Sunday
May162010
Sweet Reading Sweets
May 16, 2010 Today's Sweets are in honor of National Children's Book Week. They're also for all of us out there who like to complain when a movie ruins the book. ;)
Harry Potter:
Submitted by Dara W., made by Karen's Specialty CakesLord of the Rings: (not exactly a kid's book, but who among us didn't read it in school?)
Not sure if this next one is supposed to be a specific title, but there are several Tinkerbell/Pixie Hollow books out now, in addition to the classic Peter Pan:
Made by Annie at Annie's Art Book.That's hand-painted! And the rope bookmark is darling.
You know we have to have at least one Dr. Seuss title here:
I am so impressed by those circle stripes. They're not fondant; they're a combination of royal and run-in icing. Cool, huh?
Here's a test: can you name this classic book icon?
Sub'd by Sarah E., baker unknownDid you guess?
It's The Giving Tree! Love it.
Another classic:
And check out these sweet Where the Wild Things Are cupcakes:
Sub'd by Cebelamour, made by Claire IssaThe Spiderwick Chronicles:
Sub'd by Trista C., made by Lisa's CakesAnd finally, the book that became one of my favorite movies as a kid:
Sub'd by Heidi E., made by Say it with CakeBonus trivia: Did you know The Neverending Story was originally written in German? It wasn't translated into English until 1983, and the movie was then released in '84. As a kid I didn't realize there even was a book - I discovered and read it sometime in my twenties. (The movie follows the original story almost exactly - a nice surprise!)
Reader Comments (136)
In college, my friend and I awarded ourselves fifteen million geek points each for going from our Tolkien seminar to our role-playing game.
Now I have the urge to re-read the LotR trilogy....
I adore every one of these cakes. The Giving Tree was a bittersweet memory, where as everything else was just fin... though I admit I'm bad; I've never been able to read through LotR... I loved the Hobbit and the movies though? (Three pages to describe a field put me to sleep, and I was ashamed of it).
The "Oh the Places You'll Go" book is actually even more appropriate at this time of year. There is a tradition with some parents to give their kids this book at graduation. Both to symbolize their childhood days... and their future hereafter. So even more of a sweet on this very sweet Sunday.
wv: sinnic - A sinful cynic : You'd have to be a sinnic to hate any of these cakes!
Shirley said...
"...I suppose it would be bad minded of me to wonder why the Giving Tree has apples and oak leaves though?"
=========
Wow, you're right~~ good catch!
Maybe this is a case where the apple DID fall far from the tree?
(Or, those are actually red, cap-less acorns?)
=^~.-^=
I ALWAYS love it when you feature book cakes!!
My birthday is Tuesday and now I'm going to be disappointed if I don't have an amazing Harry Potter birthday cake.
Those are awesome!
Not only *is* there a Neverending Story book, but the hardcover edition is printed in two colors: red when Bastian is in our world, reading, and green for the story itself, even after Bastian becomes part of it. I'm looking at my copy now--I hunted high and low for it after reading the library's copy as a teen and wanting one in red and green. They were hard to find. --Lauren
These are great cakes...The Neverending Story one is probably my favorite.
I was in college, I think, before I found out that the movie was based on a book. I found said book at a yard sale last year and read it in a matter of two days. I was pleasantly surprised to see how closely the movie followed the book...but only the first half. I would love to see someone tackle the second half on film.
Ooooo, how much do I want a cupcake right now? The NeverEnding Story cake is definitely sweet. I was a geek who always ran to the library to read the book right after seeing the movie, so I was very interested to discover the discrepancies. Am I a geek to confess that the theme song was one of my favorite songs as a little kid?
The cakes, though: definitely sweet indeed!
The neverending story is awesome!
Wow, beautiful cakes!
I recently finished a practical training as a teacher in my old elementary school here in Germany. When I was in the library, I pulled The Neverending Story from the shelf and found my name on the card - four times. What a blast from the past!
