Pancakes for Breakfast

By Tomie dePaola

Tomie dePaola's classic wordless picture book is just as fun as a serving of pancakes for breakfast!

Missing ingredients and mischievous pets create one humorous complication after another for a little old lady determined to make pancakes for breakfast.

Fans of such favorites as Strega Nona will love Pancakes for Breakfast.

“The optimistic determination of the woman and the gentle humor of the illustrations make this an appealing book for the very young.”—School Library Journal

• Language: English
• Publisher: HarperCollins
• Release date: Feb 19, 2013
• ISBN: 9780547543338

Tomie dePaola

Tomie dePaola (1934–2020) was the beloved author and/or illustrator of more than 270 books for young readers, including the children’s classic Strega Nona. He was the recipient of the Newbery Honor, Caldecott Honor, and the 2011 Children’s Literature Legacy Award for “significant and lasting contribution to children’s literature.” A native of Connecticut, Mr. dePaola studied at the Pratt Institute in Brooklyn, New York, and spent much of his life in New London, New Hampshire. Visit his work online at Tomie.com.

Book preview

Reviews for Pancakes for Breakfast

[brittburditt · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

This book portrays the story of a woman who is trying to make pancakes but is unable to because she is missing some ingredients. As she goes out to find the missing ingredients, her cat and dog are left at home. When the woman returns, we can predict that her two animals made a mess of all the ingredients. In the end, the woman makes her way to her neighbor's house and invites herself to eat their pancakes. This story can be used for students between he grades of first and fourth so that the students can begin making predictions and inferences while searching for details within the illustrations. The students can then create their own stories through the use of pictures alone.

[johannai-1 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Funny, mostly wordless book

[krw15 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

This is a great book by Tomie dePaola. There are no words so the readers have the chance of practicing how to make predictions about a story without text.

[catalinadiaz-1 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

I loved this book for many reasons. This book brings back so many memories of childhood when "reading" it. I loved the fact that it didn't have any text throughout the book, just the pictures. This allows readers to interpret the story in their own unique way. Not only does this story change from person to person, I noticed that while looking through it over time, my interpretation of the story changes as I catch other details in the pictures. For example, when I read the book the first few times I didn't notice that every time the lady would leave her house she would either bring her dog or her cat along for the trip. This seemed like an important part of the story because if the main character would've brought one of her pets along for the last trip to get syrup, all of her ingredients would still be intact. I also liked the illustrations from the book. They were done in such a simple way, with little changes in setting. The illustrations did a good job at displaying the innocence of the old lady. The main idea of this book is to allow readers to use their imagination and creativity to write their own story to go along with the pictures.

[agaski3 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

I absolutely loved this book because it was so clever and funny. I thoroughly respect and support the author's choice not to include text. This decision made the story unique in that children can enjoy the book even at the youngest age. This encourages children to use their creativity and put the pieces of the puzzle together themselves. The illustrations are thorough enough that they convey the basis of the story without dictating the details. This is cool because every time someone reads the book, it can be a little bit different. It is also a good way for adults to assess comprehension without worrying about children getting stuck on phonics skills. The message of the story was to never stop trying until you reach your goal.

[dukefan86 · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

Enjoyed the wordless story in this picture book! I keep toggling between three and four stars, wishing for 3.5 here.

[abigailadams26 · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

The prolific (and prodigiously talented) Tomie Depaola, creator of the Strega Nona books, delivers an entertaining wordless picture-book in Pancakes for Breakfast. Following the story of a little old woman who wakes up one day and decides that she is in the mood for pancakes, only to discover that she is out of eggs (which she must go collect from the hen-house), milk (which she must get from the cow), butter (which she must churn), and maple syrup (which she must fetch from a neighbor), the visual narrative concludes on a hilarious note, as she returns home to discover that her dog and cat have wreaked havoc in her absence, and that, if she wants pancakes, she'll have to pay another visit...I enjoyed this story, which 'reads' exceptionally well, despite the absence of words, and (as always) appreciated the humor of dePaola's artwork. Although simple enough, the illustrations are immensely expressive - I liked the little old lady's cat and dog! - and carry the story admirably. The ending was entertaining, although I think that if one of my neighbors showed up and ate my entire breakfast, there might be trouble!

[juliannem_10 · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

This is a classic wordless picture book! This book is about a lady who bakes pancakes that get eaten by her dog. She wanders down the street to a neighbors house because she smells pancakes and eats theirs. It is a humorous story. This is a great book to use with children who are just beginning to talk and when they are also starting to read. It allows for children to use their imaginations to discover what they believe is being said in the story and what is happening. Wordless picture books are an important thing to incorporate into the classroom!

[jazz2107 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

This wordless picture book was about a lady who wants to make pancakes. She thinks about them all day so she begins to get up to make them. What she did not know was that she was going to be missing a few ingredients. What is this lady to do? She really wants some pancakes.

[eadavis83 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

This is a fun book to introduce to your class. It is a humorous book for children to interpret in their own way. Wordless picture books are good for the children to have in the book center so they are able to read and interpret the book themselves.

[ml445 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Pancakes for Breakfast is a fun wordless picture book you can read with kids. I love the illustrations. An idea would be print out the pages and have the kids write words to go along with the illustrations. There are so many different activities one can do with Pancakes for Breakfast. Studies show reading wordless picture books helps children with comprehension. I would strongly recommend this book.

[akg118 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

I LOVE this book! This is one of the few books I can remember from early elementary school. It helps to introduce wordless picture books and all the different activities you can do with each. For example, students can write their own version of the story or discuss what they think is happening on each page. Also, I remember having a pancake party along with all the literature activities we did with this book! I highly recommend this book for any elementary or middle school students.

