User:Moswento/The Biggest Birthday Cake in the World

The Biggest Birthday Cake in the World is a 1991 children's book by Elizabeth Spurr, with illustrations by Rosanne Litzinger. It is aimed at readers aged 4 to 8.

Plot
The Richest and Fattest Man in the World, instructs his 100 cooks and 3 vice-presidents to bake the Biggest Birthday Cake in the World for his fortieth birthday. After the various parts have been baked, it is moved to a field to be assembled by cranes. Icing is mixed in a cement mixer and applied with trowels. Originally, the Richest and Fattest Man in the World intends to eat the cake himself, and arranges for guards to keep any children away. However, on his birthday, he falls into the cake when he is lifted in the air to blow out the candles. Needing the help of local children to help get him out, he decides to share the cake with them.

Reception

 * " Spurr's droll text and Litzinger's zany illustrations blend like butter and chocolate, making an entertaining slapstick comedy that is greater than the sum of its parts. No matter how you slice it, this cake--flavored with a sweet message about sharing--is a delicious confection." Publishers Weekly
 * Ways of using the text - The Arithmetic Teacher

When the Richest (and Fattest) Man in the World turns 40, he orders his staff of 100 cooks (and three vice-presidents) to bake him the Biggest Birthday Cake in the World. At first he plans to eat the prodigious pastry all by himself, but when children, drawn by the delectable smell, come from miles around to wish him a happy birthday, he has a change of heart. Everyone dives in--literally--for a magnificent feast, making the Most Horrendous Mess in the World. Characterizations are deftly drawn here, particularly the vice-presidential ``yes men'' with their amusingly accented assents: `` Rav -en-ous. . . Vo- ra -cious. . . Ra- pa -cious.'' Spurr's droll text and Litzinger's zany illustrations blend like butter and chocolate, making an entertaining slapstick comedy that is greater than the sum of its parts. No matter how you slice it, this cake--flavored with a sweet message about sharing--is a delicious confection. Ages 4-8. (Mar.)