I enjoyed this story for several main reasons, one being the characters and the other being the author’s writing. The story of the pancake is very much like the story of the gingerbread man. One day a mother was making a pancake for her children when the little pancake hopped right out of the fry pan. She rolled straight outside and away from the mother, but came across several other characters along his way. He met a man, hen, duck and goose who he quickly kept rolling by. He then met a pig who was smarter than the pancake and tricked him into hoping on the pig’s snout to get him across the river. In the end like the gingerbread man, the little pancake gets eaten. The characters in this story make it fun and entertaining for children as there is a magical element to the folktale.

However, the style of writing is why I liked the story so much. The plot is organized in a repetitive language and the little pancake, while he is meeting many characters, says the same thing to each one. Children are drawn to this type of writing, and the rhythm of the story flows when there is parallelism and repetition. For example the story says, ”I have run away from goody-poody and her seven squalling children, from many-panny and henny-penny, I must run away from you ducky-lucky” The fun names for characters the pancake meets and the rhythm of writing makes the story even more enjoyable. The main message of this folk tale is that sometimes you will be able to avoid conflict and escape a bad situation, but other times there might be someone wiser than you and a challenge may need to be faced head on. ( )

This book compares similar fairytales from all corners of the earth. One comparison is the story of the American story of the Gingerbread man and the Pancake story from Norway. The author did a wonderful job in categorizing these tales by themes. I would use this book to discuss how to find themes in stories. I would use this book in 3rd and fourth grade classes.

Summary: It's a book that retells fable stories with multiple countries' version of the same tale. The book has the runaway cookies, incredible appetites, the victory of the smallest, chain tales, slowpokes and speedsters, and fooling the bad wolf. I chose the runaway cookie section to review further. The runaway cookie in the united states is the gingerbread man. The tale is of a gingerbread man who thinks he is invincible and too fast to catch until he trusts a fox to carry him across a lake. The fox then gobbles him up. In Norway, instead of a gingerbread man its a pancake and instead of a fox it is a pig. In Russia, it is a bun and a fox.
Personal Reaction:
The pictures are very elaborate with beautiful colors. The colors are subdued as though showing the age of the tales and history of them. Each countries version of the different tales match typical drawing designs of the each country to give a stronger feel for the cultural background.
Extension Ideas:
-make pancakes or gingerbread men for snack time after reading the storie.
-craft a gingerbread man and play out the story. ( )

SUMMARY: A collection of different versions of traditional folktales and fables from around the world.

REVIEW: This book contains different versions of familiar nursery rhymes, as told by people of all different cultures. Such stories include "The Gingerbread Man," or as it is known in Norway,"The Pancake," and in Russia, "The Bun." I like how all of the stories are arranged by their main idea, so it is easy to compare similar tales side-by-side.The book is a wonderful tool for comparing and contrasting cultures around the world. ( )

This is a collection of different nursery rhymes from around the world. Many of the same stories are told in the views of different cultures. This is a great book to use for a cultural unit. ( )