Welcome to Perfect Picture Book Friday, Everyone!
It’s birthday month here on Blueberry Hill!
I am not making this up. We have 7 family birthdays in April, plus 5 of my best friends have April birthdays as well!
So what better time to share a delightful book about baking?
Title: The Bakery Dragon and the Fairy Cake
Written & Illustrated By: Devin Elle Kurtz
ISBN#: 978-0593710999
Publisher: Knopf Books For Young Readers, October 7, 2025
Suitable For Ages: 2-8
Themes/Topics: making mistsakes, perseverance/determination, trying something new
text and illustration copyright Devin Elle Kurtz 2025, Knopf Books
Opening:
“Like all dragons, Ember loved gold.
Warm, toasty, tasty gold.”
text and illustration copyright Devin Elle Kurtz 2025, Knopf Books
Brief Synopsis: [from the publisher] “Ember is in charge while the baker takes a trip and he’s excited to show what he can do! When an opinionated fairy princess swoops in demanding a cake, he eagerly agrees. So what if he’s only baked bread before? How hard can it be?”
text and illustration copyright Devin Elle Kurtz 2025, Knopf Books
Links To Resources: Easy Bread-In-A Bag Recipe you can do with young children!; cake baking with kids
text and illustration copyright Devin Elle Kurtz 2025, Knopf Books
text and illustration copyright Devin Elle Kurtz 2025, Knopf Books
Why I Like This Book: Ember (definitely one of the most adorable dragons you’ll ever see!) has great confidence in his ability to bake bread. And why not? He has tons of experience, and the feedback from his tasters is always positive! So when Princess Turnip asks him to bake a birthday cake for the Fairy Queen he is sure he can do it, even though he has never heard of birthday cake bread before. Princess Turnip’s attempts to explain what a birthday cake is lead to hilarious misunderstsandings – a little like Amelia Bedelia in that Ember misinterprets what Princess Turnip means – leading to one disastrous attempt after another. Just when Ember’s confidence has fallen to an all-time low, and he’s ready to admit defeat, Princess Turnip whisks him off to the library, reminding him that what he lacks is not ability, but a recipe! This time, Ember produces an actual cake. And he enjoys the experience so much that the little bakery expands to include cakes as well as bread. Young readers will come away from the story inspired to bake and with the understanding that everyone needs a little help to learn something new. The illustrations, many with beautifully saturated color and others in lovely shades of yellow and gold are engaging and appealing (and will probably make you want cake 😊) A fun title for any book shelf!
I hope you enjoy it as much as I do 😊
text and illustration copyright Devin Elle Kurtz 2025, Knopf Books
For the complete list of books with resources, please visit Perfect Picture Books.
PPBF folks, please add your titles and post-specific blog links (and any other info you feel like filling out 😊) to the form below so we can all come see what fabulous picture books you’ve chosen to share this week!
Have a wonderful weekend, everyone! 😊
Susanna Leonard Hill 
The illustrations and colours are amazing! How could you not fall in love with Ember immediately. And I love the story of persistence and learning.
Me too, Jodie. And I love the art. So many stunning pages I wanted to put them all in the post 🙂
This is an adorable book! Glad you featured it today. Great message for kids with a sweet little dragon!
I know! Isn’t he SO cute, Kim? 🙂
This book and the illustrations look adorable! I love the recipe links. What a great way to engage kids with a story and follow-up activity!
The bread in a bag one looks extra fun, Mary! I haven’t tried it yet, but I probably will!
I love Ember – and what a sweet story! Baking is not a piece of cake – it’s a science (and art).
That is so true, Sue! Delicious science and art 🙂
Ember is one of my favorite characters! I love the art and the story.
I love him, too, Christy! I discovered him in this book with my granddaughter, and only realized when I was finding details and writing the post that he has an earlier story I haven’t read!
The Bakery Dragon is so good, but I didn’t know there was a follow up!
I have to go back and find the original so I can read that one!
absolutely enchanting – hope this little dragon has more adventures
He’s already had another one, Robin – this is actually his second book! – but I haven’t read the first one!
“How hard can it be?” is always a “recipe” for disaster, LOL. But libraries to the rescue! Yay! I love this sweet dragon and the entire warm color palette. Thanks for the rec, Susanna!
I know, right, Jilanne? Famous last words hahaha
Oh, please let me escape to this bakery with dragons and cakes! Love the vibrant colors in the illustrations, too! Thanks, Devin and Susanna! My local library can get this book and I can’t wait to read!
I hope you love it, Mona! It’s so cute!
What fun! And perfect for kids who love to help in the kitchen. Enjoy all of the birthdays!
Thanks, Patricia! ❤
This is such a wondeful book!
I agree, Cathy! So cute, and such fun, but with a good underlying theme too!
I can smell this book! Yum! Very delicious and the illustrations are superb. Congratulations! 🩷
Haha! I agree, Robin! Just the word “bakery” conjures up all those delightful scents! 🙂