Pancakes, Pancakes!

by Eric Carle

The barnyard rooster crows and Jack wakes up -- hungry, of course! What does he want for breakfast? A big pancake! But first, Jack's mother needs flour from the mill, an egg from the black hen, milk from the spotted cow, butter churned from fresh cream, and firewood for the stove. Will Jack ever get his pancake?

With his trademark vibrant collage illustrations and a lively text, Eric Carle has created a mouthwatering tale for young readers.

Genres: Picture Books, Childrens, Food, Fiction, Cooking, Family, Storytime

36 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1970

About the author

Eric Carle was an American author, designer and illustrator of children's books. His picture book The Very Hungry Caterpillar, first published in 1969, has been translated into more than 66 languages and sold more than 50 million copies. Carle's career as an illustrator and children's book author accelerated after he collaborated on Brown Bear, Brown Bear, What Do You See?. Carle illustrated more than 70 books, most of which he also wrote, and more than 145 million copies of his books have been sold around the world.
In 2003, the American Library Association awarded Carle the biennial Laura Ingalls Wilder Medal (now called the Children's Literature Legacy Award), a prize for writers or illustrators of children's books published in the U.S. who have made lasting contributions to the field. Carle was also a U.S. nominee for the biennial, international Hans Christian Andersen Award in 2010.

Reviews

[Tim · Rating 2 out of 5]

Oh, surprise, surprise… another Eric Carle book I don't like. Now I know, at this point I really should stop reviewing them… and if those are you're thoughts, you're in luck! This is likely the last one I will review as it completes the ones that are in our home collection.

…

At least until someone inevitably gifts us another of his books.

So, when I first picked up this one, I actually thought I had a shot of liking it. The cover with the smiling pancake seemed promising. Apparently it was about a young boy who wanted pancakes? Okay, so was it going to be about him making pancakes with his mom? That has potential. Could be a sort of story where we learn how to make something while also showing how to help. I'm okay with this. Or maybe it could be a funny story about some sort of talking pancake based on the smiling one on the cover.

Nope, it's about a boy who wakes up, wants a pancake, then has to go harvest wheat, take it to be processed, get milk from cows and many other tasks. My first thought was "huh… did we just watch this boy wake up, go through an entire day's work hoping for one pancake at the end as a reward and that was all he got to eat? Because that's pretty rough."

I guess it's nice that the book shows to a degree the hard work that people go to in order to create the common ingredients we use, but it doesn't make for a fun story… and frankly after that much work, the kid deserved more than one pancake. 2/5 stars.

[Hilary · Rating 2 out of 5]

I liked the look of the cover, I thought the smiling pancake in the pan was going to try to escape before being eaten but this was a story about a boy living long ago who wanted a pancake. The story took you through the process of making a pancake starting with grinding wheat to make flour.

[Canette Arille · Rating 4 out of 5]

I love pancakes. Especially with whipped cream and warm chocolate. So I love this book. Pancakes are very tasty, but to make them, you need ingredients. Are they hard to get? Check it out by reading the book :)

[Peacegal · Rating 2 out of 5]

When I still worked at the Circulation Desk of my library checking out items for patrons, there was a grandmother who regularly visited with her preschool-aged grandson. This book, along with a CD of kiddie Christmas tunes, were the only two things the boy would check out. Out of the thousands of things in our library, this was all he wanted. Every time. (Poor grandma!)

Really, this book was a disappointment to me. The cover would make one think this is the adventure of a smiling pancake, which would be an awesome story. Instead, it's the vaguely medieval tale of a boy who goes through a ridiculous amount of steps to make a single pancake. (You'll be thankful for Bisquick after reading this one!)

So really, the best thing about this was the cover.

[Liam Leftley · Rating 3 out of 5]

'Pancakes, Pancakes!' is a book written by Eric Carle that allows children to think about not only how their favourite food items and meals come together to create the finished product that they enjoy on the dining table, but where these raw ingredients come from themselves.

The story, which features large and colourful illustrations, follows Jack as he goes about collecting the items needed to make pancakes before carrying out the recipe with his mother.

The story builds nicely from Jack's initial desire for a big pancake and sees him obtain wheat, visit the miller, milk a cow, visit a hen to obtain an egg and ultimately ends in him proudly proclaiming "Oh, Mama, I now know what to do!" once mother and son have made the pancake together.

