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Whopper Cake
Today is Grandma's birthday,
and Granddad has an ichin',
to bake a WHOPPER
chocolate cake
and traumatize the kitchen!
Join the madcap frenzy of making the biggest cake in the world! And the biggest...mess!
and Granddad has an ichin',
to bake a WHOPPER
chocolate cake
and traumatize the kitchen!
Join the madcap frenzy of making the biggest cake in the world! And the biggest...mess!
32 pages, Hardcover
First published June 1, 2006
5 people are currently reading
184 people want to read
About the author
Karma Wilson
105 books523 followersKarma Wilson grew up an only child of a single mother in the wilds of North Idaho. Way back then (just past the stone age and somewhat before the era of computers) there was no cable TV and if there had been Karma could not have recieved it. TV reception was limited to 3 channels, of which one came in with some clarity. Karma did the only sensible thing a lonely little girl could do…she read or played outdoors.
Playing outdoors was fun, but reading was Karma’s “first love” and, by the age 11, she was devouring about a novel a day. She was even known to try to read while riding her bike down dirt roads, which she does not recommend as it is hazardous to the general well being of the bike, the rider, and more importantly the book. Her reading preferences were fantasy (C.S. Lewis, Terry Brooks, etc…) and historical fiction (L.M. Montgomery, Laura Ingalls Wilder, etc…). Those tastes have not changed much.
Karma never considered writing as a profession because her mother was a professional writer which made it seem like mundane work. At the age of 27 she realized that she still loved well-written children’s books of all kinds, from picture books to young adult novels. By that time Karma was a wife and the mother of three young children. Trips to the library with her kids were a combination of emotions…a good book meant fun for all! But so many of the books weren’t what her children wanted to listen to.
Then a tax refund changed everything. With the money the family decided to invest in a computer. Karma was forced to learn to type. Combining her desire to make the expensive computer pay for itself, her new-found typing skill, and her love of children’s literature, Karma started writing for children. She wanted to put a few more good books on the library shelves and pay off that computer! Countless rejections and three years later Karma was finally accepted by book agent Steven Malk (who had already rejected her once, which she never lets him forget). Her first book, Bear Snores On, was released in 2002. The computer was paid for!
Since then Karma has had more than 30 books accepted for publication. Many of those are on the shelves of libraries and bookstores around the world. Her books have received numerous state and national awards, been translated into dozens of languages, and a few have made an appearance on the New York Times bestseller list. Karma sincerely hopes that her books bring joy to children and families everywhere.
Karma writes humorous, rhythmic picture books for the very young, and humorous and wistful poetry for the primary grades.
These days Karma lives with her handsome husband Scott, and her three not-so-young-anymore children, two dogs, two chickens and one cat on some modest but lovely acreage in NW Montana. Her hobbies include reading (of course), photography, baking, yoga, and a passion for Mixed Martial Arts.
Playing outdoors was fun, but reading was Karma’s “first love” and, by the age 11, she was devouring about a novel a day. She was even known to try to read while riding her bike down dirt roads, which she does not recommend as it is hazardous to the general well being of the bike, the rider, and more importantly the book. Her reading preferences were fantasy (C.S. Lewis, Terry Brooks, etc…) and historical fiction (L.M. Montgomery, Laura Ingalls Wilder, etc…). Those tastes have not changed much.
Karma never considered writing as a profession because her mother was a professional writer which made it seem like mundane work. At the age of 27 she realized that she still loved well-written children’s books of all kinds, from picture books to young adult novels. By that time Karma was a wife and the mother of three young children. Trips to the library with her kids were a combination of emotions…a good book meant fun for all! But so many of the books weren’t what her children wanted to listen to.
Then a tax refund changed everything. With the money the family decided to invest in a computer. Karma was forced to learn to type. Combining her desire to make the expensive computer pay for itself, her new-found typing skill, and her love of children’s literature, Karma started writing for children. She wanted to put a few more good books on the library shelves and pay off that computer! Countless rejections and three years later Karma was finally accepted by book agent Steven Malk (who had already rejected her once, which she never lets him forget). Her first book, Bear Snores On, was released in 2002. The computer was paid for!
