BLAS Y EL CASTILLO DE ANI VERSARIO

by Claude Ponti

Claude Ponti’s nimble wordplay and punning, combined with his phantasmagorical and joyful illustrations, create an endearing gem of a book, bound to be a bedtime story favorite.

From one of the world’s most beloved children’s book authors comes a story of a high-spirited flock of friends building an unusual birthday cake. 
A rabble of soft, golden “chicklets” are awoken one morning to a startling they only have ten short days to prepare for their best friend Bertha Daye’s party. It’s time to get to work building a larger-than-life castle cake to house and feed the revelers. Made of chocolate scooped out of chocolate mines, “finer than fairy dust” flour from the hillsides, and fruit carried down twigs and stems in the forest, this will be the best—and kookiest—cake of all time. Oodles of distinctive chicklets fill every page, scurrying, fluttering, napping, tumbling, helping, and getting up to no good. When the party day arrives, guests pour into the pastry palace, many of them unmistakable characters from iconic stories’ past, offering a marvelous who’s-who of story-book history.
 

Genres: Picture Books, Childrens, France, International, Animals

44 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2004

About the author

Claude Ponti is a prolific author, painter, and illustrator, known for his humorous explorations of the nonsense world of dreams. His first picture book, Adele’s Album, was created to amuse his young daughter; he has since authored more than sixty children’s books. On a personal note, Claude says: "I’m left-handed; I prefer cats to dogs (they don’t lick people); and I’m not a vegetarian because I can’t stand the cry of the lettuce or the carrot wrenched from the earth." He also fondly remembers climbing trees as a young boy, looking for the best spot to sit and read a book. Claude Ponti currently divides his time between the French countryside (where there are many birds, such as pheasants) and Paris (where there are pigeons).

Reviews

[Reading_ Tamishly · Rating 4 out of 5]

Thank you, Archipelago and the author, for the advance reading copy.

This book took me by surprise. I haven't read a storybook with the illustrations taking over entirely for each page! And it's like an unbelievable dreamlike story for me when I opened the book.

The characters remind me so much of the minions! It's fun to see so many of the chicklets.

The story provides a good representation of how a community works in order to build something big and important.

An awesome read.

[Romain · Rating 3 out of 5]

Les poussins ont dix jours pour préparer la grande fête d’Anne Hiversère. Et il y a du boulot car tout ici est démesuré. Mais bon, ils sont très nombreux et ont un chef très compétent, nommé Blaise, pour les guider.

Vous le constaterez il faut beaucoup de choses pour construire ce château et les poussins ne sont pas au bout de leur peine. Mais vous comprendrez que le jeu en vaut la chandelle lorsque vous verrez la liste des invités. Ils sont si nombreux que vous ne parviendrez pas à tous les nommer. Claude Ponti a organisé cette superbe fête en l’honneur de tous les personnages qui ont marqué son enfance.

Un livre démesuré sur tous les plans à commencer par sa taille ! Il faudrait s’attarder plusieurs minutes sur chaque illustration pour tout voir – quant à ceux qui voudraient s’amuser à compter les poussins, je leur souhaite bien du courage. Les dessins et les couleurs sont magnifiques, ils valent à eux seul la lecture. Mais il serait dommage de ne pas suivre cette histoire tendrement loufoque – je préviens les allergiques aux jeux de mots, ils risquent d’avoir des boutons. Il n’y a pas d’âge pour développer son imagination et pour rêver, ce livre est là pour nous le rappeler.

Également publié sur mon blog.

[Theediscerning · Rating 5 out of 5]

I would start this by stating how unexpected it was to find this a whole seventeen years old in its native French, and only freshly translated. But that's to ruin the fact that everything here is unexpected – the humongous level of detail, the inventive word-play, and so on. Bertha Day, lucky girl (Anne Hiversere, in the original), is going to be given a gigantic, most delicious party cake – literally a cake that you can party in, it's that large. Over some very dynamic double-page spreads we see a whole gallimaufry of baby chicks and their endeavours to collect all the ingredients for the cake, and making it, all under the watch of one of their number who wears a bright red Satan mask. Of course. Two of them float about doing a kind of endless "Who's on first" routine, while others are sometimes picked out by the script, which is restricted to three lines at the bottom of the large pages. The story isn't the world's best, but it's much more about poring over, paying attention to, and just revelling in the old-fashioned, all-out bonkersness of it at times. It's Lear, it's Heath Robinson, it's this it's that – and it's all well worth exploring. The final party scene is a sample-heavy survey of a century of child-friendly characters, and is just joyous. Buy it for young people – just be prepared to want to savour that which you were unprepared for yourself, at least once.

[Agosto2010 fermare l'esecuzione di Ahmadreza Djala · Rating 5 out of 5]

Mia figlia lo ha adorato.

[Alexander Asay · Rating 5 out of 5]

In this oversized, color-saturated picture book, a community of fluffy, golden "chicklets" led by the masked Blaze have exactly ten days to plan and construct a birthday celebration for their friend, Bertha Daye. Their mission? To create an edible, inhabitable castle cake that would be the envy of any party.

