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The Baker's Dozen - Book 4

Writer: Carina Mesquita
Carina Mesquita
Sep 13
5 min read

Updated: 6 days ago

Written by Amy Moore and illustrated by Andrea Stegmaier

Published by Sleeping Bear Press. Released May 1st 2025.



  • Genre/Category: A contemporary fiction rhyming book for Pre K-6th from the Texas 2×2 reading list (Texas Library Association, 2026).

  • Targeted Age Group: 2-9 years old (Texas Library Association, 2026) (Sleeping Bear Press, 2026).

  • Plot Summary:  12 bakers in a little town can't imagine needing anyone else in their bakery, until Kristen walks in and asks to join their crew. Kristen teaches the bakers that 12 is good, but one more can make things even better.

  • Why This Book?: When looking at the Texas 2×2 list for a book, I saw many great options. My first choice was actually The Monster in the Lake by Leo Timmers, but my library wouldn't have a copy available in time. However, The Baker's Dozen was up for grabs over Libby. Much like a real baker's dozen, this book was a delightful surprise. I was immediately charmed by the rhyme scheme and cute illustrations. I could absolutely understand why this book is so highly recommended for children in the 2-9 year old age range and got the Texas 2×2 recognition.

  • Evaluation:

    • The E-Children's-Book Experience: Children's books are advertised as a very tactile experience. It's encouraged for kids to page through their book, even if they aren't old enough to read on their own. Because of this, the experience of reading picture books digitally still feels strange to me. I have read many books, manga, and comics digitally, but picture books always find a way to jar me. I know a major factor is my childhood experience with books was all physical books. Except that's not entirely true. I read and collected many books growing up, but I also watched TV shows like Between the Lions and Reading Rainbow. Those were digital presentations of books. But watching TV isn't the same as looking at books for yourself. A more comparable experience are the Living Books CD-ROM games I used to play. As you read the story (and have it read to you) you were encouraged to click around the illustrations to make the environment come to life and create new sentences. Arthur's Reading Race is the one I remember most fondly. (Lloyd Nostalgic Gaming, 2026). But this comparison is still a stretch. Even with my rose-colored nostalgia glasses, I can see that a Living Book has more in common with video games than an e-book. However, remembering my own childhood and the digital books I experienced gave me a fresh perspective for the e-book edition of The Baker's Dozen. I read the book in an iPad with a textured screen protector meant to imitate paper, which was a really positive experience. The screen protector gave me the tactile sensation I was missing. My iPad screen is a generous size for reading, roughly mimicking the size of an actual picture book. I can see the double page spreads the way it would appear in a physical book. The experience is very different on a cell phone, where I can only see one page at a time. This breaks the flow of reading the rhymes and the double spread illustrations.

      A picture book spread on my phone versus my iPad. The device changes the e-reading experience.
      A picture book spread on my phone versus my iPad. The device changes the e-reading experience.

      (Note: my phone doesn't allow rotation into landscape for the Libby app.) One of my favorite parts of reading The Baker's Dozen  as an e-book is being able to zoom in on the illustrations. You can zoom in on any part of the book and really soak in all the textures and details Stegmaier drew.

      Detail from an illustration. We can really see the intricate little tattoos when digitally zooming in. (My favorite is the "Mom" heart tattoo that says "Cake!")
      Detail from an illustration. We can really see the intricate little tattoos when digitally zooming in. (My favorite is the "Mom" heart tattoo that says "Cake!")

      The only way to imitate this level of zooming in physically is holding the book right up to your face! And that doesn't work the same. The e-picture-book experience made me think much more than I expected. I'll still always prefer a paper book in my hand, but I can make room for an e-book in the other.

    • We are Twelve, No More! Young et. al. write in Children's Literature, Briefly "Author, editor, and former vice-president of Penguin Publishing, Patricia Lee Gauch gave author Tess Hilmo the advice to 'draw a line in the sand' in her writing. Gauch suggested that authors embed an assertion early in their books that readers would know would be overturned." (Young et. al., 2020, p. 35). The "line in the sand" in The Baker's Dozen is "we are twelve. No more!" (Moore, 2025, p.10). The bakers say this over and over as Kristen tries to win them over. They insist on drawing this line no matter what new doughnut-shaped expertise Kristen offers. But lines in the sand always fade eventually. Repition is a classic motif in children's literature. Reinforcement equals importance. After every "We are twelve. No more!" Kristen's obstacle only grows taller. It's a breath of relief when the twelve bakers finally agree make more room in the bakery to take Kristen in. Even in a book for young children conflict is important. If the bakers agreed to take Kristen in right away, we wouldn't have this story. The Baker's Dozen is a low-stakes introduction to a character overcoming the odds. During a read aloud the adult can ask the children if they think Kristen will succeed after every denial. And the adult can celebrate with the children when Kristen and her doughnuts finally join the crew.

    • A Sweet Surprise: A unique detail in this book is the ending. The author finishes off her story about a bakery with a recipe. Certainly not something you see every day, but right at home in a book about bakers! In my post for Over in the Garden I talked about audience participation and how it can make stories more engaging for young readers. This is very different from singing along to a poem. This hands-on activity is a great way to bring senses like touch, smell, and taste into the reading experience. Of course, this would be an at-home or small group activity. It's not very practical for a library or classroom. But it's still a great addition and connected to the book's characters and setting.

      Even the recipe continues the narrative by giving us flavors the characters make. No missed storytelling opportunity here!
      Even the recipe continues the narrative by giving us flavors the characters make. No missed storytelling opportunity here!

      The Baker's Dozen is a fun little poem that whether that's a doughnut or a friend, there's always room for one more. I can see this book being used as a resource when introducing a new child into an established classroom. This is also a great book for home libraries to take advantage of the recipe on the back. I can also see this book being used in a group setting like a school cooking club, a girl or boy scout group, or even a class like Home Economics. (The home ec students may be out of the age demographic for this book, but no one is too old for homemade doughnuts!)

References:

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Created by Carina Mesquita for UNT INFO 5421 Fall 2026

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