EDIT:

Just made the Peppermint Brownies from the recipe in the back of this book, which earned it an extra motherfucking star. Other authors can take their interesting plots and well-developed characters and shove them right up their snooty asses.

These brownies are fucking awesome. They are, hands down, the best brownies I have ever had. And I am something of a fuckwit in the kitchen, a regular Sarah Palin of baking (as you will see from my tip).

Tip: When making the frosting for the brownies, be More...

I may have read this in some kind of melancholy mood, or perhaps it's just that I was promised specifically that this book was not sad, but I found it VERY SAD and sort of emotionally taxing. "But I don't understand! What message am I supposed to take away from this book?" I cried out ten minutes after finishing. "You aren't supposed to take away anything," my seven-year-old niece said calmly. "It's just a book about Cupcake and his friend Eggplant." Which is possibly true. But I thought it had More...

This is the story of Cupcake and his best friend eggplant. Cupcakes runs a bakery and plays drums in a band. When Eggplant tells Cupcake he is travelling to Turkey to meet the world famous chef Turkish Delight, Cupcake just has to meet her, too! But he’s not sure how he can raise enough money for his plane ticket. Eggplant encourages him to try other ways to sell his baked goods, and suddenly Cupcake is filled with inspiration – he sells carrot cake at the Farmers Market, peppermint brownies on More...

This is a neat graphic novel that would appeal to children who either struggle with reading or do not enjoy reading because it consists of mostly illustrations in the form of a comic book. Varon writes and illustrates this story about a cupcake and an eggplant that help each other with tasks that are too difficult for them to do alone. Cupcake owes a bake shop and must work hard to raise money for a plane ticket for a chance to meet a famous chef who becomes his inspiration in creating new recip More...

Bake Sale is a book unlike any other that I've read. It's a graphic novel about Cupcake, a drummer who owns a baked goods store, and who is best friends with Eggplant. Eggplant has a famous chef aunt that Cupcake is dying to meet- and Cupcake forsakes her friends and hobbies to work hard enough to save up for the trip to Turkey to meet the famous aunt. But Cupcake learns along the way that forsaking your friends and hobbies may not be the best option.

I have to say, I was skeptical of this book. More...

Cupcake works hard running his own bakery and plays in a band on the side. He is intrigued when he learns his best friend, Eggplant, is planning a trip to Turkey. Upon learning that Eggplant will see his idol Turkish Delight on his travels, Cupcake is determined to come along. Being the owner of his own bakery does not leave Cupcake with a lot of extra spending money, so he has to be creative. Cupcake takes a leave from the band, attempts to make fortune cookies, sells cupcakes at the park, carr More...

I borrowed a copy of this graphic novel from my library; it was a cute book that I enjoyed reading with my son. It wasn't awe-inspiring or anything just a cute book about running a bakery and friendship.

Cupcake runs a bakery and is dying to meet his baking idol Turkish Delight. When his friend Eggplant says he is going to Turkey to meet his aunt Cupcake thinks it is the perfect time to make his lifelong dream come true. Cupcake works very hard to make extra money to make his dream of meeting Tur More...

I really enjoy Sara Varon's books and her art style (even if Robot Dreams made me a bit sad!) I love her artwork because she really knows how to put emotion into her characters and it makes the story come to life. Sure, talking food isn't real, but I believe it with Sara Varon's art.

Bake Sale is an adorably funny book about friendship. Cupcake discovers that he didn't need to travel far to find the answers he was searching for. The artwork is adorably cute and the story of friendship is a nice More...

Super, super cute graphic novel! I'm not even a big eggplant fan, but I love that one of the main characters is one! In fact, I was tickled just staring at all of the food-related characters involved. One page has a chicken leg walking his pet dog! Fantastic!!

So, the artwork appeals to me, along with Varon's color palette. Beyond the food characters, the artwork, and the cuteness of it all, the story is all about food! Cupcake has fallen into a baking rut and seeks some inspiration to bring his More...

Is it just me, or is there something strange and cannibalistic about a cupcake selling zucchini bread to sentient vegetables? Or a package of sugar buying and eating brownies? And we're not even going to discuss the eggplant musician who eats reuben sandwiches...This graphic novel is fascinating, but strange.
If you completely ignore the surreal characters, this is a very sweet [only partially a pun] story about pursuing your dreams and enjoying yourself along the way. Cupcake is a baker who only More...

