Marta and Skits want to cheer up their master Helen, so they prepare a cake with the aid of unexpected helpers such as their neighbor, a mailman, and a pizza delivery guy. In the end, the dogs end up eating their cake because dad brought cake for diner.

In this early reader, Martha (the dog) and her friend Skits, bake a cake for Helen who is disappointed that her art project did not win the contest. Of course, when the dogs attempt to make a cake, all kinds of misadventure happens. They drop the eggs, can't really mix the ingredients and need (and do) come up with clever ways to put the cake in and out of the oven. This is a fun story based on a PBS TV series.

This is a rompy story that I think most children will enjoy reading. This is not the most profound story, but the misadventures of the dogs trying to cheer up the little girl in this story is a great option for newer readers to develop and practice their independent reading skills. The clever way that the Martha enlists the help of adult humans in the story would be an opportunity to engage children in thinking creatively about other ways that the dogs could have accomplished the task of baking the cake. The illustrations are fun and will help children piece together the story line as they are reading the text. ( )