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Summary
Summary
DELICIOUS PANCAKES!!
FREE!!
ALL YOU CAN EAT!!
COME TO OUR
NEW GRAND OPENING!
The grand opening of the Dancing Pancake isn't the only new thing in Bindi's life: new friends, a new apartment, maybe even a cute new crush? But there are other changes, like her dad's move to a new city, that have left Bindi confused and wondering: What will happen to my family? Will this new life ever feel normal? Among the unlikely bunch of regulars who form a makeshift community at the diner, Bindi will try to figure out how to be a new version of herself, one pancake and one silly elephant joke (her uncle's specialty) at a time.
With plenty of surprises, milk shakes, fake spiders, and real feelings, readers are sure to flip for the sweet mix of humor and heart in The Dancing Pancake.
Author Notes
Eileen Spinelli was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania on August 16, 1942. After high school, she worked as a waitress at a local diner, a secretary, and answered phones at an airplane factory. She eventually became the author of children's books. Her picture books include Thanksgiving at the Tappletons, Do You have a Hat, While You are Away, When Mama Comes Home Tonight, Wanda's Monster, Here Comes the Year, A Big Boy Now, and Hug a Bug. She is also the author of several short novels including Lizzie Logan Wears Purple Sunglasses, Lizzie Logan Gets Married, and Lizzie Logan, Second Banana. She received the Christopher Award for Somebody Loves You, Mr. Hatch.
(Bowker Author Biography)
Reviews (5)
Publisher's Weekly Review
Spinelli (who collaborated with Lew-Vriethoff on Summerhouse Time) again effectively employs free verse in this series of poems told by 11-year-old Bindi, whose parents' recent separation has thrown her life into upheaval. With her father gone, money is tight, so her mother and aunt open a diner, the Dancing Pancake. Bindi runs the gamut of expected emotions-from pretended indifference through sorrow and anger to tentative joy at her parents' possible reunion-in a fresh, unadorned voice that is always believable and sympathetic: "I have to say,/ I'm starting to think/ maybe it will be/ fun, being in/ the restaurant business./ Did I say that?/ (Not out loud)." The short sentences and straightforward expression of often complex feelings make the book accessible to younger or reluctant readers. Spinelli's secondary characters are affectionately drawn, from Bindi's diverse school friends to the teenage waitress, shy foreign dishwasher, and diner guests, including a homeless woman whom Bindi befriends. Bindi's struggles are credible and moving; while nothing is easily resolved, readers will be more than content with the hopeful conclusion. Final art not seen by PW. Ages 8-12. (May) (c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved
Horn Book Review
After Bindi's dad moves out, she and her mom move on as well--into an apartment and a new business venture: The Dancing Pancake. In clear, honest free-verse poems, Bindi narrates her adjustment to living above a diner that has its batches of bad batter along with its sunny-sides-up. Thin line drawings reflect the in-progress feel of the family's life. (c) Copyright 2010. The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted. All rights reserved.
Booklist Review
In short stanzas, 11-year-old Bindi chronicles her feelings as life seems to turn upside down after her parents separate and she moves into a small apartment with her mom, who opens a new restaurant with Bindi's aunt. A lover of good books and jokes, Bindi is believable in her disbelief, sadness, anger, and self-preoccupation. Adults, friends, and relatives help her work through these stages; their own issues become clearer as Bindi moves toward acceptance and more concern for others. Her bouncy four-year-old cousin, Jackson, shown as a child of color in the accompanying black-and-white illustrations, and friend Albert, who cheerfully takes on the role of honorary brother, are particularly important to her healing. One patron of the Dancing Pancake is a homeless woman, and a subplot describes Bindi's efforts to help her, with an unexpected outcome. As she did in Where I Live (2007), Spinelli truthfully charts an emotional journey. The free-verse sections won't stand alone as poetry but will invite reluctant readers to follow along in this moving story of friendship and growth.--Isaacs, Kathleen Copyright 2010 Booklist
School Library Journal Review
Gr 4-7-Bindi's life is pretty normal. She loves to read and has good friends and a loving extended family. This normalcy ends when her parents announce that they are separating and that her father is moving to another city to look for a job. Told entirely in verse, the story relates the sixth grader's experiences, her feelings, and snippets of her daily life. Bindi and her mother move to an apartment above The Dancing Pancake, which Bindi's mother and aunt open shortly after school lets out for the summer. The cafe is populated with interesting staff and customers, many of whom help the girl create her own definitions of friendship and empathy. Bindi's growth and self-realization help her cope with the situations that the grown-ups in her life face and allow her to accept her father back into her life when her parents reconcile. The poetic structure of this novel succeeds in capturing the child's voice and deepest feelings. The verse also provides sound development of secondary characters. Lew-Vriethoff's lively pen-and-ink illustrations add texture to the story and offer touches of humor. Contemporary issues, including the homelessness of Bindi's favorite customer, are balanced by lighter themes of silly little cousins and first crushes.-Shawn Brommer, South Central Library System, Madison, WI (c) Copyright 2010. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Kirkus Review
Eleven-year-old Bindi copes with her parents' separation and an unsettling move, supported by a gently colorful cast of characters. When Dad disappears to job-hunt far away, Bindi barely noticesuntil she learns that her parents have actually separated. Mom needs a job, and Aunt Darnell's always dreamed of a restaurant, so The Dancing Pancake is born, open for breakfast and lunch only. Bindi and Mom move into the apartment upstairs. The diner's populated by relatives (mother, good-natured aunt and uncle, energetic four-year-old cousin), a friendly teenage waitress and a wise, idealized homeless woman. Bindi's free-verse narration makes for smooth, simple reading; Lew-Vriethoff's line drawings add spirit. Bindi's believable emotional aches exist in a fairly innocent worldwhere a six-year-old can roam a zoo alone, the most angry 11-year-olds might do "everything / from kicking pumpkins / to screaming 'Banana poop!' / in the principal's office" and God and Sunday School teach Bindi an altruism that lessens her own melancholy. Choose readers who'll enjoy, rather than envy, Bindi's parents' reunion at the end. (Fiction. 9-11)]] Copyright Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
Excerpts
Excerpts
I am on the front lawn making snow angels with Albert Poole. This is what I like about Albert: He's not afraid to do "girly" things. He'll bake cookies as quick as toss a football. He'll tend the African violets in his grandmother's front window as tenderly as a mama cat tends her kittens. He likes to shop! What I don't like about Albert is this: He talks about bugs all the time. All. The. Time. He can tell you anything you want to know about horseflies or houseflies or dung beetles or cockroaches. And me--? I can tell you most anything you want to know about Albert Poole or classic books or the film The Wizard of Oz. My dad is outside, too. He is dumping two suitcases into the trunk of his car. I sort of hear him backing out of our driveway and driving off, but I'm not watching. Why should I? Albert Poole and I have snow angels to make, and besides, my father is simply driving to a different city to find a new job. That's all. That's what he said. That's what Mom said. That's what they both said. C'mon, Albert! You have to flap your legs and arms at the same time. Excerpted from The Dancing Pancake by Eileen Spinelli All rights reserved by the original copyright owners. Excerpts are provided for display purposes only and may not be reproduced, reprinted or distributed without the written permission of the publisher.
