The Bear Cub Bakers

Miss Betsy Bear's baking school is ready to welcome her new students: there's Barbara, Beth, Bella, Ben, Billy and Bobby, all raring to go. They bake a different thing each day, then one bear is crowned Best Baker at the end of the week - and they all play together to celebrate. The role of baker is then handed over to the reader, with a simple recipe to follow to make Miss Betsy Bear's Buns.

The familiarity of a bake-off style competition might be initially lost on some younger readers, but they will enjoy the idea of spending a week surrounded by treats. The threat of some cracked pastry and undercooked fish might not be high stakes enough for reluctant readers, but young bakers might be inspired to get baking.

The story is told in simple rhyming couplets but the language and length of the story makes this picture book better suited to school readers rather than tiny tots.