Also by Candace Fleming: Tippy-Tippy-Tippy, Splash! Amelia Lost: The Life and Disappearance of Amelia Earhart The Fabled Fifth Graders of Aesop Elementary School The Great and Only Barnum: The Tremendous, Stupendous Life of Showman P.T. Barnum Seven Hungry Babies Imogene's Last Stand The Lincolns: A Scrapbook Look at Abraham and Mary   Also illustrated by G. Brian Karas: Tippy-Tippy-Tippy, Splash! Neville Daniel's Mystery Egg/El misterioso huevo de Daniel (Green Light Readers Level 2) Clever Jack Takes the Cake by Candace Fleming, illustrated by G. Brian Karas Grades PreK-2 40 pages Schwartz and Wade August 2010 Hardcover     Jack leaves for the castle holding a fresh homemade birthday cake, but as he nears his destination, the cake gets smaller and smaller. Blackbirds can’t resist the walnuts that spell Happy Birthday. A troll demands one of the two cake layers as payment to cross the bridge, and a dancing bear swallows up what little remains. Jack does get back the big juicy strawberry after the bear spits it out, but only until the castle guard sees it and makes an excuse to eat it himself. Jack arrives at the princess’s birthday party empty-handed, but what he gives her as a gift impresses her more than the rubies and gold by her side. Fleming and Karas (Muncha! Muncha! Muncha!) incorporate elements from the Three Billy Goats Gruff, Cinderella and Sleeping Beauty into this tale about storytelling magic. The illustrations, which are rendered in gouache and pencil, complement the timeless feel of this fairytale. Jack is a resourceful, imaginative character who will appeal to both boys and girls.     web reviews   Tanya Boudreau/2010 for curled up with a good kid's book   For grown-up fiction, nonfiction and speculative fiction book reviews, visit our sister site Curled Up With a Good Book (www.curledup.com)