Chocolate Waterfall

In "Meet Rainbow Sherbet," Strawberry Shortcake and her friends take a boat trip aboard Rainbow Sherbet's houseboat, appropriately named Rainbow Float.

Synopsis:

When the friends all sail off to see River Fudge Falls, Angel Cake quickly finds that being aboard a ship isn't as easy for her as it is for the others. Every time she tries to walk, she falls. Before long, all she can think about is how much she misses her home.

The next morning, she wakes up early and goes to sit on the deck alone. Rainbow Sherbet and Strawberry Shortcake see her go, and follow her to see what's wrong. When she tells them about how homesick she is, Strawberry Shortcake tells her that since home is where your heart is, you can take it with you wherever you go.

This cheers up Angel Cake, who soon finds herself enjoying the trip. When they get to the River Fudge Falls, she fills an extra mug with chocolate for Rainbow Sherbet, who's happy to hear that she did it without falling. As the friends climb the Sundae Mountains, Angel Cake realizes that her heart is right there with her friends.

Synopsis:

Chocoholics beware! This book will send you to the kitchen to make a mug of hot chocolate on the hottest day of August. The bright, colorful pages are filled with some of the yummiest scenery I've ever seen.

Along the way, the friends pass Ice Cream Island, which is one of my daughters' favorite Strawberry Shortcake locations. In the center of the island is a giant ice cream sundae, topped with chocolate, caramel, strawberry, whipped cream and a cherry. Surrounding the giant ice cream sundae are a number of ice cream cones, growing from the ground like trees. Seeing the island makes the kids in the story hungry for ice cream sundaes. I'm sure they're not the only ones!

The characters in this book are Strawberry Shortcake, Rainbow Sherbet, Angel Cake, Orange Blossom, Blueberry Muffin, Huckleberry Pie and Ginger Snap. Rainbow Sherbet's pet, Triple Ripple Toucan, also makes a brief appearance.


The moral of this story is that people are more important than things. At first Angel Cake misses her home, but then she realizes that what really matters to her are her friends, who are there with her.

This book has quite a bit of text on most pages, so it's somewhat longer than most read-aloud stories.

My daughters love the bright, shiny rainbow on the front cover. Rather than being square-shaped, this book is rounded to the shape of the rainbow on the top and the right side.

I recommend this book for all girls who like cute stories full of yummy treats.

Written by Sudipta Bardhan-Quallen and illustrated by Josie Yee.

Published by Grosset & Dunlap. 2005.