It’s Lionel’s birthday, and Elliot Moose enlists the help of his friends to bake Lionel a cake. However, the recipe contains many mysteries. What does “separate two eggs” mean? How do you “cream the butter”? And how long does the cake have to bake before the middle of it “springs up”? Much to Elliot’s dismay, the cake burns. But Elliot cuts off the black outer skin and his friends slice the cake into layers, spread them with jam and icing, and decorate the top. Lionel is delighted with his cake, and they all pronounce it the best they’ve ever tasted. A simple cake recipe is included at the end of the book.

As in Elliot’s Emergency (the first of the series, now in production to become a TV show that begins airing this fall), Beck’s characters are stuffed animals that come alive while their humans are away. Elliot and his friends are charming, gentle creatures who co-operate with each other to achieve their goals. Beck’s lovely illustrations capture their personalities perfectly. However, while the book provides a fun way for children to learn about baking, much of its humour depends on an understanding of cooking terms. An adult will laugh when Amy “separates” the eggs by placing them in two separate containers, but the young child whose parents don’t bake will simply be baffled. Two pages of text give fairly detailed instructions on how the ingredients are mixed, but the illustrations here are not enough to hold a young child’s interest.

Elliot and his friends are very attractive characters. However, this particular book will appeal most to children already familiar with the process of baking a cake.