Sunday Pancakes

PUBLISHERS WEEKLY 21 MARS 2022

The goal is to eat pancakes for Sunday breakfast—but to do that, a lavender cat and its friends, a teal rabbit and pink bear, have to actually make them. First, Cat realizes that the fridge lacks both eggs and milk. Rabbit has eggs, though, and also arrives bringing fresh-picked blueberries and carrots; Moonbear brings milk and some special honey. Chaos quickly follows when Rabbit spills ingredients on the floor, Moonbear slips on a carrot, and the freshly opened flour covers everyone ("POOF!") in a cloud of white. But the trio's affection for one another runs deep; they quickly recover from the mishaps (flour-covered Bear embraces a polar bear mien, letting out a jokey "GRRRR!" as the others giggle). And when Rabbit makes a misshapen pancake, the friends immediately realize that it resembles Moonbear's head, and intentionally make two more pancake portraits with blueberry eyes: "TA-DA! It's us!" With characters who resemble plush toys, a cheery pastel palette, and off-the-cuff-sounding dialogue, Tatsukawa (The Bear in My Family) creates a hanging-out-in-the-kitchen mood that embodies the essence of home cooking's joys. The pancakes are conveyed as indeed delicious (the characters make more for dinner), but for readers, they're really just icing on the cake of witnessing characters who make each other feel cozy and welcome. A pancake recipe concludes. Ages 4–8.