Billy Makes Cookies

Title: Billy Makes Cookies

Author: Pria Dee

Illustrator: Tina Perko

Publisher: Boomi llc.

Genre: Children's Fiction

My review:

You can tell from the cover that when Billy Makes Cookies, all will not be smooth sailing.  This children's picture book is composed by Pria Dee. Pria Dee is an Indian American author, who currently resides in Michigan. Pria has written several children’s books based on her experiences and observations. She loves animals and children and writes to combine both her passions.

When Billy's mom leaves him and his sister with a babysitter, she has no idea what she is getting herself into. Billy gets bored while his sister is sleeping and the babysitter is preoccupied with her phone. Billy wanders into the kitchen to find a snack. Finding only fruit and bagels Billy develops a brilliant idea. It leads to a comedy of mishaps, even though Billy had the best of intentions.

I enjoyed this adorable story and can foresee it happening exactly like this in real life. Billy is an inquisitive child and is merely hoping to occupy his time and have a yummy snack. The storyline flows with minimal errors. I love that Billy and his mom both learned lessons in the story. I also enjoyed the slight bit of diversity in the story, with Billy and his babysitter not being the same color.

There were a few flaws as well. The pictures are inconsistent beginning in the middle of the book. On the page that Billy reaches for the flour, he is only in his socks. In the following picture, his house shoe is falling off of his foot. Billy set the bowl on the counter beside him, but not the sugar, yet later the sugar is also on the same counter. The story describes Molly "clinging to the window on her tippy toes," yet the pictures never display that. There were a couple of minor editing errors and a misspelled word. The only other thing that got me was the repetition of the phrase "by herself." It was obvious that Molly was by herself, it did not need to be stated, and not more than once.

Other than the inconsistencies in the pictures mentioned above, the illustrations are captivating and children will delight in them. Children will enjoy the various colors and the attention to detail.

With a few minor edits, I think Billy Makes Cookies would be an excellent addition to any school or local library. While the best audience is children from about 3-8, children of all ages will enjoy Billy's antics.

★★★/5

Synopsis:

 A humorous new picture book for young readers and parents alike, Billy Makes Cookies is a delightful take on what can go wrong in the kitchen when little hands, with great imagination, try cooking and baking.

Join little Billy as he attempts to bake cookies as a snack. He creates a great mess with great confidence, that extends to various parts of the house. With Molly, his cute younger sibling as a witness, they get into some hilarious situations. Without Molly's lovable voice of reason, things would get worst in a nick of time. 

A funny story that illustrates the independent spirit of a young boy who has the confidence, though not the skills, to make a snack for himself and his family. 

This hilarious baking adventure is a recipe for disaster. In the end, all is well that ends well in this laugh-out-loud story of an enormous mess created innocently and with the best of intentions.