Jamila uses her Nani's old recipe book to bake a cake for the cake race, and comes up against Jasper, who claims to be the best baker in town. A fun book with great illustrations.

A great story for developing confidence in young readers with short chapters and a fun plot. Young Jamila learns about The Great Cake Race at the park one day and decides to enter. The first problem she hits is that she doesn't know how to bake! But after a few false starts she discovers that her much missed grandmother can give her all the help she needs. Despite the hurdles in her way, including a boastful former winner, Jamila is determined to be joyful and play her part in The Great Cake Race.
This will be a a great book to add to my classroom library for those just developing the confidence to read longer stories.

Lively and energetic telling of an unrealistic event for the under-tens. Jamila is one of just four entrants to the village cake race – an event that might be won by baking speedily, running with your baked cake through the park, and/or the taste of it afterwards, but it’s very hard to tell quite what the rules are – but she’s never baked in her life. Can inspiration from her dead gran help nudge her to success? There’s drama, there are evil, cheating adults, there is a multi-ethnic emphasis in the cast and the illustrations, and there’s also a lot to prove this is only for those younger, less discerning readers. Still, for them it’s fine, and is designed to give young book users a small sense of achievement, which this does with icing and a cherry on top.

The Great Cake Race
Jamila wants to bake a cake for a race but struggles to think of an original recipe - until Dad finds Nani's cake recipes. A book that is fast paced and easy to indulge in. Great illustrations that brings the book alive.
Also Dad, in the book, is so me - 4 large eggs is so very much like 3 small ones! This is why baking is not my forte!
Age 6 upwards.

Jamila misses her nani and those wonderful moments they shared together but when she enters a local race that involves baking a cake. Those special times together inspire her to make some spectacular and truly unique. But will she be able to triumph in the race when the town's best baker is waiting to reclaim his title?

A charming, humorous story with a dazzling main character who will delight young readers. The illustrations are brilliant and are a perfect fit for this unconventional tale. Jamila’s story is perfect for children that are moving away from picture books and are getting stuck into being more grown up with chapter books. It’s a big bundle of fun.

I guarantee that you will want to make some marvellous cakes when you turn the last page!

What a super book. As soon as I read the blurb and realised it was about cake, I knew this was one I had to read and I consumed it from start to finish in one sitting. Everyone will find something in the story that they can relate to. As a short book, this would be perfect for any child who is just starting to explore chapter books on their own. The illustrations of Jamila and her family are the perfect accompaniment. I will definitely be buying a copy for our school library.

Thank you so much to Bloomsbury and Netgalley for the ebook to read and review.

Jamila sees a poster for a cake race and wants to enter, then the fun starts learning to bake without her Nani. Her dad doesn’t really know what to do and her mum isn’t that good. Then her Nani’s recipe books arrive and Jamila knows exactly what to do. At the contest only four entered and one man has won every year and plans on it again.

What a precious and exciting story, I love that even though Jamila didn’t know how to bake a cake without her Nani she was determined and excited to enter the cake race. She worked hard to learn and worked even harder at the race so she could win, she had her Nani in her mind the whole time which was really adorable.

I love the concept of this with a small town having a fun whimsical race with cakes, it sounded really complex running round all the playground equipment. It was so entertaining reading how they were all struggling on the equipment.

The illustrations in this book are so cute and I loved looking at them and seeing the race come alive and all of Jamila cakes and the contestants cakes come to fruition. It’s a really adorable and utterly fun read and I do highly recommend it, it’s funny, it unique, it’s entertaining. It also has additional sections at the back to further what was read in the book which is great.