Marsupial Sue Presents "The Runaway Pancake": Book and CD [Hardcover]

John Lithgow (Author), Jack E. Davis (Illustrator)

Book Description

"I'm too fast, you're too slow. Pan, pan, patty-cake pan, I can get away from you, I can!"

The much-loved story of the Runaway Pancake who pops out of the oven and is sure he can escape all who want to eat him, is given a new spin when Marsupial Sue and her friends put on a play version for their neighborhood. This has all of the wit and whimsy of Marsupial Sue and again features lively illustrations by Jack E. Davis. From the friends' preparations behind the scenes to the actors' final bows, readers will be inspired by the production. A CD recording of John Lithgow's live performance of the song "The Runaway Pancake" is also included.

Editorial Reviews

From School Library Journal

PreSchool-Grade 3–Marsupial Sue and her friends are presenting their version of The Gingerbread Man. Sue has the role of Auntie May, who cooks a pancake in the oven. As soon as it is done, it jumps out of the pan and rolls away, singing as it goes. It meets a variety of animals until it is finally outsmarted by a fox. Because the story is set as a play, Davis has the challenge of depicting animals dressed as other creatures. Some of them are hard to decipher and could be confusing to children. Also confusing is the fact that as the play begins, the colored-pencil, acrylic, dye, and ink illustrations depict a stage with an audience, but as it progresses, the setting changes to the countryside. The text is printed on top of the bright, full-page cartoon art, an effect that is busy but readable. The book reads like a transcript of a storyteller's performance and follows closely Lithgow's own words on the accompanying CD. His performance is animated and highly entertaining. Almost as delightful are the background comments by the young live audience. Despite the shortcomings of the book, the CD is worth the purchase price. Note, however, that Marsupial Sue is never mentioned by name; she is simply Auntie May, which may disappoint readers expecting her to have a bigger role in the book.–Donna Cardon, Provo City Library, UT
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

From Booklist

K-Gr. 2. Leave it to Marsupial Sue to put a funny spin on the familiar story The Runaway Pancake by presenting it as a play for the neighborhood and casting her Aussie animal friends as characters. Davis' lively cartoons embellish the fun. Costumes and clever details are tucked into every scene: assorted cleaning brushes become tails and hair; gardening tools become claws; insects play bit parts. Kids who enjoyed Marsupial Sue's debut (Marsupial Sue, 2001) will giggle and applaud this encore, even though the rhyme doesn't always roll easily off the tongue and the wacky illustrations are so frenzied at times, it's a little hard to sort out the action. John Lithgow hams it up wonderfully on the accompanying CD. Julie Cummins
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Hardcover: 40 pages
• Publisher: Simon & Schuster Books For Young Readers (August 30, 2005)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0689878478
• ISBN-13: 978-0689878473
• Product Dimensions: 11.2 x 8.9 x 0.3 inches
• Shipping Weight: 12.6 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (29 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #99,647 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Writing a children's book was not something that I pursued. It pursued me. It started when I was asked to write a narration for a symphony for kids. I realized that it had the text for a book. From that text "The Remarkable Farkle McBride" was born. And once the first book was successful, others followed.

My sixth (!) children's book, "Marsupial Sue Presents the Runaway Pancake," was just published this fall. This is a sequel to "Marsupial Sue," one of my most popular storybook characters.This story was inspired in part by two different things: The "Runaway Pancake" song is a guaranteed show stopper whenever I sing it in one of my Paloozicals Concert for Kids , and my performing on Broadway this year in "Dirty Rotton Scoundrels" made me think that Sue might like to put on a show of her own with all of her animal friends.

I credit my parents for fostering my love of literature and books. I have fond memories of my father reading chapters aloud from great thick books like "The Jungle Book" and "A Teller of Tales".

I have carried on my father's tradition by reading aloud to my own kids when they were little. I have also started a few traditions of my own, like singing to them and playing really mediocre guitar, building castles with them out of refrigerator boxes and treasure hunts across museums. Once I even created a very elaborate paper chase across the entire campus of UCLA for my daughter Phoebe's 16th Birthday. Some of these games were inspiration for all of the Lithgow Palooza books and books with kits that have been published by both Simon and Schuster and Running Press.

Although writing is an arduous process for me, there is nothing better than seeing a child falling in love with one of my stories.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars We just LOVE Marsupial Sue!, February 4, 2006

By 

M. Neville (Sunnyside, VA USA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Marsupial Sue Presents "The Runaway Pancake": Book and CD (Hardcover)

When I learned there was a new "Marsupial Sue" book out I knew I had to get it for my daughter's fourth birthday. The original "Marsupial Sue" is now tattered and taped from many fun-filled readings. After perusing the reviews I was hesitant to order the book because the critics thought it might be confusing for small children. Not so! My kids (2.5 and 4) are asking to read it over and over. They are not confused at all about the characters' costumes and they picked up on the rhyme immediately. We're now laughing about the costumes the animals put together and singing "No No No No No" joyously! Thanks Mr. Lithgow for more great memories.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Wonderful Fun!, March 10, 2007

By 

J. Eadie (panama city, fl) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Marsupial Sue Presents "The Runaway Pancake": Book and CD (Hardcover)

My five year old daughter and I read this book three times together this morning. Then, we listened to the CD five times together, then she listened to it three times more!!!! This is a wonderfully entertaining and funny story. My little girl has been running around singing the song all morning!
Thanks John Lithgow, for using your talent to entertain families!

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Another rollicking fun read by John Lithgow!, October 22, 2008

By 

Z Hayes (TX, USA) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (HALL OF FAME REVIEWER)    (TOP 50 REVIEWER)   

This review is from: Marsupial Sue Presents "The Runaway Pancake": Book and CD (Hardcover)

John Lithgow's books for children are fun, entertaining reads! Books that can not only be enjoyed by children, but adults as well, and that's saying a lot.In "Marsupial Sue Presents the Runaway Pancake", the accompanying CD contains a live performance by John Lithgow, narrating [not word for word, but he adds a lot of humor to the story] and performing the song of the runaway pancake. This is such a wonderful book and CD combo that had my 3.5 year-old daughter laughing with glee and tapping her feet as she sang along to the CD.

I have read most of Lithgow's books for children and reviewed them, and I find they are excellent tools for promoting early literacy skills - the rhyming text and accompanying CD together with the humorous illustrations provide ample opportunity for sing-alongs, read-aloud, and active discussion of the themes in the books. Highly recommended!