The pages consist of bright depictions of agricultural life using collage style visuals; the text provided is usually in two paragraphs and uses simple language featuring easy to read phonics. Best use of this book may be to first read the book to a child (ages 3-5), letting them take in the pictures and listen to the story, and then after that has been done allow the young learner to attempt the words for themselves as part of their learning to decode text.

[Kayla Gephart · Rating 5 out of 5]

I really enjoyed this book because it is ideal for teaching procedure to students. This helps them improve in their writing by encouraging the use of transition words and step-by-step formats. Transitions seem to be a common problem among many students even in their high school and college years. Developing these skills early make for better writers in the future.
This book is also ideal for discussion among younger grade levels. I like how it illustrates the value of hard work through a story. When Jack goes through all of the ways he needs to get ingredients for his mother to make a pancake, it creates a theme of "Hardwork will always be rewarded." I think this is an important value for students. The hard work for homework will result in good grades, for example. It's almost encouraging.

[Rod Brown · Rating 3 out of 5]

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.

[Farah · Rating 4 out of 5]

Well, this story will make anybody think twice before asking their mother for a pancake!

The art was great. The story was very reach with vocabulary.
Also-Spoiler-you get to learn how one makes a pancake!

[Ellyn (Mrs. Darcy in my Dreams) · Rating 4 out of 5]

I love this book so much because it teaches us how much work goes into making food! Instead of kids (and adults!) thinking everything comes from the store we can be reminded of where the ingredients come from originally. It reminds me of the Little Red Hen (??) and how we see where bread comes from! I read this as a picture book to my kids, but today at my library I picked up a board book edition. I must say I doubt many toddlers or preschoolers are going to have patience for the length of words per page!

[Anna · Rating 2 out of 5]

I feel like Jack yelled at his mother too often for a pancake and he didn't seem to be very smart and realize it takes more than a bundle of wheat to make pancakes. Every time he spoke except at the very end, it said that "Jack shouted." I used to read Eric Carle all the time but I think the artwork is only okay, not very impressive, and the story is boring as it is only about how to make a pancake medieval style. Just mix up some batter from a bag and it's easier.

[Leila · Rating 4 out of 5]

It is a very long book

[Becky · Rating 4 out of 5]

First sentence: Kee-ke-ri-kee crowed the rooster. Jack woke up, looked out the window and thought, "I'd like to have a big pancake for breakfast."

Premise/plot: Jack wants a pancake--a BIG pancake. His mom tells him he'll have to help her if he wants a pancake. This help will include cutting wheat, taking it to the miller in town, having it ground into flour, gathering an egg from a hen, milking a cow, churning butter, and getting a jar of jam from the cellar. Some of these tasks take time--a good deal of time--and effort. Will Jack enjoy the pancakes more for all the work he invested in it?!

My thoughts: I like this one. I like the text more than the illustrations. The book is a very old-fashioned look at how we "get" our food. Flour, eggs, and milk don't come from the store. Pancakes don't come from a mix or restaurant.

Text: 4 out of 5
Illustrations: 3 out of 5
Total: 7 out of 10

[Margaret Chind · Rating 3 out of 5]

Here's another library find that was on one of the many lists I'm looking at for book suggestions. This is fun and funny, but I think I like the new Tyler Florence Tyler Makes Pancakes! better. However it would be fun read both and encourage all the steps in a recipe for making pancakes. :) One on a farm and one in a grocery store.

[Amy · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is my first author study review and is also a picture book.

Pancakes, Pancakes! holds true to Eric Carle's unique style. The story is somewhat of a spin on The Little Red Hen, as the morale of both stories is that those that work hard are rewarded in the end.

Children from ages 2-10 would enjoy this book. Carle's beautiful collage illustrations enhance the story even more. Children would love using his art as models for their own collage art. Teachers can lead a lesson to compare and contrast Pancakes, Pancakes! with other Eric Carle books or traditional tales with similar themes.

[Taylor Armey · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book takes children through the process of collecting ingredients to make pancakes. It shows the process of picking and collecting wheat, getting an egg, milking a cow, and churn some butter. Then they went over starting a fire and how to mix the ingredients together and cook/ flip a pancake. This is a very informational book on how pancakes are made. I love this because most kids do not think about how you get each ingredient and how much work actually goes into making a pancake.

