Where do your kids think pancakes come from?
A box? Your pantry? A non-stick griddle? IHOP?
Thanks to Food Network chef Tyler Florence your pancake-loving preschoolers–and the rest of the family–can now get a crash course on the true origins of the humble flapjack.
The celebrity chef recently added children’s book author to his resume with his debut page-turner, Tyler Makes Pancakes!
The perfectly penned picture book is a delicious read with its age appropriate dialogue and kid-friendly illustrations. However, more than just making you hungry for a stack of piping hot pancakes, the book teaches young readers where popular dishes, like hot cakes, really come from.
The story stars a young boy named Tyler who wakes from a dream in which he is the captain of a pancake spaceship.
Of course, the only way Tyler’s tummy is going to stop grumbling is if he fills it with fluffy flapjacks, but not just any pancake will do. The burgeoning chef is determined to make Blueberry Buttermilk Pancakes.
Clearly, this kid has a sophisticated palate, which is further proven by the fact that he has a puppy named Tofu, but I digress.
Tyler sets off on his bike to Mr. Jones’ market to gather the ingredients for his dream pancakes, only his trip won’t be as easy as grabbing a box of Bisquick from the store’s shelf. Rather, Mr. Jones gives Tyler a tutorial in food production by taking him from the market to the farm. That’s where the future foodie learns that eggs come from chickens, not a refrigerator. The hungry little shopper also discovers that buttermilk doesn’t have a drop of butter in it and that it is produced by regular cows, not a “butter cow” as Tyler initially thought. The pint-sized pancake fan also learns that flour doesn’t grow in bags, but is manufactured from wheat, and that blueberries don’t procreate in cardboard pints; rather they grow on bushes.
With the young cook’s curiosity sufficiently satiated he heads home to whip up a mile high stack of fresh pancakes from scratch.
Even if you aren’t raising a future Food Network star, Tyler Makes Pancakes! will keep your young bookworm entertained and educated. Join your kids in taking a big bite into the book, which includes a simple yet scrumptious recipe for Blueberry Buttermilk Pancakes from Florence’s critically acclaimed restaurant, as well as an entire page featuring cool culinary fun facts.
Your kids can follow Tyler and Tofu’s epicurious adventures by picking up the whimsically illustrated book from HarperCollins’ website and at discount retailers nationwide.
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