Since then Karma has had more than 30 books accepted for publication. Many of those are on the shelves of libraries and bookstores around the world. Her books have received numerous state and national awards, been translated into dozens of languages, and a few have made an appearance on the New York Times bestseller list. Karma sincerely hopes that her books bring joy to children and families everywhere.
Karma writes humorous, rhythmic picture books for the very young, and humorous and wistful poetry for the primary grades.
These days Karma lives with her handsome husband Scott, and her three not-so-young-anymore children, two dogs, two chickens and one cat on some modest but lovely acreage in NW Montana. Her hobbies include reading (of course), photography, baking, yoga, and a passion for Mixed Martial Arts.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 97 reviews
August 16, 2019
Hilarious and sooo cute! That was one whopper of a cake for a sweetheart (grandma)!
May 9, 2010
Our whole family really enjoyed reading this book together. We loved Karma Wilson's Bear Snores On and others in that series, so we were not surprised that this book contained the elements we loved in those books. The rhymes and rhythms are simply fun to read and fun to listen to. This book has the added bonus of being about baking a ridiculously gigantic chocolate cake. Who could resist that topic, especially a 3-year-old boy who loves baking and eating sweets and who loves silly verse? The real clincher here is the love expressed through the baking of the cake. It's a beautiful example for children of a man doing something amazing out of love and admiration for his wife and a positive portrayal of a happy, vivacious, and loving elderly couple. May we all be inspired to bake our own whopper cake for those we love most.
February 27, 2011
A funny story told in verse.
"Today is Grandma's birthday,
and Granddad has an itchin'
to bake a whopper chocolate cake
and traumatize the kitchen."
And bake and traumatize he does! Soon the ingredients ("two cups of sugar ain't enough. I'll put in twenty-three") outgrow Grandma's largest bowl and Granddad ends up using the bed of his pickup truck for a bowl and an oar to stir the batter. Granddad's voice is funny and the illustrations are colorful and amusing. It's nice to see active and energetic older people in children's books. At the end is a recipe for Whopper Cake (scaled down to fit into a 9 x 13 pan) told in Granddad's inimitable voice.
"Today is Grandma's birthday,
and Granddad has an itchin'
to bake a whopper chocolate cake
and traumatize the kitchen."
And bake and traumatize he does! Soon the ingredients ("two cups of sugar ain't enough. I'll put in twenty-three") outgrow Grandma's largest bowl and Granddad ends up using the bed of his pickup truck for a bowl and an oar to stir the batter. Granddad's voice is funny and the illustrations are colorful and amusing. It's nice to see active and energetic older people in children's books. At the end is a recipe for Whopper Cake (scaled down to fit into a 9 x 13 pan) told in Granddad's inimitable voice.
December 4, 2012
The story is cute enough, but I really grabbed the book because of the cake recipe at the end. The kids and I love to try out recipes from books that they have read. Recipes are science experiments, after all.
We made the cake and I have to up my review to 4 stars. It was wonderful! And easy to make. I followed the recipe to a "T", even using cake flour. I did use dark chocolate powder, which is advisable with cakes in order to have a good chocolate flavor (milk chocolate tends to get smothered by the sugar and flour). I also did not sift - not sure it is really necessary anymore with present-day flours, but it might make a slightly fluffier cake (I prefer mine a little denser anyway).
I sent most of the cake to the first and second grades along with the book, and of course they loved it. The school theme is "food" this year!
We made the cake and I have to up my review to 4 stars. It was wonderful! And easy to make. I followed the recipe to a "T", even using cake flour. I did use dark chocolate powder, which is advisable with cakes in order to have a good chocolate flavor (milk chocolate tends to get smothered by the sugar and flour). I also did not sift - not sure it is really necessary anymore with present-day flours, but it might make a slightly fluffier cake (I prefer mine a little denser anyway).
I sent most of the cake to the first and second grades along with the book, and of course they loved it. The school theme is "food" this year!
