I am 13 years old, and when my dad started reading Junie B. Jones books to my five-year-old sister, it was just another book. Then, I actually started listening to them. Now, whenever my dad brings home a Junie B. Book, I am right there next to him. They are written to sound exactly like who they portray, a kindergartener. This is a must read for everyone with kids, big and small, in their house. It should be a crime to correct the grammar. (Yucky Blucky Fruitcake is one of the especially good ones.)

Jonie B. Jones is one of the best books, You could read, because she shows lots of details, And shes really young, but shes really funny, Junie B. Jones and the Yucky Blucky Fruitcake , For me it is one of my favorite books there are of the Jonie B. Jones books, She also says things like I did a huffy breath at that guy , But her books are the best. (...)

One of the best book I have read in the past year has to be Junie B. Jones and the Yucky Blucky Fruitcake , by Barbara Park . It Is a marvelous book about a fruitcake she made for the carnival. One of the major reasons I enjoyed this so much is what happened when she went to the carnival. She took the cake home and it was the as hard as a rock. Another reason I found the book to be so wonderful is that is the way Junie B. Jones talks. She talks funny. I like the part when she tells the clown to "Back off". She does not like the clown. Of course my favorite reason for liking this book is she throws a sponge right at the meanie boy's face and said bull's eye. As you can see, Junie B. Jones and the Yucky Blucky Fruitcake, by Barbara Park, was truly my favorite book.

There is something special about The Lemon Jelly Cake! Reminiscient of Jan Karon's fictional town of Mitford, Babcock Smith's story takes place in sleepy Tory, Illinois at the turn of the century. Tory is the kind of town where your neighbors know your business and the only crime is getting beat by your rival at the pickle competition.

Told through the eyes of 11-year-old Helene Bradford, The Lemon Jelly Cake chronicles the first summer of the new century and all the happenings it brings. The cake itself plays a double role in this story: Helene's mother, Kate's, own specialty dessert that is eaten at all funerals, weddings or social functions, as well as representing life and it's many layers. When a rich lawyer from Chicago comes to town, Kate interprets his level of sophistication and adventure as what life would be like outside the Tory layer.

This novel, written in 1952, has a wonderful appeal to it -- it brings readers back to a simpler time. There isn't any dramatic action in this book, but for those looking for an old-fashioned story, quirky characters, and small-town charm, this book is for you.

Turn of last century, small town in Illinois tale told through the eyes of one of two of the most well known eleven year old girls in town. ( One is the Doctor's daughter, the other is the ministers daughter.) They know the dirt in town, yet are humorously innocent as well.

It is like stepping back in time, via a Disney production, and only being delighted and entertained.

Light fare for traveling back to a gentler time.

Helene and her best friend, Gracie, enjoy the delights of growing up in a small town in Illinois in the early 1900s. Helene's Mother is known throughout the community for her Lemon Jelly Cake, which she regularly makes for church socials and whenever special company comes. When a certain lawyer from another town begins to come to dinner fairly often and the Lemon Jelly Cake becomes his favorite, Helene observes events through the innocent eyes of a carefree child.

This is an enchanting -- and sometimes hilarious -- story of small town life in a quieter, gentler age. At the same time the reader is reminded of the ever-so-human urge for excitement and passion in each person's life.

Skillfully written, sympathetically observed, the story progresses with an almost fearful inevitability.

It's a terrible shame that Madeline Babcock Smith didn't live long enough to write more books like this. Her skills at portraying delightful, enchanting and realistic characters and at executing one story while writing another are awesome.

THE LEMON JELLY CAKE is reminiscent of Jan Karon's Mitford series or Clarence Day's LIFE WITH FATHER/MOTHER books.

Sunnye Tiedemann (aka Ruth F. Tiedemann)

There are aspects about this book I can applaud. The first 50 pages are quite interesting and reveal a good look at one particular childhood but the book loses ground once she is describing life after college. I think the book is just one stream of vignettes (and name-dropping) after another without much psychological insight. Also, the main thrust of the book seems to be to talk about how food can bring friends, especially female friends together, but there are inconsistencies in Boorstein's portrayals of her friendships, and a definite competitive edge with some. Wierd. I was also puzzled by the lack of info about her sister Sharon until the very end. The truth is that Boorstein IS a great food writer (I enjoyed most of the recipes) but not up-to-snuff when talking about people.

