ALA Booklist (Sat Jul 01 00:00:00 CDT 2017)

The buoyant, red-pigtailed narrator of this cheerful picture book is getting ready for a treat: "Today is a special day because . . . I am baking with Dad!" After they don matching chef's hats, their first step is picking all the right ingredients. On the facing spread is a grid of possibilities, with all the wrong ingredients spider, a cup of pencils, some socks, a sad bird ossed out. Next up: cracking eggs, mixing and sifting, and waiting while their creation bakes in a glowing oven. Cacciapuoti's energetic, scribbly artwork, which has an inviting and childlike quality, beautifully complements the joyful story, particularly when the charming bakers' flights of fancy deliciously pack the pages. Best of all, their over-the-top creation teetering, multicolored tower of cake layers the perfect centerpiece for a surprise party for a friend. This vivacious, playful story warmly captures the love between father and daughter, as well as the simple joy of spending time together. A great pick for a Father's Day storytime.

Publishers Weekly (Fri Oct 06 00:00:00 CDT 2023)

A girl with scribbly red pigtails, big eyes, and a triumphant grin is delighted to bake a cake with her bald, bearded father. Eggs soar through the air, whisking and mixing take on the feel of a synchronized dance routine, and the two channel Carmen Miranda while gathering fruit as they don grass skirts and shake maracas. The result is a supremely messy kitchen and an over-the-top layer cake, a birthday surprise for a male adult; though he isn-t identified, there-s a clear suggestion that he might also be a father in this family. The sheer exuberance of this joyful tale should send readers straight to the kitchen. Ages 3-8. (Mar.)

Horn Book (Tue Aug 01 00:00:00 CDT 2017)

A young fiery-redheaded girl and her dad select and exuberantly mix ingredients for a special project. A multilayered, elaborate birthday cake is ready just in time for the arrival of its recipient: a second man, presumably her other dad. A final spread shows family and diverse friends partying down. Spare text and childlike cartoon illustrations reflect the energetic preparations.

Kirkus Reviews

A little girl spends time making a mess—er, baking, with her dad.Regardless of the mess the two make in the kitchen, this little girl certainly has the steps down for baking a cake: choose the ingredients, add them one by one, mix, add fruit, then: "Be patient. Let the magic begin!" It's not clear from the illustrations whether the decorating step is for the house or for the cake, but both look festive by the time the doorbell rings: Happy Birthday! "Wow! What a cake!" Some tunes, some hats, and some additional, racially diverse guests make it a party. Orange, yellow, and blue dominate the palette in the illustrations, which feature simple backgrounds and a scribbly style. Father and daughter are both white; he is bald with a brown beard, and she has bushy red hair in two straight-up pigtails that resemble horns. The characters' big white eyes give them a manic look; though the two ape each other's actions and are obviously having fun together, love is not an overt ingredient in this recipe. While baking, the two sport chef's hats, though their diminutive size makes them look rather like bones, and the noses often look as though they have toes. The ending, with its white male guest of honor, might suggest a same-sex couple.Bake next week? Maybe next week's lesson should include cleaning up. (Picture book. 4-7)