The young male protagonist in this tale loves cooking. (Nice break from stereotypes for kids, but emphasizes that so many well-known chefs are male - but I digress). Living in the world of fairy tales, William "preferred pastries to princesses, kitchens to kingdoms, and recipes to the Royal Reporter." Following his escapades of slicing and dicing, the book is filled with references to fairy tales that any reader would have to know in order to appreciate the humor of the book. Great book for demonstrating reader response theory in action. If the kid reader doesn't have the prior knowledge and prior reading, the story loses its charm. The first half of the book worked better than the second half. The plot itself was thin. The allusions to fairy tales and the word play, delightful. ( )