A restaurant critic and food writer's engaging recollections: part memoir, part cookbook. Boorstin was clearing out an unused desk when she unearthed a notebook of 30-year-old recipes that recalled her youth and led her to examine cuisine connections among family and friends. She didn't just forage in her memory bank; she sought out and reconnected with friends from school days, as well as more recent acquaintances. The memories they share are often funny (mushrooms stuffed with marijuana, the snails that got away) and sometimes wistful, as divorce, sickness, and death play inescapable roles over three decades. Food professionals Boorstin encountered in the course of her work make cameo appearances and contribute recipes: Julia Child explains how to cook a lobster; Wolfgang Puck passes along his formula for matzoh; and Nell Newman reveals the makings of father Paul's favorite angel-food cake. Other recipes include avocado soup from London via Kenya, the perfect gazpacho from Spain, and a "husband-catcher cake" handed down for three generations (apparently it works). Especially winning are tales of her mother, who always kept a big chest freezer filled with frozen marshmallows, big oatmeal cookies, and Dungeness crab legs. (Dad was vice president of a Seattle fish company.) Mom was a good cook, but given to doctoring vegetables with Campbell's Cream of Mushroom soup (an icon of 1950s cuisine) and "all business" with Sharon in the kitchen. Boorstin made it a point to welcome her own daughter warmly into the kitchen, where they listened to opera, gossiped, and became friends as they cooked sans canned mushroom soup. "Women bond over food the way men do over sports," she concludes. Bon appetit to readers who agree with that rather sweeping statement; even those who don't will enjoy the cheerful anecdotes and the memorable dishes. (photos, not seen)

This book is delish! I am a 26 year old woman who loved reading this book about Sharon's life; and how food, entertaining and friendships were for women when she grew up and until present date. I think Sharon Boorstin kept it all very real and by the end of the book, you felt like you were on a first name basis with her and many of the important people in her life. The recipes were such an added treat as well. I would be very excited if there ended up being another volume of this book as I am eager to see what is next in her interesting life. A very good book to read and to also give to friends and family, whom enjoy food and friendship!

Everything she bakes has mace in it-wonder why-I don't think its such a spectacular ingredient but the muffins are tasty and always turn out well-could do with less of her life story though. It's interesting but long winded.

The recipes in this book are excellent. I don't think I have ever tasted a better banana nut muffin - or one that froze as well! My complaint is the accompanying dialog about the author's life. She had a hard life and made a real name for herself with hard work and dedication to her skill as a baker. That's all you need to know. I didn't need photos of her father or the kids. All in all, I highly recommend this book (especially for the strawberry muffins stuffed with cream cheese!!!) It's easy to ignore the chatter and stick to the best muffins you'll bake.

I have made many of the muffins out this book and you can believe me that they come out of the oven and poeple fall on them and devour them. I have made muffins before that have been pale, small and tasteless, but once I started making Linda Fisher's muffins, I have had wonderful results. My favorites are the orange-cranberry muffins and the chocolate chip muffins, although much can be said for the banana-nut ones too. I like it that once you know the basic recipe, setting up the muffins is very easy. You could make a basic mix from the dry ingredients and just add the spices, fats, eggs, and other additions to make the ones you like. BUY THIS BOOK!

...the instructions are not very complete. The author obviously has a great talent, and produces some of the most realistic gumpaste flowers I've seen, beautiful photos. BUT, the instructions are not detailed enough, and there are no step-by-step photos, only a few rough sketches. Also no instructions for how to put the flowers together into the arrangements and how to put them on the cake. Probably not the best book for beginners, but beautiful to look at, and would be great for someone who has some experience with gumpaste.

This book is fascinating and makes a great coffee table book, but since the techniques are very difficult in reality and take much more time than indicated, I would consider all this flower making with sugar a curiosity rather than something a person can just plunge into. The book is good, easy to read with great pictures.

This book is the most inspiring cake decorating book I have ever had the pleasure to read. Their work is truly fascinating and the recipes and instructions were extremely helpful. I highly recommend this book to anyone interested in the art of cake decorating.

