If You Give a Pig a Pancake

Ages 3^-6. Following the same speculative logic that made If You Give a Mouse a Cookie (1987) and If You Give a Moose a Muffin (1991) so popular, this winsome picture book shows what happens when a girl gives the little pig on her windowsill a plate of pancakes. One thing leads to another: pancakes to syrup, syrup to stickiness, stickiness to a bath, a bath to a rubber duck, the duck to homesickness for the pig’s farm, homesickness to packing for the trip, packing to finding tap shoes, tap shoes to performing a dance, the dance to taking photos–and eventually to another plate of pancakes. The wild gyrations of the plot will delight children as much as the clean, orderly lines and clear, gentle color of the artwork. Expect many requests for this one, from parents, teachers, and children. Carolyn Phelan

The familiar circular formula employing a cookie-eating, milk-guzzling mouse and muffin-eating moose now showcases a pancake-eating pig who, as readers may have come to expect, might be in need of some maple syrup. The domino effect is in full force: The sticky syrup must be dealt with in the bath; the bath demands a rubber duck; the duck prompts the pig to recall her farm origins; and so on. One adventure after another includes tap-dancing, picture-taking, and treehouse-building. In the act of interior decorating, the use of sticky wallpaper reminds the pig of the maple syrup, which leads back to the pancake. The funny, clever formula creates just the right amount of anticipation, with plenty of visual humor accompanying the antics. Whether the homesick pig is wrapped in a bath towel clutching her rubber duck or pirouetting on a tightrope, she’ll please fans of the previous books, who will relish more of the same. (Picture book. 2-5) — Copyright ©1998, Kirkus Associates, LP. All rights reserved.

If you give a pig a pancake, she’ll want some syrup to go with it. You’ll give her some of your favorite maple syrup. She’ll probably get all sticky, so she’ll want to take a bath. She’ll ask you for some bubbles. When you give her the bubbles . . .

Laura Numeroff and Felicia Bond have done it again! In keeping with their best-sellers IF YOU GIVE A MOUSE A COOKIE and IF YOU GIVE A MOOSE A MUFFIN, chaos is the order of the day when an accommodating little girl tries to keep up with the whims of a busy little pig.

If you give a pig a pancake, she’ll want some syrup to go with it. You’ll give her some of your favourite maple syrup, and she’ll probably get all sticky, so she’ll want to take a bath. She’ll ask you for some bubbles. When you give her the bubbles…

Ages 0–5

Laura Numeroff is the New York Times bestselling author of many books for young readers in addition to the If You Give…series, including The Chicken Sisters and Laura Numeroff’s 10-Step Guide to Living with Your Monster. She lives in Los Angeles, California, and is involved with several children’s charities, including First Book. You can visit her online at www.lauranumeroff.com.

Felicia Bond is both writer and illustrator of Tumble Bumble, The Day It Rained Hearts, the Poinsettia books, and many others. She painted the art for numerous other award-winning books, including those in the much loved If You Give . . . series and the contemporary classic Big Red Barn. She lived for many years in New York and currently lives in Santa Fe, New Mexico.