[Leslie · Rating 5 out of 5]

Love Eric Carle and love this book! What a fantastic story for children to understand where our food comes from.

[Reva Taylor · Rating 4 out of 5]

Summary: This book is about a young little boy who makes many pancakes with his mom, and is talks about all of the materials that are needed in order to make pancakes. During this story, readers get the chance to see all of the ingredients that are used with pancakes along with go on the journey of finding them with the boy and his mother.
Evaluation: I gave this book a 4. I think the pictures are very bright and engaging, and gives an opportunity for readers to make many connections between breakfast at their home, and similarities that happen in their families too.
Teaching Point: I think this book would be very good for kindergarten or first grade. I think since the pictures are so detailed, it could be used as a beginning, middle, and end lesson. Students would be given a graphic organizer so that they can draw pictures of the BME, and they can also label the pictures and write brief sentences explaining what is going on in the story.

[Michael Cole · Rating 2 out of 5]

Alternate title: Harnessing your Child’s Hunger - a Loophole Around Child Labor Laws

It’s a kids book, it doesn’t need to make sense, but I want it to. The boy wakes up and wants a pancake for breakfast and to get it he has to: harvest, thresh, and grind wheat; milk a cow; convince a chicken to lay an egg; churn butter; get firewood; and grab a jar from the basement… it’s not breakfast by the time this kid eats his pancake! It might not even be the same day. This child would not survive the challenges in his way to get his pancake.

Does a kid learn something from the book? Maybe. But does the book make sense? No. It is about the illustrations, don’t hold out hope for a compelling narrative.

[Steve Holden · Rating 3 out of 5]

We read and shared this during our final week because of a pancake breakfast we enjoyed in my class. Eric Carle is an author all are familiar with, but in my grade level, students begin moving away from his books. However, when eating pancakes, it's always fun to also read about pancakes.

In terms of books about pancakes, this is my #2 all-time favorite book, and hey, that has to stand for something!

[Sydney Field · Rating 4 out of 5]

Book talks about cooking and finding the right measurements to make the perfect pancakes.

[Anna · Rating 4 out of 5]

Poor Jack has no idea what’s in store when he asks for pancakes one morning. Mom sends him on all sorts of tasks to procure the ingredients for pancakes, and young readers get to see the steps involved in making pancakes on the farm.

[Ben Truong · Rating 3 out of 5]

Pancakes, Pancakes! is a children's picture book written and illustrated by Eric Carle. It tells the length that the child protagonist has to go through to make pancakes. As today is Shrove Tuesday or Pancake Day (16 February 2021), I thought it would be apropos to read this book today.

The text is rather simplistic and straightforward. It details how complex making a simple breakfast of pancakes could get, by sourcing out each individual ingredient – much that modern children take for granted. The illustrations, a frieze of many-colored, multi-textured forms, lack the concentration of the text and somewhat deterred from the narration.

The premise of the book is rather straightforward. Jack's breakfast pancake is a joint enterprise: wheat from the field, flour from the miller, an egg from the hen, milk from the cow, plus, via Jack, butter from the churn, wood from the woodshed and strawberry jam from the cellar and then, with more instructions, the mixing, the frying, the turning, until finally Jack gets his pancakes.

All in all, Pancakes, Pancakes! is a likely idea with an unprepossessing presentation.

[Nyssa Silvester · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is underrated. My daughter loves it, and I find it soothing to read to her. It's a very methodical accounting of how to make a pancake from scratch—like grow-the-wheat-yourself-and-take-it-to-the-miller from scratch.

I have a sister-in-law who's very granola and loves how it teaches kids about all the work that goes into a pancake. It just makes me thankful for capitalism so I don't have to do all that work for one dumb pancake. Either way, an educational read that has survived dozens and dozens of bedtimes at our house.

[Shawn Deal · Rating 4 out of 5]

Here is a story about a boy who wants pancakes for breakfast. It goes into detail how much is involved in getting pankcakes on the breakfast table, starting with the cutting of the wheat and the grounding it up to flour. Plus all the steps to get all the ingredients for pancakes and then to make them.

[Leah Irby · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love to make reading this book an encounter with cooking! We read, then we make pancakes. Any excuse to eat delicious things, while watching as Judah gets to experience the joy of creating something is 5 stars in my book, and 5 stars for this book. Three cheers for Pancakes, Pancakes!

