Set Sail for Pancakes!

June 1, 2022
Set sail for sweetness, whimsy, and pancakes. Margot and her grandfather both wake up hungry for pancakes but find they do not have the ingredients they need. To gather eggs, milk, and flour, they must visit Chicken Island, Cow Island, and Flour Mill Island. The duo set sail on their boat, the Beluga Blue. They gather eggs among the chickens and practice "speaking cow" on Cow Island. Margot manages Flour Mill Island on her own, with a bit of rescue from Grandfather at the end. A storm forces them to harbor, where they must wait out the weather in their cozy ship only to discover, after the rain clears, that they are at Banana Tree Island. Then it's time for Margot and Grandfather to whip up some banana pancakes on the Beluga Blue. The text is charming and playful ("My tummy is grumbly for pancakes, Grandpa!"), enhanced by beautiful digital artwork with fun details gracing each page (the inhabitants of Cow Island sport adorable hats), including the bright endpapers. The book concludes with a recipe for the "best banana pancakes in the history of pancakes." Margot and Grandfather are brown-skinned. (This book was reviewed digitally.) If readers aren't hungry for pancakes now, they will be at the end of this book! (Picture book. 5-8)

COPYRIGHT(2022) Kirkus Reviews, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.

July 1, 2022
Preschool-Grade 1 Budding young cooks, pay attention: in this tale, a culinary adventure awaits. When Margot and her grandpa decide on pancakes for breakfast, they find they're out of essential ingredients and board their boat to go ""shopping"" on a very strange farm-to-fork odyssey. The eggs, milk, and flour are all on separate islands. As they sail around to collect their ingredients, they visit the charming isles and meet and converse with the animals. When they finally reach Flour Mill Island, their last stop, the weather changes from sunny to stormy. While racing home, they get stuck in the storm and have to anchor at the nearest harbor to wait it out. Of course, accidents can produce the best results. When the clouds part, they discover they're on Banana Island, which means they end up getting to make special banana pancakes. Young readers will enjoy the whimsical journey, the graphic design-like illustrations, and, of course, the recipe for banana pancakes at the end.

COPYRIGHT(2022) Booklist, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.