Picture Book Review : Cupcake and the Princess Party - Mandy Archer & Kirsteen Harris-Jones

Don't you think it looks like Pierre has done a magic trick and disconnected his head from the rest of his body in this photo?! Anyway, the important thing is the book that he's holding, Cupcake and the Princess Party - another in the Fairies of Blossom Bakery series. You may remember we already reviewed two other books from the collection - Plum & The Winter Ball and Cookie & The Secret Sleepover. Well, we should actually have started with this one because it's the first book, presenting the grand opening of Blossom Bakery.

As in the other titles from the series, the book looks at friendships and gives little readers valuable life lessons. At the grand opening of the bakery, a royal footman appears and announces that the princess wants a magical cake for her garden party. Cupcake gets into a flap, wanting to be in control of everything and to make sure it is absolutely perfect. When she has a bit of a meltdown, her fairy friends flutter round and show that "six hearts are definitely better than one". It's a lovely story with an important message.

Speaking of hearts, look at these little beauties. One of the loveliest things about the Fairies of Blossom Bakery books is that they have a recipe at the end that ties into the story so when you've finished reading, the fun continues in the kitchen.

You can see how excited Pierre gets about cooking ! Big sister Sophie likes stepping in to help keep things on track too.

I'm actually very impressed with how Pierre's cookery skills are coming on. He's only four and he's already a pro at cracking eggs without getting any shell in the bowl !