Customer Reviews

The Bake Shop Ghost

5 star:		(18)
4 star:		(6)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

We have signed out this book several times from our local library, as it has quickly become one of my 7-year old's favorites. The abandoned bake shop, crusty old ghost and determined yet thoughtful heroine make for a very appealing mix. We also love the illustrations, which are somewhat expressionistic(?) and remind me of some of the books I used to read as a kid back in the 60's... It's a little bit longer than the average picture book -- which we consider a plus -- and engaging from beginning to end.
We recommend The Bake Shop Ghost as an ideal bedtime story, especially so for anyone who loves to bake. In fact, the story's cake recipe is provided at the end of the book.

I too ordered this book after hearing it read on NPR. I enjoyed the whimsical plot, watercolor and ink illustrations and the humorous characterization of Annie and Cora Lee. Annie's pluck and determination make for a satisfying conclusion. One of the central characters is a ghost so the book may not be appropriate for younger readers. Great book for 1st & 2nd grades.

I have a seven year old daughter who simply "ate up" The Bake Shop Ghost. A scary story appeals to her for the thrill, yet she does not like a story that will result in a nightmare...this story is a perfect balance. Initially, the ghost appears daunting, yet as the story unfolds, you see her endearing side. The illustrations are divine, and there is a wonderful bonus recipe at the end of the book!

This one is a true gem! The drawings are fluid and very distinctive, with the storyline about how a ghost mystery is solved. However, I think this would be okay for most children over the age of 4 or so, it's not a terribly scary ghost story. It's more a story of understanding where angry emotions might come from, and the importance of being strong, smart and kind, as the brave baker is when she both stands up to the ghost but also makes an effort to understand her by doing some research (after other bakers have fled the haunted bakery in fear). The fact that the baker is both black and female is not part to the storyline, but will be noted by those who appreciate strong, positive images of non-white or female characters in the books they read to their children.
This would be a great story for teachers, librarians, or parents to read aloud, and it even comes with a "ghost-pleasing" cake recipe. Highly recommended!

I purchased this book after hearing it read on NPR. When the book arrived, I was delighted to find the artwork equal to the charming story. My 7 yr old niece read the book to me after opening it on Christmas. When it was over, she turned to me and said "That was really good." There is no better review than that!

This is an Email from my daughter.
Subj: Bake Shop Ghost in Hollywood
Date: 1/18/2008 9:27:43 P.M. Eastern Standard Time
From: deahlogburn@verizpn.net
To: Undisclosed-Recipient:;
Dear All:
I spent three full days on the set of The Bake Shop Ghost film, and it was marvelous. The film was shot on the lot at Universal Studios, and I stayed at the Sheraton Universal City. The window of my room looked down over the studios. One of the producers came and picked me up and we drove into the gates onto James Stewart Blvd, past the bungalow where Alfred Hitchcock had his office.
It was filmed in the section called "New England Village" in a small interior courtyard space. It was crowded with nearly 30 crew members and another dozen people - actors and visitors. It's an indie film, with a small budget, and will be only 15 minutes long, but it was the full Hollywood set - huge lights, cameras, trailer with wardrobe and make-up, a catering crew, trucks with electronic equipment, ladders, and tools, very " young production assistants with headsets, iPhones and water bottles.
I finally got to meet Lorette Bayle, the director who obtained the rights from my publisher. She was the eye of the storm, but was focused and calm. Mostly, I spent time trying to watch as much as possible and stay out of the way.
The level of attention to detail was astonishing - I thought writers were obsessive, but we are amateurs compared to film people. They are extroverted control freaks.
Cakes were important to the story, and there were lots of them. There were at least a dozen fake prop cakes. There were 11 cakes for the tasting scenes, with doubles - yes, the cakes had body doubles. Ed, a lovely man who baked the cakes for the tasting scene, had a great story about the birthday cake. He found a baker who would match the appearance of the birthday cake in the book. The bakery was called Helen's, and was run for 60 years by Helen. She left the business to her helper, who made the cake for the film. He was Filipino, with limited English. When Ed returned for the cake, the baker's wife said they liked the book, and thought it was very true, because she said, "He still talks to Helen." They felt her spirit was still in the shop. This was sweet, but a bit eerie.
There was a great deal of specialized equipment on the set - the one that struck me the most was the make-up belt, which had a pouch with pockets for brushes, pots of powder, mascara and foundation.
I realized that patience is an important quality in an actor, as they waited for sets to be arranged, lighting to be adjusted, and then repeated the same lines over and over. Maryann Jean Baptiste, who played Annie, was pelted with puff pastry at least six times during the fight sequence. They shot the flour fight just once, with three cameras, to minimize getting flour into expensive equipment. It was a grand fight, and everyone watching burst into applause at the end.
People were very kind, to me and to each other. If I was standing for more than a minute, a production assistant would bring me a director's chair. One of the producers kept feeding me. The mood was lovely- a group that seemed to enjoy working on the project and with each other. I'm very impressed with Lorette's leadership skills, that she gathered such a group, and kept them working together so well.



