Reading Together Disponible en español

Storybook Guide Based on Tomie dePaola’s “Pancakes for Breakfast”

Explore math while reading and talking about this storybook.

Activity Summary

Use this storybook guide with the book “Pancakes for Breakfast.”
Many public libraries have this book.

Reading guide

About the Story

“Pancakes for Breakfast” is a nearly-wordless book about a woman who wants to make pancakes, but realizes that she does not have all the ingredients for the recipe. So she goes out looking for eggs and more. While she is gone, disaster occurs. How will she deal with it? Will she get her pancakes?

Words to Learn

NUMBER WORDS 
one, two, three, four, five, six

SEQUENCING WORDS
third, last, after

MEASUREMENT UNITS
cups, ounces

 

About the Math

The illustrations offer a lot of opportunities to explore math, such as how to: 

  • Count objects in a collection, like the number of eggs.
  • Understand that recipes require careful measurement of each ingredient.
  • Use words like first, second, and next to talk about the order in which things happen.

Math Talk During Reading

  • COUNT AND COMPARE THINGS
    I see one dog on this page. How many chickens are there? Are there more dogs or chickens?
  • TALK ABOUT QUANTITIES
    She needs two cups of milk. How many eggs does she need to make pancakes? 
  • EXPLORE THE ORDER OF THE RECIPE
    What ingredient does she need to add second to make pancakes? How about next?
  • TALK ABOUT WHERE THINGS ARE LOCATED
    Where is the dog on this page? Is it on or under the table?

Try to come up with some of your own questions and comments, too!

Activity After Reading

  • AFTER READING THE STORY, FOLLOW A RECIPE TO MAKE PANCAKES TOGETHER
    Figure out how much of each ingredient is needed and the order in which ingredients should be added.