and I'm trying to figure out how to cover it in fondant.

I wanted to do 2 books, stacked off-set. Each would be about 2" tall, and I was thinking of torting and filling each with buttercream. I was also hoping to cover 3 sides like a normal book cover, with white fondant for pages wrapped around 3 edges. What I most need to know is how much buttercream do I use on the top and sides of the cake, and do you put the same amount on the bottom, or would it just squish out and make a mess?

Any help would be appreciated, as I am a total newbie, and I'm thinking I'm in way over my head.

- Leisel

Put a very thin coat barely more than a crumb coat of buttercream under the fondant.

Check out this thread for great instructions on how to make a book cake.

http://cakecentral.com/cake-decorating-ftopict-628199-book.html+tips

Thank you! When I tried to search, I was getting everything that mentioned both book and fondant, and most of them seemed to have nothing really to do with book cakes.

- Leisel

Here's a great tutorial (w/ photos) from the blog of another CC member: http://thefrostedcakencookie.blogspot.com/2009/05/graduation-cake.html