Customer Reviews

Mama Panya's Pancakes

5 star:		(5)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

My almost 3-year-old really enjoys when I read him this book. The text is not overlong, it's an smooth read, the dialogue is clever and the mother/son relationship has quite a bit of depth. The appendix page is good for older children to find out more details about Kenyan life, especially if they choose this book for a multicultural assignment.

It provides a surprising lesson on the pleasures of neighborliness.

I found this book when I was searching for a story from Kenya. I was putting together a unit on Kenya for third graders and came across this book and fell in love with it. The mother and son have a sweet relationship and the message of sharing and community come through in the end. Wonderful illustrations and several reference pages at the end of the story. Mama Panya's recipe for pancakes are in there too. I made them and passed them around for my presentation.

I loved this book and used it for my unit and plan on purchasing it for my classroom in the future. A wonderful story!!

We had fun with this book -- my daughter thought the boy was just being "bratty" until we talked about how everyone contributed and how sharing led to more for everyone. Then she "got it", and now requests we read it often. The recipe for the pancakes is also easy and kids are able to help. Great book -- we also loved the illustrations -- some parts reminded us of life in Haiti which our Haitian-American kids loved.

I have not read the book, however, as a Kenyan I cannot get over the fact that the Mothers name is Mama Panya, which, translated, means "Mother of Rat" (similar to how "Mama Simon" = Mother of Simon, "Mama Mary" = Mother of Mary, etc).

As a sign of respect in Kenya, children often refer to adult women as "Mama X" where X is the name of one of her children (typically her eldest child). As such, the name Mama Panya suggests that this poor lady has a child named "Panya", a rat, which Kenyans consider one of the lowest/ nastiest animals. This makes the name "Panya" an unlikely name for anyone.

The author could certainly have selected a better name. I will not be purchasing this book despite the positive reviews it has received.

I've been reading this to my little boy ever since he turned four and he loves it. It's not only a good story about sharing, it's also helped us start many conversations about how different people live all over the world and it's given him a point of reference for conversations about Africa. I'd also recommend for kids five and up "Children of Hope," which is a great book that treats a delicate situation very well (it's about the Lost Boys of Sudan).

My daughter (2 1/2) loves this book. She likes all the people they encounter and likes to see what they are doing while they are all eating pancakes. It's just a very nice story and exposes kids to a different culture, different theme than most of the kids books out there. I did try the pancake recipe at the end of the book and did not care for it. I prefer crepes, however, because of this book, we enjoy crepes which are our version of Mama Panya's Pancakes!

I purchased the book to introduce a bit of African Culture to my childen. The story is charming and heartwarming and the illustrations are beautiful and colorful adding to the richness of the story.

I liked the back of the book as much as the story itself as it explains life in Kenya, including a map, some Kiswahili greetings and words and a recipe to try for those whom wish to taste a bit of Africa too.

A great addition and introduction to a cultural collection for kids.

First, let me mention for those interested in the subject that this book shows babywearing in the background in one of the spreads.

The moral of the story, how a simple dinner became a feast when "all their friends" were invited to share it, is neither overly expressed nor too subtle for little ones. The illustrations are bright and colorful, this book will attract a lot of attention :)

Please note that it's a bit wordy, probably suited for the older of the 4-8 crowd. The same advice *definitely* goes for the supplemental information at the back of the book, all sorts of things on how people live in Kenya and a few simple Swahili phrases and, of course, a recipe :)