Early Readers: Spring Cakes by Miranda Harmon

Holiday House is expanding its I Like To Read imprint to include simple comics. Their layout is more of a traditional early reader and there is no reading level included.

In this somewhat cluttered story, three kittens named Ginger, Cinnamon, and Nutmeg, awake on the first day of spring excited for their spring tradition - making magical spring cakes. Following their mother's instructions, they collect flour, silver honey, blue eggs, wild strawberries, and magical roses. These last they need to get from a witch, who initially frightens them until they find out she and their mother are old friends. The story ends with all their friends gathered to eat the delicious cakes.

Harmon's art is colorful, with lots of pinks, purples, and sparkles. The pages are divided into panels, showing the kittens on their expedition to collect ingredients. Outdoor scenes tend to be less crowded, with a few flowers, trees, and a cloud, but indoor scenes show a bewildering collection of pictures, rugs, patterns, furniture, and knick-knacks crowded into the small panels.

While likely to please small fans of sparkly stories like the Rainbow Magic series, this will have limited appeal to children in general and the crowded illustrations make it less useful as an early reader.

Verdict: This was an automatic pick for me, as I constantly have little kids wanting early readers with sparkly magic, unicorns, and fairies and most of them are strong enough readers to handle the more cluttered illustrations, but if you're looking for something more along the lines of Elephant and Piggie, this isn't for you.

ISBN: 9780823447534; Published April 2021 by Holiday House; Purchased for the library