A hearty breakfast on a cold, wintery morning…what could be better?! Crisp waffles with maple 
syrup…oatmeal decked out with cranberries and coconut… a cheery poached egg à la Francis! Oh my, I’m making myself hungry! Time to dive into five delicious books about the morning meal!
Pancakes for Breakfast, a wordless book by Tomie DePaola
In her snug red house, nestled in the snowy hills of New England, one little lady awakes in her pink nightcap, dreaming of pancakes! Tying her apron aroung her ample waist, she opens her cookery book and begins.
But, alas! No eggs.
Not to worry. It’s just a short walk on the snowy path to the chicken coop where there are fresh eggs a-plenty. Now, on with the cooking!
Except, the milk jug is empty. Out she goes again to milk the cow. Then she’s got to churn the butter. Phew! Making pancakes is turning out to be a peck of trouble! Things go from slow to catastrophic when the cat and dog are left alone in the kitchen, but in the end, this plucky woman sits down to a giant stack of flapjacks. How does she manage it?!
Tomie DePaola’s signature style tells this charming, funny, surprising story, that’s been loved and in-print for almost 40 years. Not a single word in it; just dandy for preschoolers and up. You can even make the pancakes from the cookery book recipe!
Is Anybody Up? written and illustrated by Ellen Kandoian
Tousle-haired Molly is the first one awake in her household in New England. Alone in her sunny kitchen (well, her teddy bear is keeping her company!) she helps herself to breakfast — cereal and bananas.
Along an invisible line stretching from North to South, many other early-risers are eating quite different breakfasts in their interesting, diverse homes.
Thousands of miles north, in a tiny town on Baffin Bay, an Inuit woman makes griddle cakes, while in the
tropical sun washing her Haitian home, another small girl munches peanut butter on bread, and farther south still, high in the thin air of the Andes, a little boy in a woolsy sweater breakfasts on roasted corn.
Dropping in oh-so-briefly on ten breakfasts strung along one time zone — what a lovely book this is! Kandoian’s gentle watercolors transport us to these beautiful places and people and cultures. Before we’re through, each breakfaster greets another member of her household in her own language — such a nice touch. A short note about time zones is included, aimed at early elementary readers. It’s a charming out-of-print book worth searching out for ages 3 -7.
Hey, Pancakes! written by Tamson Weston, illustrated by Stephen Gammell
Breakfast hoopla exuberantly dances through the pages of this book! No early-morning quietness about it! Maybe that’s because there’s nary a parent to be seen.
Just three kids and a dog, whipping up some pancakes for breakfast. Batter spraying, dribbling, splotting! Pancakes sailing, flipping, stacking! Orange juice and maple syrup dribbling! And a blueberry stuck right on the tip of 
the little one’s nose.
Jubilation and scrumptiousness, that’s what this breakfast is made of. Weston’s rhyming text bounces merrily along, and Gammell’s characteristic spritzing, singing, energetic line and color are a festive partner. A recipe for Grandma’s Pancakes is included so your kids can make their own mayhem! Delightful for ages 2 and up.
Sunny Side Up: A Mr. Poggle and Scamp Book, by Valiska Gregory, pictures by Jeni Bassett
Mr. Poggle and Scamp are two cuddly dogs who live together in a thatch-roof cottage tucked into the cool, green woods. Darling as a plump cinnamon bun.
Today Mr. Poggle decides on eggs sunny side up for their breakfast. Scamp thinks toast goes nicely with that. He’s looking forward to one of his favorite 
meals!
Mr. Poggle kindly lets Scamp help with the egg-cracking and the toasting, but oh dear. This does not go so well. Scamp’s spirits are dashed, but patient Mr. Poggle always sees a way to redeem the broken yolks and burned crumbs. At their cheery table, Scamp declares that “breakfast has a way of turning sunny side up no matter what.” How pleasant to help others feel that way after accidents and mistakes. I think we all want a Mr. Poggle in our lives, and to be Mr. Poggle for others, don’t we?
It’s a lovable little book, part of a series written in the 80s, which are out-of-print. Small size for small hands. Dear pen-and-ink and watercolor illustrations of a diminutive, inviting, cheerful world. Ages 2 and up.
Rainy Morning, by Daniel Pinkwater, illustrated by Jill Pinkwater
Do you know Daniel Pinkwater? If you do, you know you’d better be Ready For Anything each time you open one of his books! This wild and quirky story made me laugh out loud with its mad cram of Conviviality!
Mr. and Mrs. Submarine live companionably in a capacious, electric yellow and shocking pink house. It’s a rainy morning, so what else is there but to eat several breakfasts?
It’s during Breakfast #3 that the Submarines notice a bedraggled cat peering in the window. They invite him in for a hot corn muffin. Their large-and-shaggy dog is scratching at the door, too. In he comes, and scarfs his own muffin. But would you look at that, the horse is looking soaked and unhappy, too. Mr. Submarine whistles him in as Mrs. 
Submarine sets to mixing up more muffins.
Well, you will simply NOT BELIEVE who all joins the Submarines for corn muffins and tea on this rainy morning!! My oh my! It is more-than-a-houseful and even requires the Pinkwaters to include a tiny lexicon of German words so we can understand one remarkable visitor.
With eye-popping illustrations rendered in “magical markers” and bigger surprises at every page turn, this tale will tickle the imaginations and funny bones of kids ages 4 and up!
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Monkey with a Tool Belt and the Maniac Muffins, written and illustrated by Chris Monroe
The Worst Breakfast, written by China Miéville, illustrated by Zak Smith
Woodpecker Wants a Waffle, written and illustrated by Steve Breen
Lady Pancake & Sir French Toast, written by Josh Funk, illustrated by Brendan Kearney
Everyone Loves Bacon, written by Kelly DiPucchio, illustrated by Eric Wight
