I absolutely love this cookbook. I have tried several recipes and they came out wonderful. I love the fact that is is very simple to understand and yet yields great results. A definite winner!

What I like to do is to take the book out of the library first, glance over and try a recipe. I tried Black & Tan cake on page 82-83 for a Christmas Party last week. What a show stopper! Sweet Maria's made me look really good. I have put this book on my Christmas list. Hope Santa is checking my list twice.

"Sweet Maria's Cake Kitchen" by Maria Bruscino Sanchez published by St. Martin's Grifiin Maria Bruscino Sanchez has made her name known in Connecticut, thanks to her baking efforts at Sweet Maria's Bakery as well as winning the Grand Prize at the Connecticut Bakers Association Cake Decorating Contest two years in a row. In "Sweet Maria's Cake Kitchen," her second dessert book, Sanchez spills some of the secrets that she has developed over the years. Like many cookbooks, "SMCK" begins with the basics and then uses them as building blocks or layers to create delicious layer, loaf and bundt cakes. For veteran home chefs who are comfortable at the controls of their Kitchen Aide, you'll find intriguing combinations of flavors and ingredients in her 65 recipes while amateurs can accept the hand-holding directions that take you from the first mixing to the final baking. If you're tired of plain old chocolate cake, white cake or yellow cake, flip through the 129 pages here and update your repertoire with the likes of the Elvis cake, the Tiramisu cake and the toasted lemon snowball cake. Your taste buds will thank you. By Mark C. Guncheon

This book has been the favourite in our house for a long time.It has been read so many times, it is known by heart. A great book to share with the 3-8 year olds.

In my view, this book is about power and sorting out boundaries.Being a little kid sometimes makes you feel powerless: everyone is bigger and can do more things than you. Imagining yourself , or an ally , to be equally or more powerful is part of growing up. It is also fun to imagine a world where there are no limitations e.g. you can eat cake all the time. And instead of being scared by noises at night on the roof, it is much more comforting to imagine that it is your big powerful friend, the Hippo. That's why kids love this series of books about the cake-eating hippo.

Simplicity with layers underneath is the essence of a picture book and this book has both. I don't want to read War and Peace with our kids. I want to share a story which seems simple on the surface, is heaps of fun, but which gives you something to talk about with your kids. Our children both LOVED Hippo on the Roof and they came back again and again to the concept of the kid's alter ego having all the freedom she craved. They even picked up on the fact that the cake and other things she wanted were not always that good for her. (I swear I didn't coach them...) Lots of kids have imaginary friends, not many of them have hippos on their roof. I bet they wished they did.

I think this book is the best book ever made i picked my cake from this book and i would never pick another book to pick my cake. I hope you continue to make these books for the younger croud to enjoy

Wiltons the best products on the block. I love Wilton Decorating Book. They show you step by step instructions. This one is great for making wedding cakes.

The Wilton wedding cakes book is a collection of nearly 100 pages of the most excuisitely photographed wedding cakes covering all styles from Victorian to present. No matter what your tastes are I'm sure you'll find a cake in there for you. There are no other books I've seen that have this many cakes, or the quality of photography. Each cake has instructions on how to build it, including the recipe. The book also has a beautifully laid out section on cake ornaments, and accessories including all sorts of pillar styles, stands, seperator plates, statues, on and on. We found it most useful for our wedding and all brides and grooms should have it. The only issue is, these cakes are so awesome that it may cost a fortune to have your baker make some of them. But that's ok, a lot of people spend a fortune on the cake anyway. Just take the picture to your baker, and let them go to town with it!

I never thought I would try applique, but this book, with it's clear instruction and beautiful patterns inspired me to try. I just completed my first project. I love the photos they give of completely finished blocks, with ideas for embellishment. Truly inspiring. I am hooked!

As a beginning applique quilter with intermediate sewing skills, getting this book is like being a kid in a candy store! I don't know which little house to make first!

Much of the applique is very teeny-tiny (e.g. the reindeer antlers, window panes). However, the book gives tips on simplifying these hard parts (e.g. using twigs or ultrasuede for the reindeer antlers). Actually, the applique is easier than it looks, and the results are GREAT! It really isn't that much harder to 'cut as you go' (for the thin spirals). I'm learning a lot of applique techniques by working on this quilt.

The book itself is simply a black and white compilation of the patterns needed to complete the quilt on the front cover.

I saw this quilt completely finished at a quilt show and it is absolutely breath-taking. I spent half an hour just standing there and looking at all the detail of the quilt. It snagged each person who walked by and got a lot of attention! If you are looking for a project that will be greatly admired, this certainly is worth tackling.

Whimsical village designs that may be put together for a variety of purposes. While the title claims North Pole, it is appropriate to display all year.

