The Dancing Pancake
Grade 4–7—Bindi's life is pretty normal. She loves to read and has good friends and a loving extended family. This normalcy ends when her parents announce that they are separating and that her father is moving to another city to look for a job. Told entirely in verse, the story relates the sixth grader's experiences, her feelings, and snippets of her daily life. Bindi and her mother move to an apartment above The Dancing Pancake, which Bindi's mother and aunt open shortly after school lets out for the summer. The cafe is populated with interesting staff and customers, many of whom help the girl create her own definitions of friendship and empathy. Bindi's growth and self-realization help her cope with the situations that the grown-ups in her life face and allow her to accept her father back into her life when her parents reconcile. The poetic structure of this novel succeeds in capturing the child's voice and deepest feelings. The verse also provides sound development of secondary characters. Lew-Vriethoff's lively pen-and-ink illustrations add texture to the story and offer touches of humor. Contemporary issues, including the homelessness of Bindi's favorite customer, are balanced by lighter themes of silly little cousins and first crushes.—Shawn Brommer, South Central Library System, Madison, WI(c) Copyright 2010.  Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc.  No redistribution permitted.