There’s a Dodo on the Wedding Cake
Wade Bradford and Kevin Hawkes
Walker Books

Hired to play his violin at a wedding, Mr Snore who starred in There’s a Dinosaur on the 13th Floor makes a return visit to the Sharemore Hotel.

His early arrival allows him to take advantage of the wedding planner’s offer of some hot chocolate while he waits. Before he is given said hot drink sans marshmallows as he’s stipulated, the violinist spots a dessert trolley whereon stands a rose-decorated, iced cake close to which is a dodo with its eye on the main chance. But Mr Snore is not quick enough to prevent the creature from sampling a rose; it gobbles one and dashes off.

Having seen the dramatic incident, the wedding planner hastens away to find somebody to fix the icing, leaving Mr Snore standing guard using his violin bow to ward off a couple of beavers and a boa constrictor.

Then, deciding to move to safety – so he thinks, Mr S. pushes the cake into what he assumes is an empty cupboard only to discover it’s anything but …

However, it seems that there’s a never ending array of creatures all trying to get close to the confection.

Eventually the wedding planner has to intervene and it’s revealed that Mr Snore has misjudged all those whom he suspected of being marauders, all but one, that is.

With everything finally ready, the celebration gets under way and all is going beautifully until the bride and groom hand Mr Snore the very first slice of cake, but on account of the icing, there are explosive results …

Full of drama, this crazy romp with its messy finale has plenty to entertain young audiences – Mr Snore’s bow-wielding heroism, his continuing error-making and the denouement, to name just some of the daft constituents. All of which Kevin Hawkes captures brilliantly in his sequence of full page scenes, the occasional double page spread and zoomed -in views of bits of the action, presented in circles or ovals of various sizes. Weirdest of all though, is his portrayal of the protagonist.