by Jeanne Willis

read aloud grade 1, readability grade 3

Rufus Skumskins O’Parsley is disgusting; his house is disgusting, his clothes are disgusting, and his food of choice is disgusting. One morning he gets the idea to make an extra special cake that will be his most disgusting creation yet. Imagine his surprise when the cake comes alive and sees him as dessert instead. Kids will love this poetic story because it’s gross and Korky Paul’s illustrations are highly detailed. You can spend at least five minutes looking at the details of each page!

Make a disgusting cake. What you need:

• 1 package of chocolate cake
• 1 container of pre-made chocolate frosting
• 2 packages of gummi worms
• 1 package of Oreo cookies

What to do:

• Make chocolate cake, following the directions on the box.
• Spread icing over the cake.
• Crush half of the Oreo cookies with a fork or a rolling pin and sprinkle on the cake to look like soil.
• Place some of the gummi worms on top of the cake and place some as though they are crawling out of the cake.
• Crush the rest of the cookies and sprinkle on top.