The narrative is a whirlwind of activity, showcasing the chicklets in various stages of preparation, from gathering ingredients like chocolate from mines and flour "finer than fairy dust" from the hillsides to the grand reveal of the castle cake. Ponti's illustrations are a visual feast, packed with so much detail that readers could spend hours spotting characters from other stories, including Waldo and a plethora of pop culture icons, within the pages.

The book is a testament to Ponti's mastery of wordplay and surreal visual storytelling. With each page turn, readers are treated to an explosion of color and imagination, where the chicklets engage in all sorts of antics, from napping to helping, to getting up to no good. The dialogue and descriptions are playful, sometimes verging on the nonsensical, but always delightful.

The climax of the book is a two-page spread of the party itself, where the cake becomes a palace for revelers. This spread alone is a "Where's Waldo?" of literature, with characters from classic tales and modern stories mingling in the celebration. The book encourages active participation, inviting readers to search for their favorite characters among the crowd.

Blaze and the Castle Cake for Bertha Daye is not just a story; it is an experience, a joyful dive into a world where creativity knows no bounds. An ideal pick for classroom storytelling, this book is perfect for sparking imagination, encouraging exploration of text, and appreciating the art of illustration.

A visual and narrative delight, this book is bound to become a bedtime favorite for those who love to lose themselves in the magic of a good story.

[V · Rating 5 out of 5]

Ponti is a genius and Waters and Kerlidou are brilliant translators. T and I can't get enough of Ponti's art and unique storytelling! T was delighted by Blaze and the Castle Cake for Bertha Daye, poured over illustrations, copied two chicklets' joke insufferably, and read this repeatedly. I found him more than once stomach-down on the floor, examining one page in particular, the one that features a vast array of illustrated characters from past decades. He was busy with his own personal seek-and-find activity, identifying all the characters he knew and where he knew them from. Keep in mind that T is moving past picture books (you pretty much see every picture book we read at this point). Ponti, and this book in particular, is one artist whose appeal knows no age limit. I, too, was charmed by the illustrations and enjoyed seeing old characters. I was tickled by the story, which is incredibly cute. (The chicklets have to bake an epic cake for an upcoming party.) The world of the chicklets stretches the audience's imagination while prompting readers enjoy not only the story but also analyze the chicklets' society and reflect on how the media we consume shapes our perceptions as we grow. Taken together, the art and story show a mind-bending creativity and attention to detail, as well as a keen critique of society.

I wholeheartedly recommend Blaze and the Castle Cake for Bertha Daye!

[Mladoria · Rating 4 out of 5]

Blaise et les poussins préparent le château d'Anne Hiversaire. Bien des préparatifs pour une fête extraordinaire.

Un grand album coloré et foisonnant de détails que l'on prend plaisir à feuilleter en tant qu'adulte tant les références sont nombreuses et éclectiques. L'antépénultième double page nous présente notamment une abondance de personnages de tous horizons (BD, albums pour enfants, films, dessins animés) sur laquelle on passe plus d'une heure à repérer chaque personnage et à se remémorer les souvenirs liés à chacun.

Les rappels sont nombreux à travers les pages, le langage est hilarant de néologismes, les graphismes doux et tout en rondeur.

C'est Ponti, c'est mignon et recherché. On en prend plein les yeux et on en redemande. Génial album à lire et relire pour toujours plus de découvertes.

[Skip · Rating 3 out of 5]

A truly oversized book, recently translated from the original French about preparations of an amazing, gigantic, and scrumptious birthday cake by hundreds of baby chicks for a party for Bertha Day. The double-spreads are eye-catching and leave plenty of details for children to look for, including the organizer (who wears a red Satan mask), two chicks in a boat reciting the "Pete and Repeat" joke, and another with a mushroom over its head. Over the course of the book, they gather the ingredients, and then there is the magnificent cake and party attendees, from all over cartoon land (look for famous guests.) Some clever word play, but a better idea than story. 3.5 stars, rounded down.

[Eileen · Rating 5 out of 5]

5 *stars*

Since I have a small reader growing up at home, I definitely started looking at children's books. I want to read them before I pass it on to the little one. This book is very cute and delightful. The illustrations are a bit like "Where's Waldo", where there's a lot to see on the page, the only difference being that there are small golden "chicklets" here.
In life, this book illustration is definitely much more beautiful than from the Kindle!

Thank you!

Big thanks to Netgalley for providing this book!

[Lucille · Rating 5 out of 5]

I haven’t read this recently unfortunately, I just remembered it’s existence
This book was never available at my local library as a child and it was my own personal holy grail. We had some of the other Claude Ponti books at home (l’île des Zertes I remember quite well) but all I could think of were these huge tantalizing drawings of cake. I managed to read it a few times in the end but it will never be enough

[Jen (Remembered Reads) · Rating 4 out of 5]

Blaze and the Castle Cake for Bertha Daye has all of the full-page ultra-detailed art that one expects from Claude Ponti. Reading this along with a young child, you could spend hours looking at every little detail - the illustrations of the story, but also the hidden jokes, the references to other characters, and just the tiny flourishes that make up the backgrounds.