I spent a lot of time in the area they called "video village." This was where a video monitor that was connected with the camera was set up and the script supervisor, Ron, had a small table and chair. Ron was making elaborate notations on the script, noting each shot, each take, what reel of film was used, a string of numbers I never did understand. This was so the editor and director could identify each segment of film during the editing process. Some scenes had over twenty shots, from different angles, with several takes. It could take a couple of hours to shoot one page of script.
Ron seemed to like me, and kept urging me to write a screenplay. His point was that I had a film in production now, based on my work, so I had an edge over lots of other writers. He told me where the bookstore was with the best books about screenwriting, and tips about writing.
The actors were marvelous. They really embodied the characters that I had imagined in a wonderful way. For me, the most emotional moment was when they were improvising on a scene where the ghost is advising Annie about her recipes. I found myself tearing up, because it was how I had imagined these characters relating to each other, even though I didn't write it into the story. The ways that the film picked up and amplified things about the story that I had thought, but not written was amazing and a bit spooky.
As to the pictures - the one where I am with the bakers is not blurry due to a mistake. There was a fog machine going for that shot, not to make it spooky, but to soften the light. Lorette assured me that it doesn't show on the film. The set interior shows how crowded it got when the camera was rolling and the one with Kathy, the ghost, shows how much care went into the props and set design.
The next phase is editing and there should be a final cut in about six months. Then Lorette will submit it to film festivals and we'll see where it ends up showing. She said she would send it to Sundance, although she didn't think it was edgy enough for that festival. But she thought that if there was a full-length film with a similar theme or setting, that they would pick BSG to pair with it.
It was a marvelous adventure, and I feel so lucky to have had the experience.cheers,
Jackie
The film is now at Skywalker Ranch for sounnd and other editing

I have a two year old, a five year old, and a 37 year old (wife) who love listening to this story as much as I love reading it to them.

Miss Cora Lee Merriweather is the town baker extraordinaire. She passes away and the whole town cries knowing that her recipes are gone with her. "Corra Lee didn't have any family so the Merriweather Bake Shop was sold".

Several bakers eagerly attempt to set up their own shop on the old premises but are promptly scared away by the ghost of Cora Lee until several years later a feisty and determined young baker by the name of Annie Washington arrives to call the bake shop her new home.

This is a delightful warm story of friendship, and determination. The two characters don't budge an inch until Annie pleads to the ghost and asks what she can do so that she could have the place in peace. The challenge is on: "Make me a cake . . . like one I might have baked, but that no one ever made for me." Annie bakes and bakes never finding anything just right, until one day she finds something out about the ghost that leads her to make that one special cake that no one ever made for her.

The drawings and the colors are wonderful and they help give this story its warm glow. You will have lots of opportunities to make different voices from Cora Lee herself to Frederico Spinelli and all the other characters in between. There is nothing scary in this story and there is no stress on the death part. She just passes away one day. My five year old is into asking those questions but my two year old just loves the voices and the story in general right now.

Besides, if you are a dad, you can also get a Ghost Pleasing Chocolate cake out of the deal-recipe is included, and it turns out quite nicely.

For me this book is about the values of sharing and kindness. For that reason I have a great esteem for "The Bake shop Ghost" . Another book that I very much recommend for the same reason is a new series by B. Nowiki titled "Why Some Cats are Rascals". I am very much impressed with the first book of that series.

Great story. My daughter orginally brought a copy of the book home from the Library. I liked it so much I bought it for myself. The cake receipe is pretty darn good.

I HEARD this book read on NPR one Saturday morning, decided to get it sight unseen and planned to give it to my grandniece as a gift. Read it myself when it arrived. The story was just as charming as I had remembered and now I could savor the elaborate illustrations of bakery delights and angry apparitions. I re-read the book to my mother and sister after dinner and they were as entranced as I, with the colorful drawings being passed around and admired at each turn. I'm glad my grandniece is still a little too young to read it for herself!