Pancakes for Supper

Pancakes for Supper

Written by: Anne Isaacs

Illustrated by: Mark Teague

Brief Summary: A young girl named Toby serves as the main character within the book Pancakes for Supper. Toby is traveling through the woods in a wagon with her mother and father when suddenly the wagon hits a bump in the road that causes her to go flying! Toby soars through the sky and gently lands back on the ground, on top of a pile of snow, in the middle of the woods. Throughout her pursuit in finding her way back to her mother and father, Toby unexpectedly find herself face-to-face with some unfriendly animals. Through a unique and surprising ending, these unfriendly creatures aid Toby in discovering some hot maple syrup to use on some homemade pancakes.

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I randomly chose this book from the Curriculum Lab's shelf and I am glad that I did! The illustrations within the book help aid the plot of the story as well as provide colorful, page filling, images. Pancakes for Supper is recommended for children between the ages of 4 and 8. I agree with this age range due to the simple plot line, word usage, and illustrations present throughout the pages of the book. However I would argue that students up to 3rd grade (10/11 years old) may find this book appealing. A main theme that is consistently present within this book is to be generous and eventually, in return, good/pleasant things will happen to you. I believe that students of both gender would find this book enjoyable. The main character, Toby, is female; however, a strong feminine, "girly", vibe isn't present. Toby could just as easily be portrayed as a boy within this book without changing the language of the story. As many other children's book, Pancakes for Supper, is fiction. This particular story allows for the audience to read/hear about a situation that is far-fetched and unrealistic, and I think that is just great! I had no idea how the book was going to end, and after reading the conclusion I had to pause and think for a second how that came to be. The ending was unexpected and rather humorous. Overall I would recommend this book to my students and an individual read or perhaps it could be read aloud for the entire class to hear.