August 26, 2020
My 3-year-old g'little loved this book and laughed out loud! (It may have been due to my excellent theatrical reading!) It's a cute book about a REALLY, REALLY big birthday cake for his wife. Very sweet & just silly enough to be lots of fun.
March 13, 2023
Appetizing
December 13, 2018
Karma Wilson writes fantastic picture books. Kids love her "Bear" series, and Hilda Must Be Dancing is one of my favorites. So I was not surprised by how much I enjoyed Whopper Cake. Karma Wilson just knows how to write really good rhyming text.
This one is really funny too. I love the hillbilly dialect; and all the interjections (e.g., "Twenty-three pounds, that is...") kept making me think of the theme song to The Beverly Hillbillies. I must admit that my inner germaphobe recoiled a bit when they added the cake batter to the old pick-up truck bed (eww...), but I quickly recovered and enjoyed this hilarious tall tale.
Bonus - I love that Karma Wilson included an actual cake recipe at the end! It's nice when families can easily extend the story through fun activities like this. And it's perfectly written in Granddad's voice. My favorite part: "...whip it up real nice with one of them fancy electric mixers for two minutes. (Ya can use a stout wooden spoon if'n your arm is strong.)" Ha ha!
This one is really funny too. I love the hillbilly dialect; and all the interjections (e.g., "Twenty-three pounds, that is...") kept making me think of the theme song to The Beverly Hillbillies. I must admit that my inner germaphobe recoiled a bit when they added the cake batter to the old pick-up truck bed (eww...), but I quickly recovered and enjoyed this hilarious tall tale.
Bonus - I love that Karma Wilson included an actual cake recipe at the end! It's nice when families can easily extend the story through fun activities like this. And it's perfectly written in Granddad's voice. My favorite part: "...whip it up real nice with one of them fancy electric mixers for two minutes. (Ya can use a stout wooden spoon if'n your arm is strong.)" Ha ha!
October 7, 2017
It's Grandma's birthday and Grandpa wants to bake a huge, gigantic cake for her. He gathers all the ingredients with the help of his dog. The kitchen bowls are too small and he eventually loads up the bed of his truck with cake batter. Luckily, it's such a hot day that the cake bakes inside the bed. Grandma comes home to a hot mess and a big surprise. "Your heart's so big...you deserve a whopper cake!" The neighbors and grandma and grandpa enjoy eating cake.
It took me several reads to appreciate this book. There is so much going on in the pictures that you need to read through the book more than once to appreciate. There is a bit of rhyme to the book helps with the story flow but some of it is creative.
I really like the ending to the book. It makes for a smile for the adults reading the book. The author included the recipe that Grandad used. It actually looks pretty good. It is important that children learn how to read a recipe and know how to cook. The author took cooking to the extreme but it made cooking look fun and offered up the moral of doing something nice for another person.
I would recommend this book to home school groups or parents who home school. It was a good read for smaller and older kids. But any group would enjoy this book. It is cute.
It took me several reads to appreciate this book. There is so much going on in the pictures that you need to read through the book more than once to appreciate. There is a bit of rhyme to the book helps with the story flow but some of it is creative.
I really like the ending to the book. It makes for a smile for the adults reading the book. The author included the recipe that Grandad used. It actually looks pretty good. It is important that children learn how to read a recipe and know how to cook. The author took cooking to the extreme but it made cooking look fun and offered up the moral of doing something nice for another person.
I would recommend this book to home school groups or parents who home school. It was a good read for smaller and older kids. But any group would enjoy this book. It is cute.
September 18, 2021
This cute story is a funny and enjoyable read. It's Grandma's birthday and Grandpa decides to bake her a whopper of a cake while she is out shopping. His idea is to go as big as he can, so what he creates, including a whopper of a mess, is a whopper cake. It is so big ... how big is it? ... it is so big everyone in town helps to decorate it. This fun story in great rhyme is wonderfully illustrated.
December 18, 2017
"Whopper Cake" is a unique, "baking tall tale," and its over-the-top recipe is sure to engage young listeners/readers. The playful rhymes and repetitive text contribute to its success as a read-aloud, but the illustrations are somewhat lackluster. "Whopper Cake" can easily be adapted into a creative dramatic, making this a memorable, interactive adventure.
