Here’s a snapshot of the “If You Give …” series found around our house. 

This week, I’ve chosen If You Give a Pig a Pancake for Perfect Picture Book Fridays. 


If You Give a Pig a Pancake
Written by Laura Numeroff
Illustrated by Felicia Bond
Harper Collins Publisher, 1998


Suitable for: Ages 3 and up


Theme/Topic: Cause and Effect, Friendship, Playtime 


Opening:
If you give a pig a pancake, 
she’ll want some syrup to got with it. 


You’ll give her some of your favorite maple syrup.
She’ll probably get all sticky, 
so she’ll want to take a bath. 


Brief Synopsis: A young girl gives a pig a pancake. This leads to a series of events from bubble baths to mailing letters to building a treehouse. Dont’ forget the decorations!


Link to resources: A Virtual Vine lesson plan for the If You Give a … Mouse, Moose and Pig books. One fun activity is to create brown circles for pancakes and yellow squares for butter with rhyming word. Then children can match the pancake with its butter. 


Laura Numeroff has a link of story starters  and links for teachers at her website. 


There is also a website MouseCookieBooks.com with games and character introductions. An interesting note from illustrator Felicia Bond from her bio on this site: “Time has really passed — the six books in the series were painted over a span of twenty-one years. Wow.” 


I agree — wow.


Why I chose this book: While my son may not be able to think about cause and effect, the story seems familiar to us.  Let me think: If you give your kid a cookie, he wants milk to go with it. When he spills the milk, you grab a towel to clean it up … Oh, I’ve lived this fun circle. 


Laura Numeroff has a list of 10 tips for writers. Her no. 10 is to write because you love it “and not because you are looking to make money!”


To find more books and resources, visit Susanna Leonard Hill’s blog. There is a page dedicated to Perfect Picture Books.


I struggled with how to label the theme/topic for this book. Suggestions? Have a great Friday the 13th!

Feb. 7, 2013 — Spambots are loving this post, so I’m closing the comments section. – ssj