Have the blueberries handy if you are going to read this book! Our group raced through it, with groans as little bear is distracted, because it has happened to every single one of them! Spirits rose, though, as a re-d0 is granted and little bear stays focused, and berries make it to the Mama. Cake is had and the next question was. . .

???When do we get ours???? We had to make do with blueberry jam.

[Morgan · Rating 4 out of 5]

When I was little my dad used to tell my brothers and I a story about encountering a ferocious bear while picking blueberries as a kid (I only found out as an adult he'd made it all up!) but this sweet little book was almost like hearing his voice again. Bonus points for the recipe for blueberry cake at the back that even a novice could enjoy.

[Ashley · Rating 5 out of 5]

Oh how I wish this had been published earlier, when I worked at a school that had field trips to the nearby wild blueberry fields! This is a lovely book with a good example of kids contributing to the creation of things that they want. Want a blueberry pie? Pick some blueberries and someone else will help with the rest. It's got a good cause and effect lesson in it as well, which is really great because sometimes kids can't figure out those concepts or that their actions have consequences (in a non-punishment context, which I think is way better for learning). Great book, makes me yearn for wild blueberry pie (and bear tbh, sorry kid).

Highly recommended. Sparse text leaves a lot of room for talking through what is happening on the page. Would be a good one for a storytime with an interactive crowd.

[Michelle · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very simple but cute

[Zan Porter · Rating 4 out of 5]

Little Bear LOVES blueberries, and while picking them for Mama so she can make his favorite blueberry cake, he eats them all and must find a way not to come home empty handed.

[Molly Cluff (Library!) · Rating 4 out of 5]

A cute story with a good message about choices and consequences. Baby bear craves a blueberry cake, and his mom is willing to make one if he'll go gather the blueberries. But when he gets distracted and comes home with flowers instead, he's sad when he remembers that means no blueberry cake. The illustrations were sweet and playful (bear shoving blueberries in his face and turning cartwheels), and there's a happy ending.

[Geena Hollis · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was an interesting read. It is a picture book, so naturally pictures help tell the story. But in this book, the pictures/illustrations primarily tell the story. There were just a few words written in this story but honestly, those were all the words necessary. I like it.

[Tasha · Rating 4 out of 5]

A little bear asks his mother for some blueberry cake one morning. She sends him off with a pail to pick blueberries. He walks through the woods until he reaches the huge patch of wild blueberries. He picks some and eats more. Distracted by a butterfly, he accidentally dumps out the few berries he has left. Almost back home, he stops to fill the pail with flowers from the meadow. But no blueberries, means no blueberry cake. So the next day, he tries again. This time he surprises his mother with a full pail of blueberries and she immediately makes him blueberry cake!

The little bear is a merry youngster, dashing through the woods, cartwheeling, and wearing the pail on his head. His enthusiasm for blueberry cake is contagious and mouthwatering. The text in the book is limited to only a few words with many of the panels in the book wordless. There is something marvelously charming about these domestic bears with their sunny yellow kitchen with polka dot wallpaper and checked curtains. Make sure to stay until the final page when the cake has been cut for a little giggle.

A summery sweet read. Appropriate for ages 1-3.

[Stephanie · Rating 5 out of 5]

As soon as I saw this book, I thought of Blueberries for Sal by Robert McCloskey (1948). How I loved Robert McCloskey's books (I collected them for our children and have kept them). I had to take a few minutes to read this enchanting book and on the penultimate page, I found the nod to McCloskey to my great delight. The author spent many happy summers in Maine and shared this love in this book.

[Anna · Rating 3 out of 5]

Lots of repetitive short text. The story is told more so through the illustrations than the text. I enjoyed it, but not as much as I thought I would. Since there's not a lot of text and some of the pictures don't have any text, you can ask the child what's gong on in the photo and make them tell you the story. Would be a good book for toddlers too if you read it to them because of how short it is.

[Melanie Hetrick · Rating 4 out of 5]

Using only 3 words, Dillard tells the tale of a young bear cub who begs his mother to make blueberry cake. She sends him out to gather blueberries. The young bear becomes distracted while gathering blueberries and ends up with a bucketful of flowers for his mother. No blueberry cake.

