WHY DO MY PANCAKES TASTE DIFFERENT TODAY

My Pancakes Taste Different Today: author Heather Wood Galpert and Bruce Galpert and Illustrated by Barbara Cate

The coolest thing about breakfast to Ethan is the mountain of pancakes his mother makes. Pouring tons of syrup over the top and watching it create small lakes makes his mouth water as he anticipates the first bite. Check them out they look and smell great. Ethan is really a great kid and he thanks his mom for the best pancakes in the “Whole Wide World,” making his mom smile. But, the pancakes and the syrup had some big help from the clouds for bringing the rain that fills the lake and the fish and snails that live in the lake and keep the water clear and clean. Without them things might be quite different. You even have to thank the Farmer who plans the sees and harvests the wheat in his field. Let’s not forget that Farmer Tom’s wheat grows tall and golden and don’t forget to thank the wonderful mill that grinds the wheat into pancake flour that you can buy at the grocery store and bring home to make those great pancakes. While Ethan went out to thank the fish, snails, the mill, Farmer Tom and even the sun because it helps the wheat grow and become golden something will happen that even Ethan is not aware of and things are about to change for everyone especially those pancakes. Tossing a stick in the water did not harm it. The birds flying are so colorful and beautiful in the clear blue sky and clear blue water they are flying over. Thanking the fish, the snails again and then the clouds for filling the lake with rainwater did not stop him from doing what happens next. The farmer’s tractor was parked at the edge of the filed near the lake where Ethan sees an old oil can. Instead of leaving it there he tosses it up in the air and into the lake. This will change what happens to those amazing best pancakes in the Whole Wide World. If you check out the pictures and see the surprised expression on the sun you will learn that the oil can leaked a dark ooze into the water making the fish upset, sad and not able to swim, The ooze flowed into the river where Mrs. Beaver lived and even worse the brightly colored birds were no longer bright and colorful. The mill turned out the wheat but the color was no longer golden brown the ooze was deep in the roots. His mother bought the wheat from the same place and you won’t believe what happens when Ethan pours on the syrup and realizes that his pancakes taste different today. Can you guess why? Not realizing it was his own fault he sat in the kitchen and tried to figure out what happened. Thinking really hard it finally came to him and ran outside and told Farmer tom what happened and about the ooze. What happens when he admits what he did ? What happens when he enlists the help of everyone in the community to get rid of the ooze, scrub each and every rock carefully, the fish too and shovel the dirty sand and hope they can get rid of the ooze. Can they fix the problem? Will they have to drain the lake? Will they forgive Ethan for his mistake? Will his pancakes ever taste the same again? What happens at the end will remind young children of the importance of making choices and thinking about their decisions to do something that might harm something else. The book teaches about nature and the importance of protecting our waters, lakes, fish, beavers, trees, wheat and golden sun. It teaches taking responsibility for your actions and the colorful pictures tell the story all by themselves even without the words. Ethan we hope learned an important lesson. Just what does he suggest to everyone? What does his mother do? Well you have to read it for yourself to decide will this be a delicious ending or will his pancakes never taste the same again? Ethan is a great characters and let’s hope the author brings him back to learn more valuable lessons.
Fran Lewis: Just reviews/MJ magazine