Pancakes, Pancakes! (World of Eric Carle) [Paperback]

Eric Carle (Author, Illustrator)

Book Description

Series: World of Eric Carle

The barnyard rooster crows and Jack wakes up -- hungry, of course! What does he want for breakfast? A big pancake! But first, Jack's mother needs flour from the mill, an egg from the black hen, milk from the spotted cow, butter churned from fresh cream, and firewood for the stove. Will Jack ever get his pancake?

With his trademark vibrant collage illustrations and a lively text, Eric Carle has created a mouthwatering tale for young readers.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

As portrayed in Carle's familiar, colorful collages, cornflakes just won't do for a determined lad who goes to great lengths to procure his favorite breakfast. Ages 3-7.
Copyright 1992 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

About the Author

Eric Carle well-known creator of many beloved picture books for small readers and listeners, including such classics as Papa, Please Get the Moon for Me, The Tiny Seed, Rooster's Off to See the World, A House for Hermit Crab, and The Very Hungry Caterpillar. He is especially celebrated for his unique ability to combine learning with pleasure. Children delight in the distinctive beauty of his illustrations -- richly layered collages in glowing colors -- and they love his entertaining stories, which invite them to make their own discoveries in a natural, joyful way.

Born in Syracuse, New York, Eric Carle received much of his education in Germany. He is a graduate of the Akademie der bildenden KÜnste in Stuttgart, where he learned about Goethe's color theory and complementary colors. Eric Carle has two grown children. He and his wife live in western Massachusetts.

Product Details

• Paperback: 32 pages
• Publisher: Aladdin (October 1, 1998)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0689822464
• ISBN-13: 978-0689822469
• Product Dimensions: 11.1 x 8 x 0.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 7.2 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (30 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #22,709 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #9 in Books > 4-for-3 Books > Children's Books > Authors & Illustrators, A-Z > ( C ) > Carle, Eric
  • #12 in Books > 4-for-3 Books > Children's Books > Arts & Music > Crafts & Hobbies
  • #16 in Books > 4-for-3 Books > Children's Books > Animals > Farm Animals > Fiction

More About the Author

Eric Carle is acclaimed and beloved as the creator of brilliantly illustrated and innovatively designed picture books for young children.


Eric was born in Syracuse, New York, in 1929, and moved with his parents to Germany when he was six years old. After graduating from art school, he returned to America, the land of his happiest childhood memories, and found work as a graphic designer.


After seeing an advertisement designed by Eric, respected educator and author, Bill Martin Jr, called to ask him to illustrate a story he had written. Brown Bear, Brown Bear, What Do You See?, with its distinctive collage style, was the result of their collaboration. This favorite was the beginning of Eric Carle's true career. Soon Eric was writing his own stories, developing a close bond with Ann Beneduce, the founder of Philomel Books, who would be his editor for nearly 40 years. In 1969 they published the celebrated classic, The Very Hungry Caterpillar, which has eaten its way into the hearts of literally millions of children all over the world and has been translated into more than 30 languages. Since this beginning, Eric Carle has illustrated more than seventy books, many best sellers, most of which he also wrote.


The secret of Eric Carle's books' appeal lies in his intuitive understanding of and respect for children, who sense in him instinctively someone who shares their most cherished thoughts and emotions. He says "I believe the passage from home to school is the second biggest trauma of childhood; the first is, of course, being born.
Indeed, in both cases we leave a place of warmth and protection for one that is unknown. The unknown often brings fear with it. In my books I try to counteract this fear, to replace it with a positive message. I believe that children are naturally creative and eager to learn. I want to show them that learning is really both fascinating and fun."


Eric Carle has two grown-up children, a son and a daughter. He and his wife Barbara divide their time between Massachusetts and Florida.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

26 of 28 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars This book fascinated the kids., December 18, 2002

By 

BarkLessWagMore (USA) - See all my reviews
(TOP 1000 REVIEWER)   

This review is from: Pancakes, Pancakes! (World of Eric Carle) (Paperback)

Pancakes, Pancakes! is another beautifully illustrated Eric Carle book for the youngsters. My son likes nothing better than a huge plate of pancakes for breakfast and was attracted to this book immediately upon viewing its cover depicting a large, happy pancake.

Pancakes, Pancakes! tells the story of a hungry little boy who wakes one morning with a craving for pancakes. He asks him mom for pancakes but she's too busy and tells him to collect the things needed to make them instead (they apparently don't sell the frozen ones in this story). He's a good little boy and does so without complaint. He has to make the flour (by hand!), wait for the hen to lay an egg, milk the spotted cow, churn the butter and so on until he has all of the ingredients assembled. Frankly, I was surprised this poor child didn't complain and then collapse from exhaustion! Finally, the sweet boy gets his pancakes and all ends well.

My kids were riveted to this tale and especially enjoyed the illustrations. They were particularly fascinated by the page containing a picture of the ingredients the boy collected. The story also invited a lot of questions (my kids are used to microwave pancakes and were quite bewildered by the lengths the boy had to go to for breakfast). They both seemed to enjoy it very much and, best of all, it held their attention and made them think and ask questions instead of zoning out while I read. All of this combined with the beautiful art work makes Pancakes, Pancakes! a keeper for us.

11 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars an easy new Sunday morning routine, October 3, 2005

By 

waldorf_curric - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)   

This review is from: Pancakes, Pancakes! (Hardcover)

I think a lot of families make pancakes as their special Sunday morning breakfast; we never did until I read this book. It makes it so easy! While I was setting up the ingredients my husband read this book to my daughter. Then we cooked them just like the book said.

I really recommend the Swedish Pancake Mix by Lund's for this instead of Aunt Jemima since the Swedish mix you have to stir and stir to get all the lumps completely out. You can even pour it into a jar and shake it to get it smooth, which is a great task for a four year old. If you have several kids, they can take turns stirring, passing it back and forth forever and you don't have to worry that "overmixing will toughen pancakes" like with Aunt J. Even better, you take the Lund's mix and add milk (not water) and an egg which is just like the book... and they make tiny little pancakes which are just kid size. You only use a tablespoon of batter at a time. (And jam on pancakes, like in the book, is easier for kids to eat and less messy than syrup... perfect all around, since they'll want to do it like Jack does).

Pancakes Pancakes made a great Sunday morning at our house even better! And I really like how, if you read it every week, your children will take different things away from it each time, from a small child learning that milk comes from cows/eggs from chickens, to an older child discovering the entire process of threshing wheat. Eric Carle has written a classic which will grow with your family. I really recommend making this book a part of your own traditions.

11 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars It takes some hard work to make pancakes, March 31, 1998

By A Customer

This review is from: Pancakes, Pancakes! (Hardcover)

When Jack wakes up with a hankering for pancakes, he asks his mother to make them. Jack's mother is busy, though, and directs Jack to go through the labors of Hercules to fulfill his desire: Jack not only has to harvest and thresh the wheat and have the wheat milled, but he has to encourage the hen to lay an egg, milk the cow, churn the butter, fetch the jam, mix all the ingredients together and cook the pancakes over the stove. By my calculations, Jack doesn't get his pancakes until dinnertime. I kept expecting him to holler in frustration, "What the heck does a guy have to do to get a pancake?"

On the other hand, none of these thoughts occurred to my three year old son. Fascinated by the book's colorful pictures, he enjoyed talking about what wheat is, where milk and eggs come from, that some cows have spots and wear bells, and how sometimes good things require patience and lots of hard work. And then we ate pancakes and jam.