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Round Is a Pancake
At the royal festival for their beloved king, everyone is having a fantastic time dancing, drumming, twirling, and juggling, in a boldly illustrated tale which offers readers a chance to find the round items mentioned in the text within the drawings.
32 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1, 1973
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Displaying 1 - 21 of 21 reviews
April 24, 2025
This was one of the random picks I chose at our public library to read with my Littlest Little today, World Book Day!
It's hard to rate anything I read with the two littlest grands, my Littles, using any rhyme or reason because the Littles both bring joy to any reading experience. (Gosh, remember when reading was like that? No discernment needed, just open joy.)
This is a simple rhyming book about a Medieval celebration without any special message except things are round (pancakes are round, so are donuts, plums, king's crowns, jester's bells, and so on). The illustrations--I explained the word "illustration" to Littlest Little--were bright, cheerful, and provided the best part of the entertainment. Among all the people, children, and animals, we liked the small white puppy the best because he/she was always right in the middle of the most fun part of the activity. We guessed that by the end of the day, with all the sweet treats the puppy had, the poor thing would be pretty full and pretty tired.
It's hard to rate anything I read with the two littlest grands, my Littles, using any rhyme or reason because the Littles both bring joy to any reading experience. (Gosh, remember when reading was like that? No discernment needed, just open joy.)
This is a simple rhyming book about a Medieval celebration without any special message except things are round (pancakes are round, so are donuts, plums, king's crowns, jester's bells, and so on). The illustrations--I explained the word "illustration" to Littlest Little--were bright, cheerful, and provided the best part of the entertainment. Among all the people, children, and animals, we liked the small white puppy the best because he/she was always right in the middle of the most fun part of the activity. We guessed that by the end of the day, with all the sweet treats the puppy had, the poor thing would be pretty full and pretty tired.
January 24, 2025
Surprisingly loved this book. Great, vibrant illustrations. Good for classroom teachers teaching shapes.
September 18, 2012
Join the members of this exuberant royal court as they celebrate all things round. From pancakes to lollipops, cherries to coins, this book will have you looking around, “on the ground, in the air. You will find round things everywhere!”
The rhyming text of this book is printed in a large, bold font that curves its way through the circle-filled landscape. Kids will be familiar with all the circular items mentioned and they will also be able to find them easily in Han’s bright and beautiful illustrations. The illustrations are full of dynamic movement that flows from left to right, pushing the story long with each turn of the page. Although this book lacks a plot, the characters follow the rhyme from page to page. Look at Han’s painterly illustrations and see how many other circular items you can find, there are dozens beyond what is mentioned in the text.
Full Review at Picture-Book-a-Day: http://picturebookaday.blogspot.com/2...
The rhyming text of this book is printed in a large, bold font that curves its way through the circle-filled landscape. Kids will be familiar with all the circular items mentioned and they will also be able to find them easily in Han’s bright and beautiful illustrations. The illustrations are full of dynamic movement that flows from left to right, pushing the story long with each turn of the page. Although this book lacks a plot, the characters follow the rhyme from page to page. Look at Han’s painterly illustrations and see how many other circular items you can find, there are dozens beyond what is mentioned in the text.
Full Review at Picture-Book-a-Day: http://picturebookaday.blogspot.com/2...
September 24, 2009
The richness of the illustrations themselves would be enough to focus on for a large amount of time, but the dialoge is also interesting to take not of. I was almost bored of the constant repetition of the same phrase over and over, but for a young reader, the lesson in shapes may be extremely appropriate. When read aloud, the story takes on a very sing-songy tune, which makes me wonder if it was purposely set to a specific one of if that is just a pattern of my own reading. The font and style of the words was very fun to follow because they did not just go straight across the page. In most cases they were curling up and around and over the pictures which kept the relationship between the illustrations and the text very close.
March 10, 2010
I think this will work well for a toddler storytime. Not too many words, rhyming text, use of at least some objects that should be familiar to them, and illustrations that will keep their attention. I'll just have to see if I can do a little bit more with it.
3/31/10 & 4/1/10 I wonddered with the length and concept how well this book would work with the toddlers. The Tuesday group sat through the whole thing and I think it was the pictures that caught their interest. The Thursday group was harder because the book came at a losing-attention point, so I ended the thing quite early. (Which was fine since I didn't like the end as much anyhow.)
3/31/10 & 4/1/10 I wonddered with the length and concept how well this book would work with the toddlers. The Tuesday group sat through the whole thing and I think it was the pictures that caught their interest. The Thursday group was harder because the book came at a losing-attention point, so I ended the thing quite early. (Which was fine since I didn't like the end as much anyhow.)
July 14, 2011
This book was a great one to end a storytime with. Simple rhyming text - which swirls around the illustrations on each page allowed me to show the book to the youngsters while still finishing the last line of the text. A medieval festival is brightly illustrated and all of the round items are highlighted. We had great fun spotting and naming them, counting them and squealing with joy when we found our favorites...one girl couldn't get enough of the dog faced hot air balloon. This is a marvelous read-aloud!
February 8, 2013
A pancake is one of the numerous round objects found in the pages of this story. Readers can explore the pages as they read about different things that are shaped like circles.
Excellent book to emphasize circles or spheres. Created shapes (lollipop or button) and natural shapes (bird's nest or ladybug) are included in the text. The illustrates also change from day to night as the reader continues finding round shapes.
Theme: Pancakes
Additional themes: circles, royalty, one day
Reviewed from a library copy.
Excellent book to emphasize circles or spheres. Created shapes (lollipop or button) and natural shapes (bird's nest or ladybug) are included in the text. The illustrates also change from day to night as the reader continues finding round shapes.
Theme: Pancakes
Additional themes: circles, royalty, one day
Reviewed from a library copy.
August 11, 2012
This simple book uses rhyming verse filled with alliteration to name things that are round. The book also encourages children to search for additional round objects using complex scenes for the last few pages of the book.
January 8, 2013
This is a bright, colorful book with a rhyming scheme that talks about things that are round. I think it will be a good short read for story time as long as I have some longer books to work in with it.
September 30, 2008
Find round shapes on each page-- and find the boy, his ball and the dog. Fun for finding hidden pictures and for learning all about ROUND things!
Read
September 15, 2009shapes, circles, carnivals, pancakes
August 15, 2010
Cheerful rhyming read aloud invites readers to look for round things everywhere.
January 31, 2012
A perfect book for a lesson on round objects. The illustrations are bright and beautiful. Also, The story is told using plenty of rhyming words which adds to the book's charm.
June 23, 2012
One of my personal favorites. Beautiful illustrations!
August 19, 2012
Good for explaining what round is.
November 19, 2012
Pb37 - Simple book for kids that describes all the round things we may encounter on a daily basis.
September 29, 2015
This book started off with such good intentions and entertainment value, but it quickly fell apart into a story held together by strong illustrations and repetitive phrases.
June 24, 2016
Artwork is beautiful. If you want to read a book about how a bunch of junk food and sweet things are round, this is your book.
August 28, 2023
did not work.
November 24, 2010
Students will connect to their daily lives when they find round shapes around their environment.
Read
February 2, 2019Circle themed storytime.
Displaying 1 - 21 of 21 reviews