PLENTY OF PANCAKES
by Carrie Finison ; illustrated by Brianne Farley
Good intentions prove little match for voracious ursine bellies.
Topsy the opossum has a bold plan for her bear friend LouAnn. Since LouAnn has been hibernating all winter, the very start of spring is the perfect time for a massive pancake-based breakfast. Rhyming verse sets an upbeat tone as Topsy produces five delicious pancakes…which are immediately and mysteriously purloined when Topsy’s back is turned. Unfazed, Topsy makes a second batch, which also disappears. When a third and fourth batch meet the same fate, Topsy is utterly bereft. Fortunately, friends are nearby to lend a hand. By the time LouAnn awakens, there are plentiful pancakes on hand…and two stuffed cubs with suspiciously pancake-y faces by her side. LouAnn is the new mother of two very hungry little ones! In the end, everyone benefits, scarfing pancakes galore. As with this tale’s predecessor, the good-natured Dozens of Doughnuts (2020), the fun lies in both the mischief and the food. The gentle rhyming text scans without flaw, while Farley’s delightful art brings to life not simply an evocative view of early spring, but also the fun and whimsy of a put-upon opossum.
No good deed goes unpunished (and no good pancake goes uneaten) in this charming new take on post-hibernation.
(Picture book. 3-6)