I Really Want the Cake - Story Snug

I REALLY WANT the Cake by Simon Philip & Lucia Gaggiotti

I REALLY WANT the Cake is a picture book that most readers will be able to identify with! How do you react when you see and smell a freshly baked chocolate cake but are told that you can’t eat it? Could you resist it? That’s the problem that this story’s little heroine is faced with!

The Story: A little girl and her dog follow their noses and discover the delicious chocolate cake that Mum has baked. But there’s also a note to say that she mustn’t eat it! The girl and her dog keep themselves busy with other activities but then one small lick of the cake soon turns into more…

This energetic, bouncy story is written in the first person and has a repetitive rhyme which moves the story forward in a way that really makes you empathise with the little girl’s experience.

I Really Want the Cake spread - Story Snug

Chaos ensues when she decides to try the cake followed by even more chaos as she tries to make amends for not listening to Mum!

We love this feisty little heroine and her doggy sidekick who takes part in all the little girls’ games, including dressing up. Lucia Gaggiotti’s illustrations are full of humour and the girl and the dog’s expressions brilliantly portray the anguish that they go through as they try to resist the cake. Our favourite spreads show the chaos and madness that ensue when the girl decides to bake another cake, the array of ingredients that she chooses and the mess that she creates in the kitchen make us laugh. We don’t see Mum’s reaction but we’re pretty sure she won’t be laughing when she sees the chocolatey hand and paw prints everywhere!

The rhyming text in this story is easy to read aloud and coupled with the humour in the pictures it’s a very amusing read. If you are planning to bake with your child I REALLY WANT the Cake is a fun story which can stimulate discussion about how it is done and the ingredients and utensils that you use when baking.

Author: Simon Philip / Illustrator: Lucia Gaggiotti

I REALLY WANT the Cake competition - Story Snug

I REALLY WANT the Cake has been shortlisted for The Waterstones Children’s Book Prize 2018 and Templar Publishing are celebrating with a competition. Create your own cake and share it on social media on Saturday March 3rd to be in with a chance of winning an amazing afternoon tea!

I REALLY WANT the cake recipe - Story Snug

Thank you Templar Publishing for sending a review copy of this delicious book. Here’s the recipe if you’d like to bake the cake from the story.


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8 responses to “I REALLY WANT the Cake by Simon Philip & Lucia Gaggiotti”


  1. Nikki avatar

    Personally I love the smell of a homemade freshly baked cake! But I also love decorating it too! I really couldn’t resist taking a slice, with a cuppa and some crocheting lol! Looks like a lovely read to be honest! One I would definitely stick on my to buy list this year


    1. Catherine avatar

      I really love to bake but I’ve never really got the hang of decorating cakes. It’s a great book to read while drinking tea and eating cake 🙂


  2. Jayne @ Sticky Mud and Belly Laughs avatar

    What a lovely book! There is no way that I would resist chocolate cake. I think my boys would have a cheeky taste as well 😉

    Thanks so much for sharing with #MMBC x


    1. Catherine avatar

      Chocolate cake isn’t easy to resist but at least the little girl tries to make amends 🙂


  3. Louise (Little Hearts, Big Love) avatar

    That sounds like a fun book to read. A freshly baked chocolate cake is quite hard to resist though – I’m not surprised the little girl couldn’t manage it! 🙂 #triedtested


    1. Catherine avatar

      I’m sure that the majority of us would find chocolate cake hard to resist! It’s such a clever idea to base a story on a simple and familiar situation 🙂


  4. Kim Carberry avatar

    Aww! What a cute book. It sounds like a lot of fun. I don’t think I could resist a freshly baked cake. hehehe


    1. Catherine avatar

      A freshly baked CHOCOLATE cake would be really hard to resist 🙂