This graphic novel is completely adorable. Cupcake is a baker and he feels a little bit stagnant in the kitchen lately. Like he's making the same food over and over and losing his creativity. So he starts looking for inspiration and believes he will get it by meeting Turkish Delight, the world class baker. However it turns out that maybe he should be thinking closer to home.

I love this book because it works on sooo many levels and the illustration style is just so attractive to me. I also thinks More...

Cupcake runs a bakery, and has a pretty sweet life (har har) - he has great friends like Eggplant, and he loves playing drums in the band. Things get even better when he learns that Eggplant has a personal connection to Turkish Delight, a master baker. The two friends embark on a mission to raise enough money for both of them to fly to Turkey and meet Turkish Delight. Cupcake quits the band so that he has extra time to sell his baked good at local events and venues, and finally scrapes together More...

You know those moods you have sometimes, when you feel so fragile and vulnerable that your psyche can be bruised by the tiniest suspicion of criticism? When every new day, hour, and minute just seems like another opportunity to fail?

I don't know of any antidote, but you can alleviate the symptoms for a while with a graphic novel like Bake Sale.

Cupcake owns a bakery, where he creates scrumptious, award-winning desserts. When he's not at work, he plays the drums in a band and hangs out with his be More...

2013-2014 Texas Bluebonnet Award Master List
Lexile: 650

The Texas Library Association and is co-sponsored by the Children's Roundtable and the Texas Association of School Librarians, both of the Texas Library Association from suggestions from librarians, teachers, parents, students, and others. Students in grades 3-6 vote in January for the winner.

This story is simple, and I don't find it an outstanding book.
In fact, I am not exactly sure how it got onto the TBBA master list. That being said, I More...

Just as the title and cover suggest, this is a comic about a cupcake who bakes cupcakes, and has an eggplant friend. The plot is incredibly simple and straightforward. It talks about a cupcake who wishes to raise money by selling cupcakes, in order to pay for a flight ticket to visit his favorite baker of all time. Amongst the pastel colors and cute illustrations, the comic actually delves into the process of creating different types of cupcakes, and even how to make edible flowers to decorate t More...

I read this book over my lunch break--well, 1/2 my lunch break; it's short--and upon immediately finishing it, I decided I didn't really like it. A book about a cupcake who sells cupcakes for other anthropomorphic food items to eat?! That's weird! A cupcake who plays drums in a band with an avocado and an eggplant, a cupcake whose best friend is an eggplant? I think I had some trouble getting into these foodie characters. This book just seems to lack the pizzazz and heart that "Robot Dreams" has More...

Cupcake owns-surprise!-a bakery. He's creative with his baked goods and lives a full life running his shop, playing drums in a band, and being friends with Eggplant(yes! this is a world of vegetables living like humans). When Eggplant mentions that he's planning a trip to Turkey, and that one of his relatives is Turkish Delight, the renowned baker, Cupcake has stars in his eyes. He begins working overtime to save up for a plane ticket to accompany Eggplant on the trip. But when Eggplant is laid More...

Sara Varon's books, like Peanuts cartoons, are deceptively cute, but strike me as melancholy and existential. Whom among us cannot relate when Cupcake finds his daily routine stale? When he tries something new, pins his hopes on an exciting future adventure, it's so discourgaging to see him sacrifice some of the activities he enjoyed only to have his hopes dashed. And what an emotional journey as he picks up the pieces and hopes anew!

Plus the characters are HYSTERICAL. I loved spotting the hotdo More...

I work as a Children's Librarian and just got this book in with the 2013-2014 Texas Bluebonnet Books (an award given out for exceptional books). I would absolutely recommend this graphic novel to not only kids, but to fans of Jeffery Brown or Scott Pilgrim.

The city setting made me long for the life of coffee shops, apartment living, and walking about that Cupcake has. The setting not only drew me in, but the struggles that the characters had to deal with made me feel nostalgic. Emotions aren't s More...

