Super Pancake and the Mini Muffin Mayhem by Megan Wagner Lloyd

I'm very excited about today's read and expect quite a bit of fun. It is the 2nd in the series, and no, I didn't read the first one...as usual. This one steers toward chapter book readers and promises tons of silly moments and a few lessons as well.

Our internet situation hasn't improved. The cable thieves cut around 2000 feet from various poles in the region this last week (bringing it up to almost 4000 ft total!)  So, this is going to be a rough few weeks, and I do hope you can bear with me, while I try to keep up the posts as much as possible.

SUPER PANCAKE AND THE MINI MUFFIN MAYHEM

by Megan Wagner Lloyd

Illustrated by Abhi Alwar

Knopf Books

Graphic Novel

176 pages

ages 6 to 10

COMING...

JUNE 4th!!!

It's a bird! It's a plane! It's a . . . pancake? The syrupy superhero of Breakfast Town, Peggy Pancake, is now up against her toughest, scariest obstacle babysitting.

When we last saw our hero Peggy Pancake, she was mastering her newfound superhero abilities and saving her sidekick, Luc Croissant, from the scary clutches of Dr. Evil Breakfast Sandwich and his sinister Henchtoasts. Now, Peggy balances being a superhero with her everyday life--going to school and hiding her crime-fighting identity from her family.

This Spring Break, Peggy has homework to write an instructional "How To" paper. Peggy's mom volunteers her to babysit six rambunctious mini muffins so she can write about "how to be responsible." That shouldn't be too bad, right?

But Peggy soon learns that she underestimated her responsibility...and created an accidental villian in the process. Can Peggy and Luc save Breakfast Town and all that is dear? Find out SUPER PANCAKE AND THE MINI MUFFIN MAYHEM!

GOODREADS

MY TIDBITS

A super-sweet-superhero heads into unexpected sticky situations in humorous and meaningful ways.

After finding her footing as a superhero in book one, Peggy Pancake is ready for new adventures, especially since she now has sidekicks to help her through. While she's hoping to take on a super villain, she needs to finish forgotten homework during the school vacation first. Worse, her parents aren't aware of her superhero secret and have arranged a babysitting job for her for the entire week. It seems her superhero awesomeness needs to be shoved aside and life will be boring, but she hasn't met Ms. Muffin's children yet.

I didn't get to read the first novel in this series, which wasn't a problem. This is an adventure to be enjoyed on its own...and what a fun one it is! Peggy Pancake and her friends are a great group, full of energy, and ready to offer superhero support whenever it's needed. Then, there's Peggy's family, with loving but sometimes bothersome parents (and parents tend to be), and a brother that Peggy cares about. Even the Muffins are sweet and kind. It's a wholesome read through and through, which offers a lovely support for the action and mounds of humor. 

The author keeps Peggy's superhero aspects amazing and, yet, subtle enough to keep life's chaos difficult enough to overcome without super villains always jumping into the mix. She's doing her best to keep her identity a secret, and that warps the story in some silly, cute ways. Add the mini muffin chaos (these kids are a handful!) and it creates a quick-paced read with many surprises and tension...and all of that at a level suitable for chapter book readers.

This is a fitting read for those readers, who have a pretty good hold on their words, but aren't ready for longer, heavier reads yet. The vocabulary first the level nicely, and the speech bubbles are created in a way that makes them easy to read. The illustrations carry a simpler style, which fits very well to the atmosphere. Each scene brings across the moments with the needed humor or heart. 

There are messages, too, surrounding friendship and responsibility, but it's the fun and humor which drive this read forward and make it a fun one to pick up.

And here they are...

Megan Wagner Lloyd is the author of the kids’ graphic novel Super Pancake as well as the Indie Bestseller Allergic, co-created with illustrator Michelle Mee Nutter, which the New York Times called “madcap fun.” She’s also the author of the picture books Finding Wild and Fort-Building Time, illustrated by Abigail Halpin, Building Books, illustrated by Brianne Farley, and Paper Mice, illustrated by Phoebe Wahl. Megan lives with her family in the Washington, DC area

Abhi Alwar is the illustrator of Megan Wagner Lloyd’s Super Pancake, as well as Cheryl Klein’s picture book, Hamsters Make Terrible Roommates. Publishers Weekly praised the latter in a starred review, noting “readers should get a tickle out of [Alwar’s] compositions.” Abhi aims to tell absurd and silly stories through comics and picture books. She lives in NYC.