July 7, 2019
I loved reading this book so much. It flows perfectly smooth. I loved the little side notes "twenty-three pounds that is..." I absolutely loved the illustrations. I love that the background were nice warm and cool colours that made the characters pop out so much more. This book was amazing. I cant wait to try the wopper cake recipe in the back
October 8, 2020
This is a fun family story of Grandpa baking a cake and it is a BIG cake for Grandma's birthday. Grandpa is not a careful measuring cook and the fun starts when he has to find bigger and bigger vessels to put the ingredients in and uses larger proportions than the recipes call for. Big colorful illustrations in this fun story. I love Will Hillenbrand's illustrations.
January 26, 2022
Karma Wilson is one of my favorite picture book authors for always having great read aloud books. This is an enjoyable read for kids-it does tend towards the lengthier end, so maybe prek and up with a bigger group? But, it is about baking a ridiculously huge cake, so maybe it would work for younger!
November 20, 2025
It's Grandma's birthday, and Granddad wants to make her a cake. Will he make a normal sized cake or make a giant cake? It's a funny story as the quantities and objects used get more and more ridiculous. Worked well in a preschool storytime.
(The copy I read uses Blockhead font, which appears to be very similar to a lot of dyslexia-friendly fonts.)
(The copy I read uses Blockhead font, which appears to be very similar to a lot of dyslexia-friendly fonts.)
February 18, 2018
Cute. Grandma's birthday. Grandpa makes a cake, but wants it bigger and bigger. He adds way more than the recipe calls for. Ends up baking it in the back of his pickup truck. The whole town smells it and comes to enjoy. They all shout Surprise to Grandma. She likes it. Told in rhyme.
June 30, 2018
A fun story told in verse about a grandpa that wants to build a “whopper cake” for grandma’s birthday! The story made us laugh and left us wanting to build a whopper cake (recipe included at the end of the book). Side note, Griffin rated it 5 Stars. He said any book about cake should be 5 Stars.
July 25, 2019
I have yet to find a Karma Wilson book that doesn't work in Storytime. Both my younger 2s and older 2s were interested in this book, and there are a lot of opportunities for dialogic reading as you can ask a lot of questions about the shenanigans Granddad is getting up to with this whopper cake.
June 8, 2023
Ha ha! I love the granddad in this book as he makes the enormous surprise cake for his wife. I could just feel his energy and the sense of fun that possesses him in his project. I enjoyed the creativity in his book. Yes, his plans are way out of hand but what fun!!
December 5, 2024
Mildly funny. I am intrigued that Grandad looks so much like my husband, but my h. would never do anything like this for me, not even bake a regular cake from a box mix. And I can honestly say that I look nothing like the grandmother, not nearly so old. (I do like her car, though.)
June 11, 2018
***Rated by my son***
July 1, 2018
I liked the rhyming and the gist of the story, but that was about it. The illustrations were lacking and the story was kind of boring.
August 22, 2018
Delightful. Didn't like the parentheticals that came at the ends of occasional verses, but they're easy enough to just leave out.
December 16, 2018
Laugh out loud funny
April 10, 2019
PJ story time 4-10-19
June 28, 2019
While Grandma goes shopping, Grandad wants to surprise her with a big birthday cake. Guess how big he makes it? You'll be surprised, as was Grandma when she got home!
July 23, 2019
Holy crap this book is amazing!!!!!! The way this sweet grandpa bakes a cake is a RIOT! Such a genius author and talented illustrator! GREAT book!!!!
March 19, 2020
This was a fun read and great recipe to do with my foster kids! Thank you for writing it!
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June 7, 20224.5yo is over the moon about this book. He has memorized the entire thing and wants to read it every night.
July 5, 2022
Funny story with a recipe.
January 27, 2023
I can't believe my eyes!!
Granddad has an itchin' to bake a WHOPPER of a cake for Grandma's birthday.
Granddad has an itchin' to bake a WHOPPER of a cake for Grandma's birthday.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 97 reviews