Max Makes a Cake Hardcover – January 28, 2014

Very cute book. We usually have at least one Passover birthday in our house each year, and this gives the kids a cute idea for a Passover "cake" that they can make themselves (with a bit of a mess).It's a nice reminder to little kids that they can do some things by themselves.Our kids ages 2-6 enjoyed it.

My grandsons (whose mother's birthday happens to fall on Passover) thoroughly enjoyed this book. Max is a truly charming and endearing little guy.

Meet Max, who wants to bake a surprise Passover birthday cake for his mom. Max is a big boy, he can almost tie his shoes, and he even knows the four questions for Passover in Hebrew and English. But everyone knows that baking a cake during Passover is not so easy and one must get really creative. So Max gets to work, only he really needs the help of his dad to pull this off. But dad is too busy with Max’s fussy baby sister and so Max decides to take matters into his own hands. And that is exactly what Max does, starting with the frosting first, just in case dad makes it down in time to help.“Why is this cake different from all other cakes?” asks Max at the end of the story. The author ties this question in beautifully with the importance of the Four Questions during the Passover Seder. This is a sweet and clever story about baking a cake with lots and lots of matzah as well as capturing a moment when a young boy realizes he can be independent. The author, Michelle Edwards, includes Max’s ingenious cake recipe along with a very brief description of the Passover Story.Illustrations by Charles Santoso are adorable with warm and cheerful animated expressions. The illustrations were rendered with pencil on paper and then scanned and colored digitally.Max Makes a Cake is a wonderful story that is perfect for story time during the Passover holiday and welcome in any Jewish library as well as Public libraries collections too. Recommended for ages 3-6.

Max Makes a Cake is a cute story about a child taking the initiative when circumstances prevent his father from helping him make a birthday cake for his mother. When Max's father has to take care of the baby while his mother paints, Max tries to wait patiently, but when he gets tired of waiting he decides to go ahead and make something himself. I liked Max's initiative, but I also appreciated the fact that Max doesn't try to use the oven or other appliances by himself, instead he improvises beautifully. The illustrations are pleasing and fun to look at and the Jewish traditions are integrated nicely into the story.

Max has big plans with his dad to make a birthday cake for Mommy's birthday, but has to take things into his own hands when Daddy gets distracted with taking care of Max's little sister. With creativity and taste tastes, Max makes up his own birthday cake recipe using jam, cream cheese, and matzoh that delights Mommy and leaves Max feeling grown up and capable. Very cute!