Sentient food is always funny and this quirky duo of stories about a superhero pancake and her adventures in Breakfast Town are sure to delight and engage young readers.
In her first adventure, Peggy Pancake is having a bad day – harassed by her parents to be more like her perfect brother Patrick and too scared of bullies to defend the new kid in school; she’s got nothing going for her. In his fancy grater-mansion in the mountains, Mr. Breakfast Sandwich and his henchtoasts are also starting the day. Despite all his wealth and power, Mr. Breakfast Sandwich feels something is missing…
After an incident with science teacher Professor Eglantine Egg and the Bacon Bullies, Peggy’s day gets even stranger as she develops super powers and is called on to save the day from villains, bullies, and incompetent detective doughnuts! Super Pancake ends the day with a sidekick, Kid Croissant, and a new bacon friend, Stanley, but will she ever be super enough to win her parents’ approval?
In her second adventure, Mini Muffin Mayhem, Peggy gets signed up for babysitting duty while her brother is sent to a fancy sailing camp over spring break. She thinks this will be a walk in the park for Super Pancake, but it turns out she needs the help of all her friends, not to mention the super power of kindness, to save the day – and her brother.
Alwar’s art is dripping with syrupy cartoon fun and she succeeds in making believable characters out of the breakfast foods that inhabit the town. Peggy is constantly in motion, trailing a hovering set of syrup drops that never quite land from her sticky-sweet “hair.” Dr. Breakfast Sandwich (he gets an honorary degree) exudes arrogance, with angry eyebrows above his fluffy layers and a fancy coat over his skinny legs. The art zooms into close-ups of action scenes, and zips back to show hazy views of the city and landscape. In the first book, the art tends towards a more sketchy look with a hand-drawn, fuzzy outline for the art and includes sketches and design concepts in the back. The second book has sharper art with more tightly defined lines, which fits the second storyline since there are lots of mini muffins to keep track of! Both books have fairly simple panels with large splashes of color and movement, as well as lots of onomatopoeia.
Although there are sections with more complex speech bubbles, the main bulk of the book is focused on the cartoon art and the hilarity of the bustling city of walking, talking, yelling, scheming, and flying breakfast dishes. There is a slightly more serious aspect, as Peggy struggles with her parents’ disapproval, but it’s as exaggerated as the villainy of Dr. Breakfast Sandwich and is more likely to inspire kids to dramatic agreement than any deeper feelings.
This is a fun intermediate graphic novel, perfect for lower grades with strong reading comprehension and upper grades who want a relaxing story to giggle over.
Super Pancake Vol. 1-2
By Megan Wagner Lloyd
Art by Abhi Alwar
Alfred A. Knopf, 2023
ISBN: 9780593378441
| Volume | ISBN |
|---|---|
| 1 Super Pancake | 9780593378441 |
| 2 Mini Muffin Mayhem | 9780593378489 |
NFNT Age Recommendation: Easy Readers (5-9), Middle Grade (7-11)
