The Richest and Fattest Man in the World is about to turn 40, and he instructs his 100 cooks and 3 vice presidents to bake him the Biggest Birthday Cake in the World ­ a cake that only he will get to eat.

Under the village children's hungry eyes, the monumental cake grows and grows. The cooks stack block-long layers one on top of the other. They squirt frosting with hoses. They whip cream into peaks. And they drench the cake with gobs of chocolate.

The big day arrives, and as the children look on, the Richest-and-Fattest is hoisted over the cake to blow out the candles. But a sudden gust of wind upsets his basket, and the Richest-and-Fattest tumbles in.

How will he get out of the sticky mess?

Elizabeth Spurr has been a journalist, editor, and advertising executive. After writing her first book, Mrs. Minetta'sCar Pool, she worked at the famous Hearst Castle in San Simeon, California. In these palatial surroundings, she decided to write about a man so rich he can have anything he wants-including The Biggest Birthday Cake in the World. A mother of five, she lives in the village of Cambria, California. (Currently in Cayucos, California, near Cambria)

Rosanne Litzinger is an avid collector of children's picture books, and her own spirited illustrations have already graced two books for HBJ, The Story Book Prince and Left & Right. Her work frequently appears in textbooks, filmstrips, and magazines in this country as well as in Japan and Switzerland. She lives in Los Angeles, California.