Birthday Cakes for Kids by Annie Rigg
Ryland, Peters and Small, 2009
Cautions: None

Kiwi Magazine Review:
Anyone can buy a cool birthday cake, but then you completely miss out on all of the fun, mess and creativity. Not to mention, you get to eat your mistakes! We’ve switched from bakery cakes to home made from scratch because we simply like to know exactly what the ingredients are and it’s also a special way to involve the little ones in a creative project. Now, we didn’t say these are necessarily healthy, but they certainly are fun. This book has some amazing and very do-able ideas for cakes ranging from princesses to puppies. You don’t need special cake pans because the recipes also include a cake-cutting pattern which enables you to build your dream cake out of shapes cut from typical baking pans. We’re attempting the butterfly for our next bash. Enjoy!

Product Description:
At last, here’s a beautiful book full of fuss-free imaginative cakes to make for children of all ages. Annie Rigg shows you how to make various cake mixes in different quantities, as well as frosting and decorations for fabulous but effortless cakes. She then takes you through some Simple Cakes such as Princess Cupcakes, a Meringue Mountain, and a Just Fantastic, Chocolate Cake to end all chocolate cakes! Chapters on Animals, Wigs and Wheels, Fantasy, and Wildlife offer all sorts of cake ideas for novice and confident bakers alike. From a fluffy marshmallow Sheep to a pirate’s Treasure Chest, and a Ladybug to a Hot Air Balloon, there’s something here for every occasion, whether you’re short of time or you are prepared to spend the afternoon in the kitchen baking, icing, and decorating.

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Celebrate Green by Corey Colwell- Lipson and Lynn Colwell

Kedzie Press, 2008

Recommended readers- Adults

Cautions:

Publisher’s description:

Not only is this book bursting with tips and ideas for celebrating green, but it boasts recipes, craft projects, and actual facts! Yes! If you’re interested in the “why’s” behind their alternatives, you’ll find them. If you only want to figure out what the heck to get your mother-in-law for Christmas that will make her sing your praises to her son without costing you or the planet, it’s there too.

Celebrate Green! is sprinkled with personal anecdotes because, as amazing as it may seem, Corey and Lynn are real, live human beings. You get to meet, know and (hopefully) enjoy them through the book. And once you know them, you’ll begin to fall for their ideas even if you’re a bit skeptical at first. They don’t hit you over the head and make you feel like a complete eco-idiot for not jumping on your bicycle, and heading to the food co-op to stock up on a year’s worth of beeswax birthday candles. They simply offer you so many sensible, interesting, and creative ideas that you’ll find it hard to resist trying some of them.

KIWI Bookworm review:

The mother and daughter team offer a myriad of suggestions to green holiday décor, gifts and meals throughout the year. Instead of falling into old habits of mall dash then trash, the authors offer unique, low-impact ideas for every special occasion wrapped up in recycled paper and a repurposed bow.

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