Bake Sale is a really cute book!!! (Well, it's actually a graphic novel but, anyway)It's about a cupcake named Cupcake and his best friend Eggplant. Cupcake owns a bakery called Sweet Tooth Bakery where he makes coffee and other treats. (He even bakes cupcakes!) Cupcake and Eggplant are also in a band with a few other foods. Cupcake plays the drums and Eggplant plays the trombone. The band performs at special parades in New York City. (They live in New York City) Eggplant was going to visit his More...

Bake Sale is the children's story, told in graphic form, of Cupcake and his best friend Eggplant. Despite his dessert form, Cupcake leads a fairly normal life: he owns a bakery, struggles with work-life balance, and dreams of meeting his idol, Turkish Delight. When Eggplant invites Cupcake along on a trip to Turkey, Cupcake begins a series of bake sales to raise the funds. Real life intrudes, however, when Eggplant loses his job and can no longer afford the trip himself. The two friends then hav More...

This is a really cute graphic novel about two friends cupcake and eggplant. All the characters in the book are food items. Cupcake runs a bakery and Eggplant works for a painting company. When Eggplant decides to go visit his Aunt Aubergine in Turkey to celebrate her new book being published Cupcake decides to come too so he can visit his cooking idol Turkish Delight (who is Aunt Aubergine's business partner). Cupcake comes up with new recipes and works really hard to save extra money for the tr More...

I thought this was a very cute book and am really interested in trying out the recipes. It's funny because some of the illustrations in the book make the idea of cooking a lot more do-able for me. I am normally a very academic just give me the instructions type of person but with cooking I am a mess and the illustrations are helpful. I enjoyed going through the book and looking at all of the pictures. I enjoyed the little jokes and puns (and potato racism). I noticed that many people classify it More...

This was really not at all what I expected, but as it turns out, that wasn't a bad thing. One of the most subtle graphic novels I have ever read, Bake Sale follows Cupcake as she/he/it goes through life. Cupcake owns a bakery, which is strange and slightly grizzly (if you really think about it) in and of itself... a cupcake making cupcakes and other assorted pastries for public consumption. Anyway, things are fine until best friend Eggplant mentions a trip to Turkey where Cupcake could quite pos More...

Just because it looks like a book, maybe you shouldn't read it like a book. It's a story with imaginative characters (a cupcake with a cherry for a hat who is best friends with a eggplant). It has a fun setting (a world where a chicken drumstick can walk a dog, a potato can play the drums, and a can of soda can order from a bakery). It just doesn't have much of a conflict or story. And the book just ends in an odd spot.

Maybe you should read it more like a Calvin & Hobbes story. There's no ma More...

I wouldn't have expected it, really, but my 5.5 year old daughter LOVES this book. I think, ultimately, she is just really fascinated by the authentic details of the ordinary lives of grown-ups in the city. She likes to hear me read the wording on the signs in the bakery ("Specials: nothing is special today"), and loves the scene where cupcake's wrapper starts to peel in the Turkish baths ("how embarrassing!"). The fact that the main character is a pink cupcake (and all the other characters are More...

A cute little book about Cupcake, her bakery, and her best friend Eggplant. It's a fun story, told in graphic novel form, that is simple and has a great message about friendship. As a bonus there are a lot of fun recipes included.

I didn't like how the book just ended, almost on a cliffhanger. I flipped through the last few pages again to make sure I didn't miss something, that's how abrupt the ending way. I'm hoping that means there will be a sequel, or that this is the beginning of a series of More...

01 February 2013

Rating: * * * * 1/2

Bake Sale is a sweet story about Cupcake, who has a simplistic life that I find enviable. He owns a charming bakery and spends his spare time playing in a band with his best friend, Eggplant. Life seems perfect.

When Eggplant announces he will be going to visit his chef Aunt Aubergine back home in Turkey, Cupcake discovers Aunt Aubergine is friends with his longtime idol, Turkish Delight. Eggplant invites Cupcake to come on the trip with him, and that's when Cu More...

This book is so freaking adorable too!!! This book is a graphic novel about a cupcake and an eggplant who are friends. Cupcake has a bakery and is in a band. He seems to be struggling in the beginning of the book and realizes that solving his problems isn't going to do any good by visiting some cupcake genius in another country. His problems can be solved at home by working with his best friend in the bakery :)


This book is a very easy read. I read this book in 20 minutes because I found myself l More...