[T.E. Antonino · Rating 5 out of 5]

Who new how much work went into making a pancake? This book shows how much work goes into even making the simplest meal from absolute scratch. I really enjoyed this picture book. Eric Carle really knows how to make a great picture book using the simplest of everyday affairs

[Rob Marshall · Rating 1 out of 5]

How do you take a topic like pancakes and turn it into such a buzzkill?

[Linda Klager · Rating 4 out of 5]

A very cute book and very educational, too.

[Sue Winson · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book reminds me of “The Thank You Dish” by Trace Balla that I absolutely love! “Pancakes, Pancakes” is one of those books that remind us to give thanks and be grateful for each meal that we eat. It reminds us to appreciate things we have taken for granted everyday without realising.

The illustrations are the usual Eric Carle style. It’s unique and inimitable, using collage technique with pop of vibrant colours. They are beautiful and the kids (and adults) love the pictures!

Story wise, it’s not the expected “smiling pancake escaped the frying pan” sort of adventure. Rather, it started from a seemingly-ordinary morning request by a boy called Jack- “I’d like to have a big pancake for breakfast.”

What happened next was a series of “unexpected” - the boy was asked to gather wheat, take it to the mill, separate the grain from chaff, thresh and beat, turn the water wheel, grind the grain into flour. And the story doesn’t end here after all these exhausting steps; Jack was also asked to collect eggs from the hen, milk the cow, churn his own butter, build a fire etc (I would love it even more if Jack could also pick his own strawberries and cook it into jam, but the writer gave him an “easier” task- he just needed to take out a jar of jam from the shelf at the cool cellar).

Four-year-old little AJ giggled and laughed. He said “luckily we have a grocery store near our house where we can get flour and eggs. Otherwise it would take ages for a pancakes to be done”. While reading the book, we talked about the “behind the scene” jobs done by the hardworking people, how every persons have their specialised job, and each contributes to one part of the society to make the world runs well.

I love that this book provides us a good chance to share about how the society works, and how we don’t need to be the “expert” in doing everything (because it would be ridiculous just like all the steps taken in order for Jack to make his pancake). However, we do need to get our own role done well, otherwise somewhere in the chain a step would have broken down.

I also love the step by step instructions, ingredients and tools needed, and the lovely flip of the pancake high into the air and landed in pan. The setting of the story is at a more “ancient” time where firewood was needed for cooking, butter needed to be churned with a long handle up and down many times, where the flour was produced in a traditional way using round millstone connected with water wheels, and wheat to be threshed with flail. This reminded us of another thing to be grateful for- technology.

Overall, I really love this book and I wish there are more such books around in market (especially one that talks about food!!!)


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[Jayda · Rating 4 out of 5]

This review is for educational and informative purposes. I hope you enjoy!

Who does not love an Eric Carle book? Pancakes! Pancakes! is a picture book that helps children cognitively make connections and increase their gross motor manipulative skills. The book is an excellent resource for both parents and educators to help children follow directions and think symbolically. For instance, for cognitive connection, the book can demonstrate to children breakfast food choices. Additionally, vocabulary such as carry, ground, twist, chum, and scoop can increase children's gross motor manipulative skills and teach them to follow instructions. In concern to thinking symbolically, the book is resourceful to help children identify how to prepare for breakfast and how eggs and milk are created. As a parent, I would recommend the book for 'Mommy and Me time’ to let your child assist you with preparing pancakes while wearing an apron and chef hat. This suggested activity is an excellent way to increase your child’s vocabulary and teach them through an engaging and fun kitchen activity. Moreover, as an educator, I would use the book during circle time to strengthen my students' listening ears, model each suggested action, and use breakfast toys as manipulatives as I read. Overall, "Pancakes, Pancakes!" is a tremendously engaging book that offers a rich vocabulary to enhance the meaning of immense movements for young children while also familiarizing children with healthy food choices and connecting them to the breakfast routine. This book also introduces dramatic play for young learners and challenges them to use their imagination in dramatic play with their breakfast toys. I rated the book four out of five stars because the picture and text matches are ideal for young children, the content is an outstanding, engrossing, and unique use of clear and concise language. I do like that book describes how to make pancakes through gathering the ingredients from various sources, instead of using a quick boxed mix. However, I do think the illustrations are not my favorite, I wish they were more engaging, so I would pair the book with my own graphic organizer. Moreover, still a great book!