Hey, Pancakes!
PreSchool-Grade 1-Weston and Gammell have stirred together the ingredients for a fun romp in the kitchen as three lively kids make pancakes for breakfast. Mixed-media illustrations with variegated pastel scribbles and color splotches in the background convey the action as the children slop and splash their way through the creation and consumption of the meal. Done in an energetic style similar to his work in Karen Ackerman's Song and Dance Man (Knopf, 1988) and Cynthia Rylant's The Relatives Came (Bradbury, 1985), Gammell's illustrations are filled with zany, lovable characters making a delicious mess. Although a few of the rhymes are a bit of a stretch, the simple poem with its onomatopoeic phrases and catchy rhythm is sure to have youngsters bouncing along with the beat. Pair this title with Eric Carle's Pancakes, Pancakes! (S & S, 1991) and Laura Numeroff's If You Give a Pig a Pancake (HarperCollins, 1998) for a funfilled storytime. A recipe is included, along with a warning to "leave the cooking to the big kids."-Laurie Edwards, West Shore School District, Camp Hill, PACopyright 2003 Reed Business Information, Inc.