I recently obtained this book, and it doesn't disappoint me at all. I admire the two authors' effort to teach the readers to bake GOOD CAKES. This book is so knowedlegable and explains detaily to my any question. I am an experienced baker,and I am tempted to try all the receipes right away because it is so beautifully written. I am also into some cake decorating the Wilton's way. I have questions about the tools this book mentions, such as the wood grain tool for chocolate. I just don't know where to get it. This book has very clear drawing illustrations by Paul Bugat. But sometimes, I wish it has some more PHOTOGRAPHS than just the cakes' photos so that I know what to look for. After purchasing this book, I try to buy "The French Cookie Book", which is also by Bruce Healy and Paul Bugat. I am very disappointed to find it out of print. I just loooooove their (Bruce and Paul) work --- ph.D for pastry.

I would give this book a million stars if I could. Just amazing. This book is written by 2 professionals, one American, the other French. After I checked out their first book from a library, I was incredibly happy to find a new book they published. (that first book is out of print) The details in this book are great and I believe we owe this to Mr. Healy. I've long wanted to own an authentic French Pastry cookbook written in comprehensible English. And the recipes... A gold studded, mysterious looking Alhambra (read chocolate heaven), the cake in the cover, a russian strawberry cake brushed with a glistening glaze, a pink art deco piece with sour cherries embedded in its layers.. many beauties and wonderful techniques. This is no Colette Peters, or Slyvia Weinstock kind of baking, this is taste AND art.

My only, only suggestion is for more pictures. Don't get me wrong they already have a few very good pictures , but I wish there was more since many people are not familiar with these cakes and it's always easier to have a picture in front of you. There is a pink cake (can't remember the french name it's got an almond paste covering) the authors have illustrated the steps needed to put it together which I also found very helpful. At the end of the book they have a 2 page pronunciation guide for Americans which is very nice. I am just going to suggest that they add more words cause it doesn't cover many in the book.

I've seen french pastry books going for 100-200 bucks, ingredients measured in liters, grams, forget about them. Start out with this one. This is not a lightweight, nor a suffocating tome, you get a good introduction to french style of cakes. And friends, please throw out that Angel Food Cake Mix, it's time to layer and glaze an Alhambra!

My only wish is that these 2 gentlemen continue writing on this subject. Loved it, highly recommend it to people who have an interest in cooking.

I applaud the authors of this book for bringing the art of French cake making down to an approachable level. Once confined to master chefs, French cakes should and can be enjoyed by everyone. The collection of recipes are well varied and comprise a selection of cakes that one really would find in France. Some recipes are very complex and time consuming, but the authors have done their best to explain everything and outline the processes step by step. I can attest that the time spent is well worth the effort. Some readers may object to the lack of photos, but that did not bother me.

Decorating is also well covered because after all, a grand dessert deserves an even grander presentation!

This is a rather large book, a serious baker will return to it many times. For me, it has become one of my favorites. I have yet to find a better collection of beautiful cakes anywhere