[claire1cavell · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Can this poor lady get a break? "If at first you don't succeed try, try again." She did finally get her pancakes.

[krf76 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

I really liked this picture book. It told the story very well through the pictures, that's why I gave it 5 stars. I really like picture books because they can encourage the young child that does not yet read to "read" a book. This is really great for encouraging new readers to tell a story. You could use it to have the children write their own story by following the pictures to encourage creativity.

[jnino_722886 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

This book is great when you are trying to teach your students to work on descriptive writing, or using their own imagination. Tomie dePaola made this book without words so that you can make your own dialogue while following a lady who has a craving for pancakes, who meets a couple of snags along the way.

[jsmith6243 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

This book lends its illustrations to tell a story that the students could write themselves. It is great for retelling a story to identify sequencing and creative writing by having the students create thier own story to go along with the illustrations.

[stgayde · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

 Though this book contains no words other than the occasional label on a bag of flour or sugar within the illustration, you would swear that a narrative text was leading you the entire way though. The illustrations are so strong in this story of a woman who has quite the craving for pancakes one snowy morning, that as the "reader" you will undoubtedly be able to tell a wonderfully descriptive tale.

[nicholspdx · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

A fun story that can be shared with readers of every level. I love the possibilities for the lessons in this book. From talking about where one's food comes from, reading a recipe, predicting what comes next, and even trying out the recipe. (I'm personally curious as I've never mixed melted butter into my pancake batter before!) A fun read.

[dangerlibearian · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

Almost exactly like Pancakes, pancakes! by Eric Carle just wordless. Woman must gather all the ingredients for pancakes but her naughty pets ruin her pancake dreams in the end she steals her neighbors pancakes. Love the flying pancake!

[kristinspecht · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

This book can be used for ELL students. It can teach students about different complex process in order to get simple items such as pancakes. Students can learn recipes as well as terms for different food. You could bring the students' pancakes and then read them the story about how much effort is put in to actually make pancakes and all of their ingredients from scratch. You could also pass out small cards with the ingredients and object from which the ingredients came and have the students place them in chronological order.

[tnelson725 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

This is a fun wordless picture book that portrays the steps to making pancakes from scratch. The main character gets up out of her warm home and gets eggs and milk. She churns butter. She gets the syrup. When she gets back home, she realizes that the dog and cat ate the batter.I loved the twist at the end. I think that kids will enjoy it and learning where milk, eggs, and butter come from. The pictures were a lot of fun.For the classroom, I would have students discuss why breakfast is so important and what their breakfast routines are. I would have them illustrate how they or their parent(s) makes their breakfast.

[megjwal · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Pancakes for Breakfast by Tomie dePaolaThis wordless book is about a little old lady who decides to make breakfast. It is quite a feat for her to do. She has all sorts of trouble and then in the end conquers the pancakes.I think this story is very humorous, but also shows a great amount of determination. This story would be great for young elementary students to describe what is happening in the pictures. It is also something most children can relate to. I would use this story to help improve student’s oral vocabulary.

[cacv78 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

DePaola, Tomie. (1978). Pancakes for Breakfast. New York: Harcourt Brace Jovanovich.An old lady wants to make pancakes for breakfast but she doesn't have enough of the ingredients. She goes out of her house each time to get the right ingredient. After going in and out of her house all day, she comes home from get the syrup to realize that the cat and dog have eaten the batter. This is a great book for a beginning reader because they can help make up the story as they "read" it with an adult.Compared to the other book in this genre, My New Baby, it can be used with any level of reader. This book is used to entertain kids while the other book is used mainly to explain something to a child.

[arielaver · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

It's hard to make pancakes without everything you need and with constant interruption. Tomie dePaola has such a distinct artistic style. I appreciate how accessible this story is for emerging readers.

[shomskie · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Pancakes For Breakfast was a funny wordless book. Each illustration taught me what was needed to make pancakes. Every time she thought she was ready to begin making her breakfast she needed to go obtain the ingredients. Finally, after all her hard work the cats knocked everything off the table! I laughed out loud because I could relate. Something similar happened to me once before. It was nice to see that she had somewhere to go for breakfast!

[jlowens4 · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

The book, "Pancakes for Breakfast" was very interesting. I would use this books in grades kindergarten, first, and second. The book has no words, so this book would be great for teaching begining sentence ideas. The book is about and old lady who wanted pancakes. She got out of bed, got dressed, and got her kitchen ready to make pancakes. The lady realized she had no eggs, so she had to get all bundled up and go to the barn to get eggs. When she got back in her kitchen she realized she had no milk. So the lady had to get all bundled up again and go milk the cow. When she made it back to her kitchen she used the milk to make the batter and she used the milk to make butter. The when she sat down ready to eat her pancakes she realized he had no syrup, so she got all bundled up and went to town to get some syrup. On her way home she dreamed of how wonderful her pancakes would be, but when she got there her dream was crushed. Her dog had eaten all of her pancakes. The lady was so sad, but then she smelt pancakes and she followed the smell. The smell touch her to her neighbors house where she ate a big pile of warm pancakes. At the end of the story the lady is holding a sign that says if at first you don't succeed try, try again. I really enjoyed this book. I think that it has a wonderful moral and it also gives children the chance to use their imaginations and fill in the words.

[lauraejensen · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

A classic. The story of a sweet little old lady and the hurdles she must jump, with the help of her pets to make a stack of delicious pancakes. Great for children to analyze and interpret, guess the clues. Also a great, simple pancake cooking lesson would be a great follow up.

[mayalanda_1 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

This wordless book is cute, easy to follow, and very funny. It tells a good story, it has a "lesson", and it's fun for both parents and children.