Maybelle and the Haunted Cupcake
by Katie Speck
illustrated by Paul Rátz de Tagyos
Henry Holt, 2012
review copy provided by the publisher
Ever since I fell in love with Archy and Mehitabel
in high school, I have been a sucker for cockroaches in literature. I even kept Madagascar Hissing Roaches as classroom pets for a lot of years.So of course, I love Maybelle the Cockroach! Maybelle has a friend who is a flea, and in this book, Bernice, a picnic ant with a bad head cold that prevents her from smelling her way home shows up. Bernice is used to serving her Queen, and Maybelle thinks it sounds great to be served. But she soon learns to be careful what you wish for. Bernice causes more problems than she's worth, but she does convince Mr. and Mrs. Peabody that Mrs. Peabody's mini cupcakes are haunted.
This is an entertaining 58-page easy reader with two other books in the series. I'm thinking Maybelle will be popular as a quick read in my classroom!