I felt that I had to write this review because there wasn't much content to the earlier reviews. For me, a cookbook is valuable insofar as it is practical, usable, clear, and enticing. Bevelyn Blair might very well be able to serve these cakes to me, and they might be delicious, but I'm not sure that this book is going to be useful for me. I should say first that I love baking cakes more than anything, and usually make about two a week. So far my only all-cake cookbook is The Cake Bible, and I've made many of the plain cakes in that book with happy results. I felt that I wanted to get more ideas for new flavors and combinations of cakes, so I decided to try this book. I just received the book in the mail, and these are some things that concern me, that I wish I'd known before I ordered:
--The book is concise almost to the point of being abrupt. Sometimes there are two or three recipes per page. At times it seems that the brevity could be confusing, like when she says "Melt 4 oz white chocolate in 1/2 c boiling water." I know how I would do this (chop the chocolate, put in sturdy bowl, pour hot water over, cover with foil for 5 minutes to let it melt, then whisk to smooth) but I'm not *certain* that this is what she intends, and a less experienced cook might just put the chocolate in a saucepan of boiling water (I'm not sure what that might do, but I think it could be disastrous).
--She often bakes with shortening, margarine, or vegetable oil. I'm used to baking with butter, and whether it's right or wrong, I'm reluctant to try a recipe that uses something else.
--She is sometimes vague about the cake pan, saying "bake in a loaf pan" or "a tube pan" or--worse--"a layer cake pan." While I don't require precise directions in all aspects of cooking, in baking it seems to me pretty essential, and what is the point of having to guess which cake pan would be best?
--Then again, she sometimes specifies strange pan sizes. She often says to use a 10 x 5 inch loaf pan, or a 12 x 9 inch sheet pan. Well, I have a good basic assortment of baking pans. I have a 9 x 5 inch loaf pan, and a 13 x 9 inch sheet pan. Would these work? She doesn't say. Where do you get these special-sized pans? She doesn't say. Again, small though it might seem, this is enough to put me off making a recipe.
--She sometimes uses cake mixes. Enough said.
--Her cakes are huge! I find it funny that although she insists that cakes are great for baking "everyday," most of her recipes are huge. There are only two people in my household and I like a cake that is a reasonable size. She often bakes in a big (13 x 9) sheet pan or in 3 (or even 4) 9-inch round layers. If I were looking to make a nice cake some Tuesday afternoon for no good reason (my definition of an "everday" cake), I'm not going to go in for a 4-layer cake.
--The icing is mandatory! I should say that I'm not crazy about icing. The cake is what I like most, and I love a wonderful pound cake or almond cake for slicing and eating plain with tea. But her cakes are designed around icing, and the names of the cakes often refer to the icing, which can lead to disappointment once you read the recipes. For example, there's a "Chocolate Strawberry Cake," which seems so interesting. I'm imagining strawberries or jam *in* the cake, to give an interesting berry-chocolate flavor. Instead, this is simply a plain chocolate cake with strawberry cream frosting. Probably delicious, but not what I envisioned. Same with the Coconut Cream Cake. No coconut flavor in the cake, just in the frosting.
--There are no pictures. I don't require pictures, but some people might want to know.

Having said all that, there are a *lot* of recipes here, some of which sound very delicious, and if I can find any that actually seem reasonable, I'll probably make some of them. In the meantime, though, I'm going to try Maida Heatter's Cakes, which I've browsed through. It looks wonderful and clear and thorough. You might want to do the same, or at least buy them both to compare.

I will echo the enthusiasm of the other purchasers of this book. Don't be fooled by the small size of the book; it is chock-full of recipes. The price per recipe must be lower than any other cake book I own! In general, the recipes are very well written, all business and no fluff.

My only reservation would be giving this book to the cook without cake experience. I've got 25 years' experience in cake baking, so explicit techniques that are taken for granted here needn't be elucidated. For a beginner, though, the techniques of stirring vs. beating vs. whipping vs. folding, etc., might be unfamiliar. For those cooks, I'd still recommend Marion Cunningham's Fanny Farmer Baking Book.

However, for someone who already knows how to bake cakes, this could be a most valuable reference, possibly the only all-cake book they'd need. It'll also make a fine gift! The beautiful retro-graphic design of the book is an added pleasure.

This cookbook contains a collection of recipes accumulated over 30 years of baking. Mrs. Blair is considered the queen of cakes and once you try these recipes, you'll know why. Each is delicious and unforgettable. Traditional recipes are included as well as some new surprises. One of the very best cookbooks available!

Save your money, and buy her first two books in paperback. If you're already read them, read them again. And skip this lightweight, ineffective, self-indulgent book. Alas, if you have already purchased it, skip to the back section -- to the cake recipes. With this book, it is better to bake its contents than read them.

This book is wonderful. I wanted it to go on. I loved how each character over came obstacles. The family in the story is very well formed and true to life.

I am a young fan of Jeanne Ray. All age groups can relate to this book (and her others) because the characters are people that you've either met, or exist in your own family. The situations are thoughtful and comedic with a hint of drama. Whether you like cake or not, you will love the book; it reads like a good movie.

I recommed this book for six year olds. The rice cake ran away because it didn't want to be eaten. Read this book to see what happens. Enjoy!

The Run Aaway Rice Cake is a about this family called the Chang family. They make a rice cake. It becomes alive. It runs away. I recommend this book to people who like silly stories and rice cakes. By Bryan G.

This book is mostly about the Chang family and New Years Eve. The Chang family was cooking rice cakes and suddenly, when they
lifted the cover off the rice cake ran away from the fisherman,
a neighboor and the dragon. But they still coudn't get the rice cake. Xavier S.