Bunny Cakes Reading Guide

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Get the most from your reading
experience with this Bunny Cakes
Reading Guide
SUMMARY
It’s Grandma’s birthday, and Max’s sister Ruby says
they are going to make Grandma an angel surprise
cake with raspberry-fluff icing. But Max has a better
idea: an earthworm birthday cake topped with
red-hot marshmallow squirters. Now if only he can
figure out a way to add squirters to Ruby’s shopping
list…
PURPOSES
Reading aloud to children, or reading with
beginning readers, can encourage and help
children to:
• Listen to stories read aloud.
• Increase the number of words in their
vocabulary.
• Discuss the idea of helping a sibling or friend.
THEMES
Helping
Max wants to help his sister Ruby make a cake
for Grandma, but he keeps having accidents.
Regardless, Max continues to help Ruby by taking
her shopping list to the grocery store to get the
ingredients that she needs to make her cake.
Perseverance
Max wants to make Grandma an earthworm cake
with caterpillar frosting and red-hot marshmallow
squirters. But he cannot add this special ingredient
to his shopping list because he doesn’t know how
to write “red-hot marshmallow squirters.” Does Max
give up? No, he doesn’t! Max continues to try to
communicate with the grocer until he gets what he
needs for his cake for Grandma.
Birthdays
By discovering how Max and his family celebrate
birthdays, children are given the opportunity to
explore their own experiences with celebrations
and birthdays.
• Explain why perseverance is an important
quality.
• Develop understanding of main events.
• Demonstrate increasing levels of engagement.
SUGGESTED VOCABULARY
Explain the meaning of these words while reading,
and use them in other contexts throughout the day.
Earthworm – noun: A long worm that lives in damp
soil.
Grocer – noun: A person who sells food and other
supplies in a store.
Flour – noun: Powder made from a grain (especially
wheat) that is used in cooking for making bread,
cakes, etc.
Baked – verb: To cook (food, such as bread and
cake) by preparing a dough or batter and cooking
it in an oven using heat.
Cooled – verb: Somewhat cold; not warm or hot.
Buttercream – noun: A soft mixture of butter and
sugar that is used as a filling or frosting for cakes.
Caterpillar – noun: A small creature that is like a
worm with many legs and that changes to become a
butterfly or moth.
Thrilled – adjective: To be very excited or happy
about something.
Definitions taken from http://www.merriam-webster.com
2.
SOUND IT OUT
For a child who is ready for the challenge, have him
or her help you read the title of the book, Bunny
Cakes. Use your finger to underline the title, letter
by letter, and sound out each letter for/with the
child. Pointing to letters while saying their sounds
helps children make the connection between
letters and sounds.
A MODEL FOR READING
Note: Because the pages in Bunny Cakes are not
numbered, the “page numbers” provided below are
for orientation only and do not directly correspond
to numbers in the book. “Page 2” refers to the
page where the author begins the story, and the
page numbers that follow are provided simply for
sequential reference.
Page 2
• Max is making his Grandma an earthworm
birthday cake! What would you like to eat, an
earthworm cake or an angel cake with raspberry-fluff icing?
Page 3-4
Cover
• The title of this book is Bunny Cakes. The author
is Rosemary Wells. The author is the person
who wrote the book. Rosemary Wells is also the
illustrator. An illustrator is a person who draws
the pictures in a book.
• What do you see on the front cover of the book?
• Yes, that’s a little bunny rabbit. What is he
doing?
• What do you think this book is about?
• Have you ever made a cake?
• What is your favorite kind of cake?
• Let’s see what happens to Max when he tries to
make a cake!
• Oh no! What happened?
• Have you ever knocked over eggs? Are eggs
fragile? Do they break easily?
• How do you think Max knocked over the eggs?
• What did Ruby write on the shopping list?
Page 5-6
• Max went to the store to buy more eggs, since
he broke the eggs in the kitchen. But he also
wanted to buy red hot marshmallow squirters!
• Does Max know how to write, yet?
• Can you read Max’s writing?
3.
Page 7-8
Pages 13-14
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• Max is trying really hard to tell the grocer what he
wants, isn’t he?
• Why can’t the grocer read Max’s writing?
• Have you ever wanted a treat so bad that you
could almost taste it?
• Do you ever feel like grown-ups can’t understand
what you are asking for? When?
What happened when Max bumped the table?
What spilled?
Have you ever spilled milk?
What did Ruby write on the list?
Pages 9-10
• Max keeps trying to buy red hot marshmallow
squirters, doesn’t he?
• Look at Max’s face. Does he look hopeful that
this time the grocer will understand him?
Pages 15-16
• What does the red circle with the line mean?
• How do you think that made Max feel?
• Do you see someone peaking through the
window (on page 16)? Who is it?
Pages 11-12
• Why did Ruby draw a yellow line on the floor?
• Was Ruby being mean to Max? Or was she just
trying to make her cake the way she wanted?
• Have you ever wanted to draw a line so someone
couldn’t cross it?
4.
Pages 17-18
Pages 21-22
• Have you ever helped to frost a cake?
• Do you see Max in the window? It looks like
Ruby gave Max a spoon to taste her raspberry
fluff frosting. Yummy!
• Look at Ruby (on page 21) and Max (on page
22). They are both making their cakes for
Grandma. Do they both look happy and proud
of their cakes? Why do you think they are proud
of what they made?
Pages 19-20
• Read the list that Ruby gave Max to take to the
grocer.
• Did Max finally figured out how to communicate
with the grocer?
• How did he do that?
Page 23
• Which cake would you eat first?
Ways to extend the book
• Help the students create a pretend grocery list –
using words, pictures, or both. What would they
like to put on their list?
• Max was finally able to communicate with the
grocer by using a drawing. Did you know that
some books use pictures as the way to tell a
story? They are called graphic novels or comic
books. Try creating your own book by using
pictures to tell a story, and not words.
• Max and Ruby worked very hard on their cakes
for Grandma. Have the students draw a picture
of the kind of cake they would like to make for a
special person in their life.
5.
For you to color!
Read
Read
Bunny Cakes
Bunny Cakes
by Rosemary Wells
by Rosemary Wells
Jumpstctrt
Jumpste~rt
Rec1d for the Record'
Redd for the Record'