The translation, by Alyson Waters and Margot Kerlidou valiantly attempts to keep Ponti's word play. Unfortunately, keeping both the meaning and the play is always a challenge, and some of the choices land a bit awkwardly down to the title itself ("Bertha" just doesn't have the neutrality of "Anne" even if it keeps the birthday/anniversaire pun). But that's a minor complaint with a book like this where the art is 90% of the reason to pick it up.

[Randy · Rating 5 out of 5]

This bizzare story has elements of WHERE'S WALDO, MINIONS, and Salvador Dali. Visually, it's an overwhelming book that one could spend hours analzying to fully appreciate Ponti's tiny details. French culture often appreciates fun characters more than plot, so the English translation won't appeal to everyone--but for readers young and old who enjoy being emersed in a surreal, silly story, it doesn't get much better than this!

[Luminița Apostu Toma · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fără pereche această minunată carte de explorat, citit, descifrat și amuzat. Cum să faci o prăjitură surpriză pentru câteva sute de invitați, dar nu oricare invitați, ci cei mai cei din toată literatura pentru copii din toată lumea? Sunt cu toții păstrați pentru ultima pagină, oare reușiți să nu trageți cu ochiul?

O echipă numeroasă de pui dirijată de conducătorul lor Vlasi are misiunea specială de a pregăti o prăjiturnă pentru Zina Ștere. Rețeta nu e grea, dar ingredientele trebuie alese cu mare grijă și pregătite cu strictețe, mai ales când echipa are câțiva lucrători care-și găsesc mereu altceva de făcut. E loc și timp de explorat și găsit toți mușteriii ascunși și la a doua, a treia sau a patra lectură și scanare prin ilustrațiile bogate. Copiii adoră să-i găsească pe toți.

Pagină cu pagină, traducerea românească ultra-delicioasă și inspirată te lasă cu gura până la urechi. Carmen Tiderle și-a lăsat amprenta discret și teribil de amuzant asupra combinațiilor de cuvinte și sensuri nebănuite din textul francezului Claude Ponti.

Pentru noi această carte este un triplu win-win-win, având un bebe fascinat de puiuți, o amatoare de prăjituri și alta de zâne. (Un pic de decepție aici, căci Zina nu e chiar o zână, dar cine se poate prinde chiar din titlu de asemenea poantă?)

[Yoi · Rating 5 out of 5]

Un de mes livres d'enfance préférés. A relire et à relire...

[Agris Fakingsons · Rating 3 out of 5]

..dīvains stāsts par atraktīviem cāļiem :)

[Camille · Rating 5 out of 5]

Je viens de le retrouver dans mes affaires d'enfant. Claude Ponti est si précieux...

[Andréa]

Note: I accessed a digital review copy of this book through Edelweiss.

[Ani Versario · Rating 5 out of 5]

Because of this, I have my nickname.

[Bobby · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great humor.

[Syntha Green · Rating 2 out of 5]

Something is definitely lost in translation here though the translator did a great job with a book with whimsical names

[Nichole Stratton · Rating 2 out of 5]

Really, really, really weird. But kind of fun word play & picture searches.

[Chloé · Rating 5 out of 5]

Les rampes d’escaliers c’est des éclairs au chocolat !

[Teme · Rating 4 out of 5]

Des souvenirs d’enfant qui ressurgissent. La réminiscence pas que dans le dabocolo et l’injera mais aussi à travers les dessins de Ponti <3

[Aija · Rating 3 out of 5]

Liela, krāsaina, dinamiska. Mazajam lasītājam noteikti patiks pētīt cālēnu darbošanos, sameklēt Blēzu un citus tekstā minētos tēlus. Es lasot sajutu šokolādes garšu mutē.

[Variane · Rating 4 out of 5]

Claude Ponti, c’est un univers à lui tout seul. Et cet album en est une magnifique démonstration. Ce livre, comme tous ses albums, déborde de créativité, de poésie, de malice, et de tendresse. À chaque lecture, je découvre une nouvelle subtilité, un clin d’œil, un jeu de mots, un détail visuel que je n’avais pas vu la fois précédente.

C’est un vrai trésor pour les enfants, mais aussi pour les adultes. Ponti ne parle jamais “à hauteur d’enfant” dans le sens réducteur du terme — il parle avec eux, il joue, il invente, il tisse. Et les grands y trouvent mille raisons de sourire, de s’émerveiller, parfois même de s’émouvoir.

Avec ma fille, on ne s’en lasse jamais. On le lit, on le relit, et on en redemande. Ce livre est bien plus qu’un album jeunesse : c’est une œuvre d’art, un poème visuel, une célébration de l’imaginaire. À mettre entre toutes les mains, petites et grandes.

[églantine · Rating 5 out of 5]

c'est Elise qui l'a lu assise sur mon lit et moi par terre, avec des petites lampes, bougies et notre playlist autour omg un des meilleurs moments de ma vie
je crois je suis vraiment en train de tomber een amour avec cette personne