This book is lyrical and rhyming and ties into the Twelve Days of Christmas song. It's quite brilliant actually!! It makes it fun to read if you know the song. My kids were joining in and guessing what would come next! The illustrations are bright and whimsical - perfect for the holiday season. There's even a cake recipe at the end so you can make your own cake!! A fun Christmas tradition to add to your family this year!!

I love this book taking the traditional 12 days of Christmas and spicy get up. Still using all the 12 days of Christmas into baking a Christmas cake was so fun to read. My three-year-old absolutely enjoyed this book and I totally recommend it for Christmas for anyone that has children and wanting to grow their Christmas book collection.

What an adorable and festive story. I will admit that I did not know about the tradition of the cake on the Twelfth Night of Christmas but I really enjoyed learning about in this book.

I loved the way the Twelve Days of Christmas song was incorporated- it made it feel familiar and new, all at the same time.

The illustrations are gorgeous- the variety of animals that were baking were brilliant

This one made me feel so festive and i cannot wait to try to bake this cake!

Thank You to NetGalley for the arc.

Loved it! Incorporates The 12 Days of Christmas to make a 12th night cake. Even the animals get involved! Gorgeous illustrations. Perfect Christmas read.

An ingredient is added each day of the twelve days of Christmas to make a Christmas cake, and a recipe is included at the end. The story is cute, but the illustrations are the star of this book. So much colorful detail!

I received an electronic ARC from Quarto Publishing Group – Frances Lincoln Children's Books through NetGalley.
Charming take on the Twelve Days of Christmas. The various song participants bring the ingredients to make a massive Twelfth Night Cake for everyone to share together. Each day another part of the cake arrives finishing with the bean to be hidden within the batter. The illustrations are delightful to study and spot all the details. Barker captures the excitement of this time of year to life for younger readers. She includes a recipe for cupcakes and the lyrics and music to the original song at the end of the story. Making the cupcakes while reading about the ingredients would be a fun family activity.

The Big Christmas Bake

Read with my 5-year-old. My son enjoyed the pictures which accompanied the story. He enjoyed the Christmas theme. Looking for rhyming words throughout. He liked that each page had a small dedication. This book is aimed at younger children and would be a great book for Christmas time. However, when we were reading we did think the writing was a bit small and hard to see when on a dark background. We enjoy the recipes at the back of the book.

#NetGalley #bookstagram #bookreview #goodreads #youngreaders #thebigchristmasbake

I received an ARC of this book from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

This is really great children's books. The story is very engaging and would hold a child's interest well. And the pictures are really cute.

Cute holiday story. Many can connect with baking during the holidays. Will purchase but probably won’t make it to my read aloud list.

A different take on the Twelve Days of Christmas with many animals bringing the ingredients for a special cake. Not sure how many people are aware of the special twelfth day treat. If not, some may not pick up the book. The story itself is not complicated but the influx of so many animals could be overwhelming. Not sure whether or not this title would be popular either.
I received an advanced reader copy for free from NetGalley and am voluntarily leaving my review.

A lovely bright and festive cover is the introduction to a cheery rhyming story about making a Twelfth Night Cake. The traditional time of making a special cake to celebrate the end of Christmas is delightfully told in a style reflective of The Twelve Days if Christmas. The illustrations are eye-catching and amusing. The Christmas cupcake recipe at the end is child friendly(with adult supervision), not too complicated and the original Twelve Days of Christmas song is a nice addition. A lovely book and perfect for sharing with family or within a school or preschool setting. Thanks to NetGalley for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

~A sweet treat just in time for the winter holiday reading season~
Your senses will awaken with the bright colors & fun whimsical images of the illustrations that greet you upon opening this picture book. The tale starts, as the Twelve Days of Christmas always does, with the variety of animals that arrive for each day of the holiday season. But in this story, there is little that is as we have seen this traditional song presented in the past, the animals are lively and helpful, bringing the ingredients for a 12th Day Cake for the children that are preparing it.

Watch out for those Eight Maids a Milking...they brought the butter!! No, really! They brought tons of butter :) And the 12 Pipers Piping- they are really talented cake decorators. Who knew that all those years the song lyrics really meant that they were piping icing and marzipan on holiday cakes. It brings a whole new meaning to the tune!

Check out this adorable book and find out why they bake a bean in the cake-- the answer is a "royal" treat. And if you are craving a 12th Day Cake by the end of the book, there is a recipe in the back to bake your own.

Grateful to have received a digital copy of this book from NetGalley & Quarto Publishing Group – Frances Lincoln Children's Books, Happy Yak.

This book is gorgeous! Such a sweet Christmas story with a twist on a classic carol. I will 100% be gifting this book to many this holiday season. Beautiful illustrations, a sweet recipe in the back, as well as the lyrics to the original song. An instant Christmas classic!

Thank you to NetGalley for an advanced copy in exchange for an honest review.

The BIG Christmas Bake by Fiona Barker is adorably illustrated! The art is incredible and the story, endearing. This will be an amazing gift for any child this Christmas! A must have for every library.

I love The BIG Christmas Bake! It is a fun twist on the 12 Days of Christmas and is perfect to share during the holiday season.

"On the first day of Christmas,
it's time to start to bake.
Let's head into the kitchen
to make a Twelfth Night cake."


"The list of what we need is long!
Where shall we find it all?
A partridge brings dried fruit and says
he'll give some friends a call."

Let the cake-bake begin! Two doves bring flour, three ballooning hens baking powder, penguins bring sweet sugar, rabbits deliver candied peel, geese lay six tasty eggs, and graceful swans contribute vanilla, nutmeg and cloves just to name a few participants and their contributions.

After a dramatic drumroll the masterpiece is unveiled. It took twelve days to complete and the team is eager to taste the fruit of their labour.

This book is busy, festive, and joyful. The illustrations are vibrant, exquisitely detailed and pays homage to the wonderful Christmas season. The author includes the history of the Twelfth Night Cake, a Christmas Cupcake Recipe (complete with instructions), and The Original Twelve Days of Christmas Song at the end of book. This is an awesome book to add to your child's Christmas book collection and also to give as a Christmas gift. I highly, highly recommend it.

This children's book takes place after Christmas and follows the characters as they bake a cake.

It's very colourful and I think a lot of readers will love the counting down throughout the story. It's also great for anyone who loves to bake.

I found this a really cute book and definitely a good one to read as we head towards the festive season.

Although the rhymes were a bit clunky at times, I enjoyed this story of the twelve days of Christmas being told through the lens of baking, I personally didn’t know of the traditions behind the twelve days, and definitely didn’t realize there was a cake involved!

I would recommend this for younger readers who are enthusiastic about baking and cooking, and I can imagine this being the beginnings of a holiday tradition.

Your Christmas bookshelf needs this precious and adorable book! My almost 2 year old and I had a ball reading it together. So many fun rhymes and illustrations. I sang it like a song to her. What a special Christmas memory!

Thank you Netgalley for allowing me to review this ARC.

This story was a fun twist on the song 12 days of Christmas. I really enjoyed the guinea pigs decorating the cake. A cute story that gets you in the mood to do some Christmas baking. Luckily a recipe for Christmas cupcakes is right after the story so we can find out own queen or king of the twice night

This book tells the story of the 12 days of Christmas through a baking theme. I can see this book as a great addition to Christmas Eve boxes.

The graphics in this book are superb and perfect for early readers. Very colourful and engaging.

My six year old boy found the book easy to read. We enjoyed the cake recipes at the end and I felt this was a perfect way to introduce baking to the little ones!