I must be the only person here who has read the book multiple times, but never saw the movie...
I must be strange, I never read Lord of the Rings in school.
Awesome......!!!!
I too, LOVED Neverending Story as a kid (and read the book too).....
these are allll soo awesome!
I am 40 and I never read Lord of the Rings in high school. We never read Lord of the Flies in high school either. In fact, I've still never read those two books. They just don't look interesting to me. Now Harry Potter, well, I've read that series SEVERAL times over and each time I find something new - some new detail or bit of foreshadowing that I never caught before. That series is brilliantly written.
the neverending story cake is my FAVORITE of all of these! how awesome! BUT...it bugs me that there isn't an orin (spelling?) on the front...don't you think it should be there?? my 8yo just saw it and said she totally wants a neverending story party for her next bday now :) yay!
*sniffles* I love the giving tree! And my geek ex husband gave me my first copy of both Neverending Story and the Princess Bride so he was good for something... I wish that cake had an auryn on it though..
Boo! to fondant cakes. Nobody eats 'em. Nobody likes 'em.
This librarian is absolutely thrilled. I want one of each!
Huh, I don't know anyone who read Lord of the Rings in school.
Book cakes! Wheee! Fuchur :D
That said, I dislike the "Neverending Story" films, probably because the first I saw is one of the sequels and they do not have anything at all whatsoever to do with the book. (I´m not even complaining that Atréju isn´t green!, but I was disappointed.)
I read the book (in German) right after "Momo"(another book by the same author and also very very much recommended) and love it still, it´s wonderful wonderful wonderful.
Love the cakes, but I had to do a double take at the comment below the Never Ending Story one - the movie follows the book closely?
I have known this book since I was rather small. My mom started reading it to my brother and myself when we were rather small ( we also owned the cassettes which I still have), so it holds a special place in my heart.. and I was really disappointed in the movie when I first saw it at the age of ten, I guess (a few years after it came out). My favourite character Fuchur (or Falkor) looked and more importantly *sounded* nothing like I imagined him from the description in the book. His voice is described as sounding like a big bronze bell tolling.
Plus, as many here posted, the movie covers about a third of the book and doesn´t do all that great at capturing the soul of it (like they managed with LOTR, IMO)...
BTW-most of Michael Ende´s books are really great, Momo is another really good one. The movie to that one is also well done. :o)
I love the Seuss one!
These are seriously awesome--someday I'll make a book cake that isn't a total wreck--and the painting on these babies is very impressive!
I beg to differ that the movie of The Neverending Story follows the book well. The author of the book, Michael Ende, collaborated on writing the script but was so disgusted with the deviations from the book that he had his name removed from the screenwriting credits. That being said, I adore both the movie and the book. But if you want a great book/movie combo, go for The Last Unicorn by Peter S. Beagle. Hmmm... maybe I should see if I could get someone to immortalize that in cake for me...
"The Neverending Story" is still one of my favorite movies. I had no idea there was a book. Thanks to you, I am going to my library to get it!
That Neverending Story cake is gorgeous. It's also one of my favorite books, so few books have such rich characters. The movie is fairly accurate, all things considered, except that it's only the first half of the book! Thanks for pointing people towards one of the most underrated stories of all time; this book should really be ten times as popular as it is!
i'm about to say something about Michael Ende's classic 'The Neverending Story'.
I read it in Hungarian, totally enjoyed it, with all its deep layers...
i loved it to pieces.
we kept reading it to our children as a bedtime story.
we anticipated the movie -
and only find it having the original meaning ruined by the movie. a movie that focuses on specific effects, gloomy characters, and next to nothing about the psychology so richly described by M. Ende.
His other books (Momo for example) are also of great value.
Here is the artist for the tinkerbell cake. I had seen it before so I knew I could find it for you
http://cakes.anniesartbook.com/2009/08/tinkerbell-cake-for-my-little-girl.html
I'm really surprised how many people don't know there is a second Neverending Story movie! Its called The Neverending Story 2 :-) Its not as good as the first one, but it does follow the second half of the book pretty well. The original though, probably my second favorite childhood movie, after The Princess Bride.
