Round Is a Pancake [Hardcover]

Joan Sullivan Baranski (Author), Yu-Mei Han (Illustrator)

Book Description

Publication Date: February 1, 2000 | Age Level: 2 and up

So begins this book, which captures all the pageantry and excitement of a royal festival and is also a feast for the eyes. From cakes and cookies to coins and rings, round objects fill the castle to bursting during preparations for the king's big party. Children will delight in picking out the items mentioned in the catchy verses and in playing hunt-and-find as they locate other circular objects scattered throughout the playful scenes.

Illustrator Yu-Mei Han's splashy, luscious colors; brimming energy; and busy cast of characters provide boundless visual enjoyment in this merry concept book. There's more than enough fun and learning here to go round.

Editorial Reviews

From School Library Journal

PreS-Gr 1-This nicely designed concept book has a rhyming text with lots of bounce: "Round is a birds' nest,/round is a wheel./Round is a daisy/and a fisherman's reel." Han's brightly colored, whimsical paintings, which feature a king and queen and lots of happy-looking courtiers and villagers, evoke a sort of mythical Mother Goose kingdom. Printed in half circles and gentle curves, the bold text dances gracefully through the double-page spreads. In each scene, there is a lot of lively activity around and beyond the objects mentioned in the verse. There are also many opportunities to spot spheres, cylinders, and circles that exhibit the concept of roundness. This title will work as part of a preschool storytime, but will be enjoyed even more when shared one-on-one, giving listeners the time to examine the details of Han's happy world, where everything seems to spell fun.-Sue Sherif, Fairbanks North Star Borough Public Library, AK

Copyright 2001 Cahners Business Information, Inc.

From Booklist

Ages 3-6. A glorious, faux-medieval fantasy town bursts with colors and shapes--mainly circles. As the town prepares a feast for the king, a simple rhyme lists round items, Everything from a doughnut to "cartwheels [jesters] spin through the crowd." Children can go from page to page finding the round objects listed, as well as others not mentioned. Even children already familiar with shapes will enjoy the sweet, humorous detailed drawings. As the day progresses, the colors on the page shift from vibrant oranges and reds to deep, soothing blues and purples. The illustrations help make this a book children will want to look at frequently. Marta Segal
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 2 and up
  
• Hardcover: 32 pages
• Publisher: Dutton Juvenile; 1st edition (February 1, 2000)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0525461736
• ISBN-13: 978-0525461739
• Product Dimensions: 10.1 x 10.1 x 0.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 14.4 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,430,040 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Love the illustrations!, August 31, 2004

By 

A. Canup (Cincinnati) - See all my reviews
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Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Round Is a Pancake (Hardcover)

We found this gem at the library and I fell for the vibrant pictures so now I must have it for our collection of beautiful books that I can hardly stand to have sticky little hands touch! haha! The rhyme is inventive and cute and to say the pictures are merely beautiful seems a disservice. Incredible colors and vibrance!

4.0 out of 5 stars Delightful book with one minor flaw..., February 23, 2009

By 

Jennifer D. K. Douglass (Van Nuys, CA USA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Round Is a Pancake (Hardcover)

This book is beautiful. The illustrations are gorgeous. I love the old-timey magical kingdom that is the setting and I love how each picture has so many round things, not mentioned by the text, for the reader to discover. However I was disappointed reading the book to find that a perfect rhyme scheme becomes very awkward in the last pages, ending the book on a sour note. If you can overlook the awkwardness, then you'll probably find the book thoroughly enjoyable.