The High Rise Glorious Skittle Skat Roarious Sky Pie Angel Food Cake (School & Library Binding)

by Nancy Willard (Author), Richard Jesse Watson (Illustrator) "But first, let me tell you about my dad..." (more)
Key Phrases: biggest angel, smallest angel, middle angel, Uncle Harry, Aunt Carolyn (more...)

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly
When a girl asks her mother what she'd like for her birthday, her mother replies that all she wants is a High Rise Glorious Skittle Skat Roarious Sky Pie Angel Food Cakestet caps , just like the one her grandmother once made for her. Determined to give her mother what she wants, the girl searches for the elusive recipe ("Is it in The Joy of Cooking ?") and, before she's finished baking, she has a culinary adventure that even Julia Child never dreamed of--and meets a band of unique angels in the process. Willard's prose is both lyrical and conversational, and the story is one of the most human and touching she has written. Watson's paintings put forth captivating images--particularly of the angels--only hinted at in the text, and add an extra touch of magic and mystery to this already magical, mysterious fairy tale. Ages 6-up.
Copyright 1990 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From School Library Journal
Grade 2-4-- A young girl, wishing to make her mother a birthday surprise, searches for her great-grandmother's secret recipe for the cake of the title. The recipe is found in an old diary, the secret ingredient turns up under the grand piano, and at midnight the cake is baked. Following directions, the girl spells LOVE backwards in the sugar, and three angels appear in the kitchen to add a spectacular icing and a golden thimble to the birthday morning surprise. Willard's considerable talents are confined here to what appears to be a marketable gift book, perfect for birthday parties. Watson decorates the story with full-color, realistically detailed pictures that rely heavily on stars, feathers, butterflies, and flowers to set the mood of magic and mirth. The mainstream American family of the story is balanced by three eccentrically ethnic angels: one a white-haired male in patchwork, one a Japanese beauty, and one a small black child with cornrows. Fine quality paper and gold-leaf endpapers provide the glossy packaging for this lighthearted, sugar-coated bit of whimsy. --Shirley Wilton, Ocean County College, Toms River, NJ
Copyright 1990 Reed Business Information, Inc.

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Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 4-8
  
• School & Library Binding: 63 pages
• Publisher: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt P; 1st edition (September 1990)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0152343326
• ISBN-13: 978-0152343323
• Product Dimensions: 9 x 8 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 14.4 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars See all reviews (6 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #1,139,321 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

16 of 16 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars "Thoughtful and gentle...", July 2, 2000

By	Jo. (Portland, OR United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The High Rise Glorious Skittle Skat Roarious Sky Pie Angel Food Cake (Paperback)

I am an elementary school teacher and one of my students - an extremely thoughtful and insightful 7 year-old - gave me an angelfood cake (with this book) for an end-of-the-year gift. She told me to be careful when I eat the cake and to look for the surprise. I was finishing up my room cleaning and had a piece of the cake, but unfortunately, the rest of the cake went bad in the heat. I looked through the rest of the cake to find a thimble. Puzzled, I read the book and cried through the last part of it. For anyone who is wanting to show good wishes, love, luck, modern angels watching over you or just a TERRIBLY wonderful and sentimental gesture towards someone...Read this book, bake an angelfood cake with a thimble in it and give book and cake as a gift. My thimble is in my china cabinet next to my fine crystal and Hummell figurines - it has that much heartfelt value. If you are "angel phobic" or concerned about religious undertones - it really has none. No preaching involved, just simply a FEEL GOOD story.There's no rhyme or reason to the illustrations which are detailed, subtle, yet bright and the storyline is quite cleaver and unpredictable. But it is the meaning woven into the words and storyline that is honest, loving and genuine. One to treasure for generations!

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Beautiful Words, Beautiful Pictures, May 19, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: The High Rise Glorious Skittle Skat Roarious Sky Pie Angel Food Cake (Paperback)

I was given The High Rise Glorious Skittle Skat Roarious Sky Pie Angel Food Cake for my seventh birthday (which was about eight years ago) and it still has a special place on my bookshelf. Every few months, I take it down, read, and find something new in it. The story is sweet, innocent and capivating all at the same time. The intricate pictures are beautiful beyond words; they represent a merging of the real and imaginary. Every one, child or adult, should own this book. It is happiness in paperback.

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars High rise children's literature that transcends age, December 17, 1999

By	Susan Byers (Willits, CA USA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

This review is from: The High Rise Glorious Skittle Skat Roarious Sky Pie Angel Food Cake (Paperback)

What a perfect marriage of words and pictures! This is the story of a girl who wants to give her mother a birthday gift more precious than gold: something that blends love, nostalgia and magic with good cake. She is aided (and abetted) in this venture by her goofy, unwitting uncle, and a trio of the most endearing angels ever illustrated. (Check out how the oldest angel's socks don't match!) The finely drawn pictures are delightfully evocative and reward close inspection. The whole book soars with whimsy, glory, and love. A keepsake.