Primrose Squarp's life changes the night her parents are lost at sea in a horrible storm. But, hoping against hope, she believes they are still alive. As she makes her way through life without her parents to guide her, she gets some help along the way from the elderly and confused Mrs. Perfidy, her reluctant guardian, Uncle Jack, Miss Bowzer, the proprietress of the local restaurant where everything-- and I mean EVERYTHING-- is served on a waffle, her foster parents, Bert and Evie, even the meddlesome Miss Honeycut.
Polly Havrath tells a great story, and it's no surprise Everything on a Waffle is a Newberry Honor Book. Haven't you ever known something deep in your heart without reason? This is the question Primrose asks over and over and over again, leading to some great conversations about faith and belief.
It was also wonderful to read a book where the adults were (for the most part!) the child heroine's accomplices rather than her antagonist. The grown-ups in this book are on Primrose's side, and they all work together. This is a nice change from the usual kid vs. adult model used in children's literature today.
We listened to the audio book, read by Kathleen McInerney. She does an excellent job, and you can hear the first chapter here. Books on CD are my secret to peaceful car rides, especially the half-hour trip each way to co-op on Fridays, and this book engaged my ten-, eight-, and six-year-olds. This is one of those great books that works equally well as an independent read or a read aloud.
And, as an added bonus, every chapter ends with a recipe! We're looking forward to extending our book experience by trying some of them out. Humor, a compelling story, and everything served on a waffle-- what more could we ask for?
1 comments:
Sounds like a neat book and we would love one that included recipes. How fun!
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