Goodies, Inc.: The Cookie Baker by Monica Wallington

EARLY IN THE MORNING MR. COOKIE BAKER GETS READY TO MAKE COOKIES.

As the sun rises over the town, Mr. Cookie Baker is already in his snug cookie shop, attired in his crisp red-checked apron and chef's hat, with his ingredients--butter, sugar, flour, vanilla flavoring, spice boxes, and eggs--arranged around him as he consults his recipe book. He assembles the tools of his trade, too--graduated measuring cups and spoons, whisks, beaters, scrapers, spatulas, and a big red spoon to stir up all his ingredients.

With the sweet-smelling dough on a floured board, he pulls out his rolling pin and rolls out the dough just so and sets out his collection of cookie cutters. He cuts out stars and hearts, bears and bunnies, cats and chickens, and even Santas and angels, and with his spatula lifts them carefully onto cookie sheets, and pops them into his big ovens. Soon the cookie store is filled with the appetizing aroma of cookies baking.

It's still early when Mr. Cookie Baker takes the cookies out of the oven, perfectly browned, decorates some of them with icing and some with sprinkles, and transfers them to the cooling shelves behind the counter in his cozy shop, now filled with the delicious smells of warm cookies.

And his shop is soon to be filled with hungry cookie lovers.

NOW HE IS READY FOR THE CUSTOMERS.

HERE COME THE HUNGRY CHILDREN!

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And the cookies soon vanish into festive boxes, paper sacks, and happy mouths, in Monica Wallington's joyful story, Mr. Cookie Baker (Board Book Edition) (Dutton Childrens Books/Penguin).

What's not to like about a a cookie shop presided over by a rosy, smiling baker? Author-illustrator Monica Wallington has a jolly story of sweets and kids together in a cheery shop with red-and-white checked tile floors and a smiling Mr. Baker in his red-checked apron. For toddlers learning shapes, for preschoolers prepping for a field trip to a bakery, for emergent readers and precocious cooks, this simple story with its simple line drawings and bright colors is a charming choice for young readers, with a sly suggestion of holidays to come. And of course, nobody doesn't like cookies!

Runaway Goodie! Watch The Cookie by Nancy Cole

SAM AND MOUSEY WERE BEST FRIENDS.

WHEN SAM READ BOOKS, MOUSEY READ TOO.

WHEN SAM TOOK A BATH, MOUSEY DID, TOO!

One day Sam wants to fly his kite. Mousey doesn't have a clue how to do that, but Sam says "Please!"

While the two are playing at the park, Sam suddenly has to go, Now!. He pulls a chocolate chip cookie out of his pocket, unwraps it from its red napkin, and tells Mousey to watch it while he visits the little boys' room.

BUT MOUSEY WASN'T THE ONLY ONE WATCHING THAT COOKIE!

Two pigeons in a tree have their eyes on that cookie and before Mousey can even look up, they swoop down and peck furiously around the edges of the cookie. They are intimidating.

But Mousey grabs the red napkin and tying it around his neck, turns himself into a caped crusader. Suitably costumed, he leaps into action.

"STOP!"

One thing leads to another. The pigeons flap up and away and the cookie fall onto the ground, where a row of ants take advantage of the gift from on high and gang up to carry it away.

"THAT'S SAM'S COOKIE!" HE SHOUTS!

The cookie rolls down the hill, by the pond, rolling under an amused baby in his stroller, and finally crashes into a trash container, right under the nose of a grizzled cat.

Mousey tries to explain to the the cat that the cookie belongs to Sam, but Cat gets down to the hard facts right away.

"CATS DON'T EAT COOKIES!

CATS EAT MICE!"

It's the mouse that roared in Nancy Cole's Watch the Cookie! (Sky Pony Press, 2014). Mousey proves his friendship defending Sam's cookie even in the face of a major set of fangs in this fast-moving mouse and his boy tale. Cole's comic illustrations keep the tension low and the fun rolling in this short cat-and-mouse story with plenty to watch on each page while Mousey watches over Sam's cookie, faithful to his friend to The End. Kirkus says, "...cheerful illustrations are full of kid appeal, with expressive, cartoonish characters."