Bookshelf Blurb: A hungry little guy decides to make pancakes and becomes famous with his recipe. With the book you get the recipe… and it is yummy!

America’s Review:

One morning Henry Edgewood wakes up hungry for pancakes, but his mother is making something else. Instead of changing her plans, she encourages Henry to make pancakes for himself. With his mother’s encouragement, Henry starts making pancakes for every meal, and eating pancakes three times a day makes Henry a pro at making pancakes! His notoriety spreads and soon everyone is wanting to eat Henry’s pancakes! Before long, Henry becomes The Pancake King as told in the revised edition of the 1971 classic by Phyllis La Farge and cleverly illustrated by Seymour Chwast.

Henry’s pancakes are soon sought by business owner and proprietor Mr. Jinker, who wants to take Henry’s sensational pancakes to the world and make both Henry and his pancakes famous. Mr. Jinker and Henry create a Pancake King franchise which makes them both rich and famous.

But little Henry is tired of being famous and just wants to go home to be with his family and his dog. And he wants something to eat besides pancakes.

In the Classroom:

This book is for the younger audiences and I have yet to meet a child who doesn’t enjoy pancakes. The Pancake King provides a terrific platform for teaching children to pursue their dreams. Plus, recipes = math! This book is an excellent example for teaching everyday math. You can read this story and then make the recipe; teaching fractions is an important math skill and this book makes it simple. You can extend the teaching moment by having students bring recipes from home and share them through demonstration speeches. This is a wonderful opportunity for math, speech and writing.

The Pancake King by Phyllis La Farge, illustrated by Seymour Chwast (Princeton Architectural Press | 9781616894320 | March 1, 2016)