The little bear wakes up the next morning determined to gather blueberries. And he does.

Use where limited text books are popular.

[Dawn · Rating 4 out of 5]

A bear wants bluberry cake, but takes a couple of tries to get the blueberries needed to make the blueberry cake.

Very little text in this one, the illustrations do all of the storytelling. The text is via speechbubbles, and a few pages have panels. But the illustrations are more picture book than comic book, if that makes sense.

Very sweet!

[Viviane Elbee · Rating 4 out of 5]

A cute little bear wants blueberry cake, but his mom is missing blueberries. So the little bear rushes off to collect blueberries but ends up getting distracted by flowers, which he brings home to mom. Unfortunately there is no blueberry cake without blueberries.

The facial expressions on mom bear and the little bear are great.

[Matthew · Rating 3 out of 5]

Spare text and a story largely told in pictures, this is about a young bear that is sent out to gather blueberries and is easily distracted. In that regard, it's a fine story for young readers. The end note includes a blueberry cake recipe that looks good and the author note that describes her childhood connections to blueberry cake in Maine.

[Dannaca · Rating 4 out of 5]

I evaluated this one for our Food themed story time and didn't use it because it was a little too simple. It would be a great option for a younger kid though! The repetition of the word blueberry as little bear goes hunting so his mama can make blueberry cake would be fun for younger ones to "read" along with. The pictures are cute too and they tell a lot of the story without words.

[Bryan Loar · Rating 3 out of 5]

A simple story of love between a somewhat distracted baby bear and it’s mother. Different enough from Blueberries for Sal to be original, and Dillard’s personal anecdote gives the story depth. Publication is expected July 13, 2021. A folded and gathered (F&G) advanced reader copy was consulted.

[S · Rating 3 out of 5]

There's six words in this book (and maybe some plurals) but the illustrations are really, really cute and if you want to inspire someone playing the side character in The Little Red Hen, maybe it's worth a run through.

[Anastasia Tuckness · Rating 4 out of 5]

Bear wants blueberry cake. His mom says he needs to provide blueberries! So he goes to the field--but the fields are so tempting! Eat blueberries! Pick flowers! Will bear ever fill his bucket? Nearly wordless, the pictures are delightful.

[Ann Haefele · Rating 4 out of 5]

Little bear is easily distracted when picking blueberries for a cake. I liked the nod to Sal and her mother (Blueberries for Sal) shown out little bear’s window towards the end of this almost wordless story.

[Mary · Rating 3 out of 5]

A little bear yearns for blueberry cake and learns that he needs to stay on task if he wants his mother to make the cake. A sweet book to add to preschool cooking units. Also will pair well with the picture book classic Blueberries for Sal by Robert McCloskey.

[Melissa · Rating 4 out of 5]

I want to pick blueberries and try the blueberry cake recipe in this book.

I am glad the author put how much butter is the size of an egg. I might be that person who wants to know if the egg was small or extra large and it would take half the fun out of making it.

[Riley Gullett · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love how this is based on the author's childhood, this just makes the story so much greater! I love how cute this story is as well as simple. When children are first learning to read, this is perfect for them to look through! The illustrations are beautiful!

[Katy Smith · Rating 3 out of 5]

The book is a bear cub who wants blueberry cake, so he has to pick the blueberries. The book has very few words and even pages without words so I would use the to talk about the parts of books and what is needed or not needed.

[Jessica · Rating 4 out of 5]

A little bear asks his mother for blueberry cake, so she hands him the blueberry pail. But when the little bear gets distracted and picks flowers instead, his mother can't make blueberry cake. A somewhat wordless picture book with delightful illustrations and humor.

[Carmen Harris · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book was alright. It only had the words blueberries. I did like how colorful this book was though. I wish there was more plot, or more that was said. The characters were just little bear and mama bear.

[Lisa D · Rating 5 out of 5]

Loved it!

[Elizabeth]

Now I am hungry for blueberry cake!

[Molly · Rating 4 out of 5]

Adorable!