Like the previous reviewer, I agree that the book is very much a catalog and not a tool for teaching. But I have to stress that if you love to decorate cakes and are looking for new ideas and what is current in the cake decorating world, than this is a book for you. I have looked at the book countless of times, and it has lots of ideas for holidays, baptisims, wedding, graduation etc. It is a really nice book to look at, I can't tell you how many times I have used this book as a source.

this book/catalogue not only gives you old and new product information but also helps you get ideas for all types of cake designs, candy making etc. it also contains recipes that have been well tested over the years. wilton yearbooks are also a very collectable item, especially the yearbooks produced in the late 60's and 70i's. get them while they are available. the price is reasonable compared to what many books hard and soft covers cost.

I recently look at the Wilton Cake Decorating Yearbook 2000 and I was not impressed at all. To me it was definately not worth the price of the book. It is more like a catalog that the company should offer to you for a cheaper price when you buy one of their products or give it to you free. It showed very little about how to decorate cakes and use the various candy molds, cake pans, icings tips, and other items that Wilton sells. 95% of the book was a catalog for you to order more of their products. If you want a book to teach yourself how to decorate cakes this is definately not the one. If you are having a problem finding Wilton supplies in your area this may very well be the book for you. It does actually have a lot of different products that are not found in local store unless maybe a candy or cake decorating store, but as I said before it is a catalog. I would advise anyone to look at this book somewhere before they decide to buy, such as I did.

I recieved An American Treasury of Heirloom Fruitcakes and Puddings from my mother-in-law on Christmas 1998. What a wonderful gift, it has so many reciepts that my grandmother would fix for us. When she passed the reciepts were never writen down. What a treasury for me to have recieved this cookbook, it has so many of the reciepts my grandmother would make and more. I would truly recommend this to anyone that loves good food. I asked my mother-in-law where she found this cookbook. She showed me a review that was written in our Illinois paper. Now I have found it here, how wonderful it will be to keep track of any new books Frances E. Hanson will write.

If you like fruitcakes or collect heritage recipes you will love this book. It has a great variety of fruitcake recipes plus some of the history of the origins of fruitcake. The book also contains pudding recipes and their history. A great gift idea!

I enjoyed every moment i spent reading it. Refreshing and charming heros

In 1880 Fort Worth, Tye McBride is watching his three young nieces, better known as the "McBride Menaces," while his brother and new spouse enjoy a honeymoon. Though he loves his three blessings, Tye has his hands full as they try to match him up with Loretta Davis.

Claire Donovan ran away to escape from a fiancé that she does not want to marry. She rents a small shop from Tye's sibling and opens up a confectionery store that sells "magic" cakes and cookies. When Claire and Tye meet, the attraction is at maximum levels, but neither one is prepared for a relationship. However, with three imps and magic in the air, this couple appears to be destined to be together for at least a lifetime. That is, of course, if they can overcome their own reservations about love.

Geralyn Dawson is the master of light western romances that excite, charm, and make readers laugh all at the same time. Her latest novel, THE BAD LUCK CAKE, is a jocular Americana tale that will be devoured by fans of the sub-genre. The lead couple is an interesting pair, but the trio of mischief-makers steals the show. Like THE WEDDING RAFFLE and THE WEDDING RANSOM, this is a first class reading experience.

Harriet Klausner

This book is great. Young readers will find it easy to follow, and will be enchanted by the story of Bruno and his friend Felix as they bake a birthday cake. Be warned, there is a cake recipe at the end of the book, and your child will most certainly want to try it.

After purchasing this book for my son, I decided to buy two more copies for his classroom library. Besides having a great story and pictures, the hardback book has thick pages that should stand up well to constant readings.

My 4 year old daughter loves all of the Bruno books but Bruno theBaker is her favorite. Children this age love to learn how to do newthings and the Bruno books give step by step explanations while still being very entertaining. The illustrations are especially adorable. I highly recommend it.

This is the best book on this subject I've ever come across. It has beautiful pictures, good close-up pictures to accompany the step-by-step directions, and a lot of helpful information.

If you're looking for a book on cake decorating (or just want to gawk at some yummy pictures), this is THE book.

I only recently heard about this book & i'm very glad that i did.It has detailed instructions,color picture's of the work process & the finished product.This is a book that i will refer to again & again while decorating a cake.Not just for ideas but for instructions or reminders on just how to make that flower.Its covers buttercream as well as fondant,has recipes for each & cake recepies.

Ms. Stern has written a beautiful book explaining the essence of diabetes to a child. The book is enhanced by Ms. Orland's illustrations. I have had diabetic friends read this book, and they all tell me they approve of it greatly. This is a disease that I had never heard of until I was twelve, and did not really understand until I was in high school. I wish this book had been around a few decades earlier.

It is ironic that I never really understood the complexities of diabeties until I read this book. Written simply for children and bypassing extraneous technical language, "Can Mom Have a Piece of My Birthday Cake?" is actually a wonderful "Cliff Notes" of sorts, for adults who want to acquire a basic but not oversimplified grasp of the condition. The book gives an intelligent but easily understood explanation of the physiology and symptoms of the condition, and also provides a window into the practical concerns of a person with diabetes. (The
activities at the end are a great reinforcement for kids!) I recommend this book for children, and also for any adult who would like a quick and practical overview of the disease.