Val
There are a few Michael Ende stories translated into English these days. I'd recommend "Momo" as my second favorite after "The Neverending Story."
Awesome cakes!
I think that almost every time a book has been made into a movie, the movie falls terribly short of the book. I think Harry Potter movies are great and all, but still not true to the books.
However, one book-to-movie adaptation that is really spot on is Holes. So well done!
Funny enough, I never did know that "The Neverending Story" was a book until now and I am in my twenties!
Gina
Sunday Sweets are always the cutest! but Why didn't I get my Cake Wrecks fix on Saturday? Was there some kind of update I missed?
Amazing cakes! I love the one of Falcor and The Never Ending story...and I totally agree about the following of the story!
You read Lord of the Rings in school? No one I know ever read that in school.
The Neverending Story was one of my favorite books and movies as a kid too.
Aw I love The Giving Tree cake. And the Wild Things cupcakes are absolutely adorable, without being silly.
I'm inspired to go curl up with a good book now. I might even do it without cake!
The second movie does not follow the book accurately. It turns it into a fight between the bad queen and the good guys, which is so, so not the point of the book, even if the character is rather important. The book is full of philosophy and is, at its heart, the story of Bastian finding himself. The movie tries to turn it into a predictable fight between good and evil, when one of the most important aspects of the book is the fact that such distinctions rarely exist. Add the fact that it is also a bad movie in itself, and there is good reason to ignore it.
I absolutely love the Harry Potter cake (BIG fan) and the Never Ending Story cake is fabulous
**although I'll admit, the movie Never Ending Story scared me to death when I saw it the first time, still don't know why cause it's a great movie, but I was 4 after all and a big wuss at that age**
Those are wonderful! Everyone should check out cakelava's blog from today. Rick did an amazing Harry Potter book, too!
I almost cried when I saw Falkor! What a beautiful cake.
Loved that book...I love how the first and second movies both come from the same book...of course the second half of the book is WAY better than the second movie. Sequels...*grumble*
I disagree about the movie following the book almost exactly. That's true if you leave out half of the story. I couldn't believe it when the book went way beyond where the movie ended. The movie left out a massive amount of the book.
I love the Harry Potter and The Where The Wild Things Are cakes. Two of my favorite childhood books. And the Giving Tree! Although I'd feel bad biting into something as sacred as the Giving Tree stump!
Ohhh Falcor has to be my favorite.
WOW! I'm an elementary school librarian so I was thrilled to see these AWESOME cakes. (I was especially pleased that they weren't "wrecks.") They would be welcome in my library anytime! :)
I have many high-reading 5th graders who are avid readers/fans of The Lord of the Rings series so I think it fits right in with the others. It's certainly in our school's collection.
The Seuss cake is impressive because even the font style is correct!
"They're also for all of us out there who like to complain when a movie ruins the book." Good to know there is at least one other person with this mind-set. People who know me roll their eyes when i say 'well, the book was so much better'. Julie and Julia was the most recent disappointment.
WV: mushemba - when a screen writer mushes, embellishes and axes critical parts of a book
The Neverending Story is still my favourite movie. I'd love to read the book. Lovin' all of these sweets!
Ugh, I hate the Giving Tree.
And the tree could give no more...
If I am not mistaken, my principal from high school read several lines out of "oh the places you'll go" in our graduation. I only learned about this later because I wasn't paying attention (I was bored out of my skull).
I have a book recommendation for you: The Eyre Affair by Jasper Fforde.
It's hilarious, it's literary, it's a mystery/crime novel, it's wonderful! I think you'd love it, if you haven't already read all of his stuff. I don't know if you've read it because I bet there are no Eyre Affair cakes out there, so you haven't commented on the book ever!