Pancakes, Pancakes!

A how-to-do-it-from-scratch book, but unlike Pelle's New Suit or Tomie de Paola's Charlie Needs A Cloak, this one stretches the bounds of credulity by forcing the poor hungry child Jack to harvest wheat, thresh wheat, visit the mill to have it ground, milk a cow, churn butter, fetch wood for fuel, and gather eggs ALL BEFORE BREAKFAST. At least he's allowed just to fetch strawberry jam from the basement instead of picking strawberries and refining sugar from beets. But rather than a realistic picture of how breakfast gets onto the table, it shows how ridiculous it would be to try to create a pancake from the rawest of raw materials every time you get hungry. The sun would be going down and Jack would have fainted from hunger long before show more his breakfast was done.

Our kids know about making pancakes, but they don't have to go to the henhouse before breakfast, let alone the flour mill. show less

This is another one of my favorite books. In my opinion, Eric Carle has combined his classic style of whimsical writing and illustrations with a practical story that offers a recipe for pancakes as well as some discussion of historical cooking and farming techniques. The writing of this story is so interesting to me. For example, as I read the story, I feel that it could almost be categorized as contemporary realistic fiction due to the fact that the main character and his mother are so personable and relatable to this time period. Then I remember that in order to get flour, Jack has to go through the antique, multistep process of cutting the wheat and grinding it until it becomes a fine, powdery pancake ingredient. I think the show more illustrations in this story are wonderful. The artistic style is true to Eric Carle, but the pictures in this book offer more than incredible art. The illustrations go hand-in-hand with the text in that they provide a visual of items that the target audience may not have seen before. When the measuring cups and mixing bowls were set out, Eric Carle creates an illustration that provides a visual representation of the materials. The big idea of this story is that accomplishing something challenging independently is very rewarding. show less

I absolutely love this book. It was one of my favorites as a child, and I'm pretty sure it's the reason why I love pancakes so much. First of all, I love Eric Carle's illustrations. They are all so colorful and clear and engaging. I particularly love the way the page where Jack goes into the basement to find strawberry jam is illustrated. You can clearly see the contrast between the dark basement and the well-lit kitchen above it. I also like how the plot shows how the different ingredients for the pancake are made. Jack has to cut the wheat, thresh it, and have it poured into a grinder to turn it into flower. The steps are all there. At the end, to top of all the steps to get the different ingredients, Carle shows how the ingredients show more are combined to make the pancake. The mother narrates each step: "'Put a cupful of flour into the bowl...Break an egg into the flour and stir...Pour a cupful of milk over the flour and egg and stir again until the batter is smooth and without lumps'". I think that helps me, personally, connect with the story, because it reminds me of making things with my mother and having her help me make different things. The big idea of this story is hard work pays off, which is illustrated by the fact that Jack makes all the ingredients for the pancake by hand, combines them, cooks the pancake himself, and gets to eat it at the end. show less

I like this book because it is funny and engaging for young children. It is set in the past, before factories and modern technology, and it makes kids think about what life was like when the conveniences that we have today didn’t exist. I particularly like the fact that this book gives step-by-step directions of how to make pancakes that children can actually follow. They can collect all the materials as the main character did and then follow the recipe provided. This makes the book interactive and is a great way to incorporate literacy into the everyday activity of making breakfast. The illustrations in this book are also very appealing to readers due to the fact that they are colorful and uniquely realistic. The one issue that I show more have with this book is that I feel that it could be a bit unrelatable to children today. If a child were not interested in history or the past, they would not find this book appealing. The big idea of this book is to teach kids how to make pancakes in a funny and enjoyable way. show less

Eric Carle lays out all the work that goes into making a pancake starting with cutting wheat in the field up through churning butter and finally ending with a big bite. (Thankfully, we don't have to stick around for Jack's visit to an outhouse a few hours later.)

It's educational and fun, with bright illustrations and some animal sounds thrown in.

I knew before I checked out this book that it was going to be a classic. Anything by Eric Carle is always fun, colorful, and engaging, and "Pancakes" is no exception. I loved it. First, the language followed a fun, predictable pattern, as well as the plot. The boy wanted a pancake, and each time he returned to his mother with an ingredient, he had to go out and get another until the recipe was complete. "'Here's an egg,' shouted Jack. 'Let's make a pancake.' But his mother said, 'Now we need some milk.'" It teaches kids the importance of following steps and also how to appreciate where their food comes from, being that he had to retrieve flour from a farmer, milk from a cow, an egg from a chicken, etc. The story flows and is undoubtedly show more fun to read. I imagine myself using this book for a read aloud with young students, especially as a shared reading exercise since the story has repetitive lines (such as "let's make a pancake"). The point of view is third person, which I think has no positive or negative effects on the story. The illustrations are classic Eric Carle, which is a style all its own that readers of all ages love. Classic illustrations to perfectly compliment a classic story. show less

This book would be good for kids because they do not realize how readily available they have certain things within their own home. Jack worked very hard to make his pancake and helped his mother throughout the entire story. It is a reminder for kids to help their parents when asking for something, I believe it teaches kids about having courtesy towards their guardians and working hard for what you want.