Mama Panya's Pancakes

by Richard Chamberlin and Mary Chamberlin

Book Overview

"A lyrically written story...highlights the value of kindness, generosity and pulling together as a group" - Little Global Citizens On market day, Mama Panya's son Adika invites everyone he sees to a pancake dinner. How will Mama Panya ever feed them all? This clever and heartwarming story about Kenyan village life teaches the importance of sharing, even when you have little to give.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 1905236646
• ISBN13: 9781905236640
• Release Date: March 2006
• Publisher: Barefoot Books
• Length: 40 Pages
• Weight: 0.50 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.2" x 9.8" x 9.5"
• Age Range: 4 to 10 years
• Grade Range: Kindergarten to Grade 5

Customer Reviews

My 4 year old loves this book!

I've been reading this to my little boy ever since he turned four and he loves it. It's not only a good story about sharing, it's also helped us start many conversations about how different people live all over the world and it's given him a point of reference for conversations about Africa. I'd also recommend for kids five and up "Children of Hope," which is a great book that treats a delicate situation very well (it's about the Lost Boys of Sudan).

A little culture lesson for kids

I purchased the book to introduce a bit of African Culture to my childen. The story is charming and heartwarming and the illustrations are beautiful and colorful adding to the richness of the story. I liked the back of the book as much as the story itself as it explains life in Kenya, including a map, some Kiswahili greetings and words and a recipe to try for those whom wish to taste a bit of Africa too. A great addition and introduction to a cultural collection for kids.

Adorable story!

I found this book when I was searching for a story from Kenya. I was putting together a unit on Kenya for third graders and came across this book and fell in love with it. The mother and son have a sweet relationship and the message of sharing and community come through in the end. Wonderful illustrations and several reference pages at the end of the story. Mama Panya's recipe for pancakes are in there too. I made them and passed them around for my presentation. I loved this book and used it for my unit and plan on purchasing it for my classroom in the future. A wonderful story!!

Great book -- and we like the recipe too!

We had fun with this book -- my daughter thought the boy was just being "bratty" until we talked about how everyone contributed and how sharing led to more for everyone. Then she "got it", and now requests we read it often. The recipe for the pancakes is also easy and kids are able to help. Great book -- we also loved the illustrations -- some parts reminded us of life in Haiti which our Haitian-American kids loved.

Nice story

My almost 3-year-old really enjoys when I read him this book. The text is not overlong, it's an smooth read, the dialogue is clever and the mother/son relationship has quite a bit of depth. The appendix page is good for older children to find out more details about Kenyan life, especially if they choose this book for a multicultural assignment. It provides a surprising lesson on the pleasures of neighborliness.