The King Cake Baby

The King Cake Baby written by Keila V. Dawson and illustrated by Vernon Smith (2015)

The King Cake Baby is a quick and lively take on the classic gingerbread boy. This king cake baby does not want to end up in a king cake. He escapes from an old creole woman and an old creole man and runs through the streets of the French Quarters of New Orleans. He runs away from a praline lady. He runs away  from a waiter at the Cafe du Monde. And he’s about to run away from a baker who sighs and tells him that he is too tired to catch him. The baker offers to give the king cake baby a ride in his truck across the great Mississippi. The king cake baby accepts the baker’s help and is tricked into a box and into a king cake, where he belongs!

Keila Dawson and Vernon Smith bring this little tale to life with authentic language and pictures associated with New Orleans.

This little king cake baby escapes on January 6th, the day of the Three Kings. But if you know New Orleans culture, you know that king cake is eaten throughout the year, especially during the Mardi Gras celebration leading up to Lent. So I imagine this little baby has been running for a very long time!

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Be sure to catch your own king cake baby with the author’s recipe at the end of the book. Or, if you’re like me, check out your local bakery… you know that baker has a way of getting that little baby into the cake!

And for more Mardi Gras fun, try one of these easy activities.

Make a jester’s hat out of construction paper, a handprint Mardi Gras mask, or a candy necklace. (You can also substitute the Fruit Loops cereal for the candy.)The directions are super easy. You can probably do you own just by looking at the pictures. But if you need a little more guidance, you can find the directions below.

Directions for the JESTER’S HAT.

Directions for the  MARDI GRAS MASK.

Directions for the TWIZZLER CANDY NECKLACE.