[bright music] - Hi, friends!

It's me, Isabel, and welcome to my reading nook.

Today, we're going to be reading a story called "Marigold Bakes a Cake."

It's written and illustrated by Mike Malbrough.

This is a story about a cat named Marigold who loves to bake, but something or someone keeps getting in the way.

Let's read to find out what's stopping Marigold from baking his cake.

[bright music] "Marigold Bakes a Cake," by Mike Malbrough.

"Marigold liked everything just so.

His fur was always well groomed, and his calendar was sorted well in advance."

Oh, wow, I think Marigold is very organized.

How would you describe Marigold?

What word would you use?

"Mondays were Marigold's favorite because Mondays were for baking, and Marigold loved to bake.

No visitors.

It's Monday.

Alone, no distractions, no exceptions.

This particular Monday, Marigold wanted to bake a cake that was absolutely fur-sheddingly fabulous.

He had plenty of ideas, but it had to be perfect.

With his snazziest recipes sorted, snipped, and clipped for their most exquisite bits, Marigold was ready to begin.

First, he separated three egg whites and whipped them up in a large mixing bowl, easy.

Next, he added a cup of milk, peasy, followed by the juice of a lemon, squeezy."

Easy, peasy, and squeezy?

That rhymes!

Let's listen for more rhyming words.

"Then Marigold sprinkled in just a pinch of finch?"

Pinch and finch, that rhymes!

"'Hmm, That's not right,' said Marigold.

'Shoot, Mr. Finch,' Marigold said.

'I've no time to chase you today.

It's Monday after all, and Mondays are for baking.'

Marigold politely showed Mr. Finch to the door.

He then returned to his recipe, only slightly flustered.

He shaved chocolate ribbons with the utmost care and drizzled the batter with three swirling spoonfuls of rich molasses before tossing in just a smidgen of pigeons?

'That definitely isn't right,' said Marigold.

Marigold's tail went all poofy.

A brief chase was in order.

'Skedaddle!

There is no room in my Monday for pesky pigeons!'

Marigold returned to his masterpiece a bit more frazzled than before.

[growls] Crafting buttercream pillars and fondant flowers had a calming effect.

He began to hum a little tune before mixing in three tablespoons of loons?

'Loons?

No!'"

Oh, uh-oh, he looks really angry.

What do you think he's going to do next?

"With ears pinned back and eyes wide, Marigold leaped about the kitchen in a full-on feline frenzy, meow!

However, his tantrum only made his guests giggle [giggles] and left his cake rather less than perfect.

Marigold was full of fuss.

Hmm, perhaps a walk would brighten his spirits.

'Baking is for the birds,' he grumbled as he shut the door.

Boy, was he wrong about that!

[whimsical music] Baking wasn't for the birds at all, but at least they tried.

And Marigold recognized a love of cake-making when he saw it.

So he thought that if baking wasn't for the birds, then maybe he could teach them.

He was wrong about that, too."

Oh!

Did you like the story?

Me too, my favorite part was all of the words that were rhyming in the story.

Even in the title, I see words that rhyme.

It gave me an idea.

Do you wanna play a game with me?

Grab a paper and something to write on and a pencil or something to write with.

And I want you to put in the middle of the paper the word bake, bake.

And I want us to think about all the words that would rhyme with bake.

Words rhyme if they have the same ending sounds.

So the beginning can be different, but the end has to be the same.

So let's see.

If I have b-ake, bake, what else could rhyme?

What did Marigold like to cook?

Ah, c-ake, b-ake, c-ake, ake, ake, they rhyme!

Bake and cake rhyme.

So I'm going to create a word web.

These are my favorites.

I love them.

And I'm gonna get a little arrow coming up, and I'm gonna write the word cake.

What's another word that rhymes with cake?

What was that you said?

Make!

Make rhymes with cake.

He can make or bake a cake.

I would love you to continue playing this game with your trusted family members, and I'll see you next time in my reading nook.

Bye, friends.