When poor little Jack is invited to the Princess’ birthday party, he can’t imagine why. What could he possibly bring as a present that would please the Princess? But Jack is a clever, resourceful little guy, and he bakes the Princess the most beautiful, delicious cake the world has ever seen and sets off by foot for the fiesta. Tragedy strikes in the form of crows, trolls, bears…a whole menagerie who eat and ruin his gorgeous cake. So when Jack finally arrives, empty-handed, at the party, he has nothing for her but the tale of the hungry forest creatures and the ill-fated baked good.  Surprisingly, his story, told so vividly and entertainingly, is the Princess’ favorite present. Which just goes to show you that a good story beats out a cake any day of the week. (Unless of course it’s a carrot cake with cream cheese frosting in which case we may have to make some adjustments…) Author Candace Fleming and illustrator G. Brian Karas have created a wonderful tale of the power of the spoken word. A treasure for the entire family!