Mary Chamberlin

As she and her son Adika make their way to market to buy the flour and chili pepper she needs to make pancakes, Mama Panya is dismayed at the number of people Adika invites to join them at their meal. With only two coins in her pocket, how will she feed so many people...?

A lovely picture-book, with an engaging but simple narrative that touches upon themes of community and generosity, Mama Panya's Pancakes is both entertaining and educational. The authors, Mary and Rich Chamberlin, have show more included a section of factual information about Kenya at the back, as well as a glossary of Swahili terms, and a recipe for Mama Pany'a pancakes. The watercolor illustrations by Julia Cairns are vivid and expressive, giving the story a real sense of place. A worthy addition to any children's library - thanks for steering me to this one, Lisa! show less

Moradora de um vilarejo no Quênia, Mama Panya resolve fazer panquecas e vai ao mercado com o filho, Adika, para comprar farinha. No caminho, o garoto convida para o jantar todos os amigos que encontra. Mama Panya tem poucas moedas na bolsa, mas o que poderia ser um problema se transforma em forte manifestação de amizade e compartilhamento.

This story not only has beautiful illustrations and lively, fluent text, but it captures the very essence of Kenyan village life, that food is to be shared and connections are more important than possessions.

This book is based off of an old tale, which originated in from Kenya, about a mother and her son who go to a market to get ingredients for pancakes for their dinner. I though it was interesting how the illustrations show what it’s like to live in huts, walk around without shoes on, and wear bright clothing and head wraps. Throughout the story, the Mom always says “a little bit and a little bit more” when the son asks how much further they need to walk, or how much money they have to show more spend at the market. Although I liked the illustrations in this book, I did not like how the bilingual conversations in the text between the characters were not translated.
Adika, the son, invites everyone that they pass on the way to the market to come for pancakes but Mama Panya “frowned, thinking about the two coins in her wrap.” Here, we see that the family may be poor, and the mother worries that she does not have enough money to get enough ingredients for all of her guests. Within the illustrations, I liked that the different people that they passed were dressed differently, like the man who is fishing who wears pants and a button down, and the kid’s they see are wearing long dresses.
Towards the end of the story, Adika begins to assure his mother that they will have enough money for ingredients to make pancakes for all of the people that he continues to invite, and he says to her “oh, a little bit and a little bit more.” All of the guests ended up bringing more food and flour, which shows that although you may feel helpless sometimes, people will try and support and help you when you need it. I also liked how at the end of the book explains the village life in Kenya with people, general village life, school, and after school and what they do. This makes the book both informational and traditional. show less