Our family loves pancakes and we love books, so we started exploring pancake books! As it turns out, we’re not the only ones; our local library has a whole collection on books about pancakes. Some of the books include recipes, so we tested them out to find our favorites. Let’s dig in!
Pancakes for Breakfast by Tomie dePaola
This book has been a favorite in our house since my oldest was little. We all love looking through the pictures. This book is unique in that it doesn’t have text for the story, which gives lots of flexibility as the reader. Sometimes I go into detail about what the woman is doing, other times I make sounds or talk like her, and other times my kids help tell the story. It’s clever, witty, and beautifully done!
I definitely feel grateful after reading the story; Pancakes for Breakfast follows a woman’s efforts to make pancakes, including fetching eggs, milking the cow, and churning butter. We can happily make pancakes every day; it’s much more convenient in today’s world!
Curious George and the Pancake Breakfast by Margret & H.A. Rey
“George was a good little monkey, and always very curious.”
This infamous phrase begins many a tale about this curious monkey. In this story, George’s curiosity turns into delicious pancakes. As he watches pancakes being made on a griddle for a children’s hospital fundraiser, he reaches in and adds blueberries to the cooking pancakes. When the chef leaves the griddle to get help, George jumps in. He makes pancakes fast and they turn into the best pancakes the fundraiser has ever seen. Most pancakes come off the griddle with a blueberry face smiling at the customer. Cute and witty in normal Curious George fashion, this is a fun story to add to any collection.
Unfortunately, the pancake recipe on the back is not a favorite in our house. Our pancakes turned out very dense with less flavor than other recipes we tested. It needs melted butter added to the batter, as well as more milk and/or eggs. Good thing George is so captivating!
Sunday Breakfast by Maya Tatsukawa
Sunday Pancakes has become one of our favorite pancake books!
Sunday Pancakes is a cute tale that begins with Cat pulling out ingredients for Sunday pancakes. When he discovers no milk or eggs, he calls up Rabbit and Moonbear, who come right over. Rabbit is funny and clumsy, creating an adventurous morning for the three friends. They enjoy cute and yummy animal pancakes shaped like them, followed by a nap, and ending with a delicious surprise by Rabbit!
Not only did we make the pancake recipe in the book, my kids insisted on making the faces too. The faces were a hit, and my daughter commented several times on how much she enjoyed the pancakes. Check out the full post about Animal Pancakes, and make yourself some friendly faces too!
The Adventures of Paddington: Pancake Day! by Alyssa Satin Capucilli
Paddington is so excited to taste pancakes and marmalade for the first time. Then he walks into the kitchen and pancake day is canceled! With naive determination, he finds a way to make pancake day happen anyway.
My kids love Paddington’s first attempt to make pancakes- a pan with a cake in it. A bit too large, so it needs to be flattened! Oh Paddington! As Paddington lovers know, he eats marmalade any chance he gets, so of course it goes on his pancakes. If anyone knows a good place to get marmalade in the states, my kids are now very curious about it!
Pancakes, Pancakes! by Eric Carle
Similar to Pancakes for Breakfast, Pancakes, Pancakes! traces each step it takes to make pancakes from scratch. When the son asks for pancakes, his mother has many chores to give him to fulfill his mission. From preparing the grain, to fetching eggs and firewood, the boy is a diligent worker, and his hard work pays off with pancakes on his plate. He knows just what to do with them!
Eric Carle always has such captivating illustrations, and this book is no different. My kids were most intrigued with the harvesting and threshing of the grain. Though we enjoyed the book, our family prefers the pancake process with Pancakes for Breakfast (plus we love the surprise ending!).
Lady Pancake & Sir French Toast by Josh Funk
The Lady Pancake and Sir French Toast books are extremely witty and clever. Unfortunately, I think most of the wit was lost on my toddlers, so these pancake books are definitely geared more towards older children (and adults- I was entertained!). I loved all the explanations of the parts of the fridge as they raced from one end to the other through all the other foods. Well done!
Final Thoughts
What a fun week of pancake books! With toddlers, our favorites were Pancakes for Breakfast and Sunday Pancakes. Everyone enjoyed sampling pancakes too (of course!). Our favorite recipe was from Pancakes for Breakfast.
Have you read other pancake books we should add to our list?! Or a favorite recipe different than what’s shared in these books? Share in the comments!
As always, have a blessed and sunshiny day š
Join in the Pancake Fun:
- Animal Pancakes from Sunday Pancakes
- Pancakes for Breakfast
- Curious George Makes Pancakes
- How to Make Delicious Sourdough Pancakes
- Simple Homemade Waffles
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