Woodpecker Wants a Waffle

by Steve Breen, Steve Breen (Illustrator)

Overview

One day Benny the woodpecker awakens to the best tummy-rumbling smell ever and discovers it’s something called waffles. He must taste them!

He pecks on the door of the waffle house, but he gets the boot.

He tries to sneak in, but he gets swept away.

Each time Benny tries, he just can’t seem to get to those delicious waffles. The other forest animals laugh at him: “Woodpeckers don’t eat waffles!” they say. But Benny has a brilliant plan. . . .

Steve Breen has created a delightful picture book with pitch-perfect humor and tons of visual gags that will keep readers coming back for more! Now a Chicago Public Library Best of the Best Book of 2016!

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780062342577
Publisher:	HarperCollins
Publication date:	06/14/2016
Pages:	32
Sales rank:	416,363
Product dimensions:	9.10(w) x 10.20(h) x 0.50(d)
Lexile:	AD520L (what's this?)
Age Range:	4 - 8 Years

About the Author

Steve Breen received his degree in political science from the University of California at Riverside. He became the editorial cartoonist for the Asbury Park Press and was later hired by the San Diego Union-Tribune. Steve is a two-time winner of the Pulitzer Prize and has also won the Berryman Award, the Thomas Nast Award, the Fischetti Award, and the National Headliner Award. His other books include Stick, Violet the Pilot, The Secret of Santa’s Island, and Pug & Doug.

In his free time, Steve enjoys running, reading, playing the guitar, and making waffles for his six kids. He and his family live in San Diego County, where there are, sadly, few woodpeckers.

 

Steve Breen received his degree in political science from the University of California at Riverside. He became the editorial cartoonist for the Asbury Park Press and was later hired by the San Diego Union-Tribune. Steve is a two-time winner of the Pulitzer Prize and has also won the Berryman Award, the Thomas Nast Award, the Fischetti Award, and the National Headliner Award. His other books include Stick, Violet the Pilot, The Secret of Santa’s Island, and Pug & Doug.

In his free time, Steve enjoys running, reading, playing the guitar, and making waffles for his six kids. He and his family live in San Diego County, where there are, sadly, few woodpeckers.

 

Editorial Reviews

This funny number celebrates determination, nonconformity, and creativity. And, of course, waffles.” — Booklist (starred review)

“Breen delivers a whimsical, alliterative story of animal high jinks...a wonderful offering for storytimes.” — School Library Journal

From the Publisher

This funny number celebrates determination, nonconformity, and creativity. And, of course, waffles.

Booklist (starred review)

05/01/2016
PreS-Gr 2—Breen delivers a whimsical, alliterative story of animal high jinks. When Benny the woodpecker investigates a tummy-rumbling smell, he is led to a diner where his curiosity is piqued by a customer relishing a plate of freshly made waffles. Although Benny is desperate to taste the breakfast treat, he is thwarted time and again by an astute and ornery waitress. Neither camouflage nor comic disguises fool this waffle server, leaving Benny to brainstorm new ideas with his animal friends in the nearby woods. All of Benny's companions try to dissuade him, using clever alliterations ("Moose don't eat muffins," "Raccoons don't eat ravioli," etc.); however, Benny's outlandish plans do give way to a sly and satisfying ending. Excellent watercolor illustrations help depict this charming world, while the ratio of text to white space is ideal for emerging readers. VERDICT A wonderful offering for storytimes.—Maria Alegre, The Dalton School, New York City

School Library Journal

2016-03-02
Will this woodpecker wishing for waffles win one? "One morning, Benny awoke to the best tummy-rumbling smell." He follows his nose to the grand opening of Moe's, home, so the sign says, of the hot waffle breakfast. Benny doesn't exactly know what a waffle is, but when he sees one, he knows he wants one. Every attempt to get one ends in a boot or a broom from the beehived, bespectacled white waitress. When his animal friends catch him thinking about waffles and plotting to get one, they laugh and tell him, "Woodpeckers don't eat waffles!"—but only pushy Bunny has a reason. (Kind of: "Because I SAID so.") So Benny details his spectacular plan to get a waffle (involving cannon and juggling and fireworks and musical numbers). His description of his plan draws an animal audience around the diner the next morning…but will it net Benny a waffle? Breen's adorable and determined woodpecker knows what he wants as surely as Willems' Pigeon does, but Benny may be a bit smarter. His attempts (and final success) will have preschoolers giggling and begging for a second helping. Ink, watercolors, colored pencils, and "artistic genius" were used to make the cartoon illustrations that add the perfect subtle and slapstick humor to Benny's quest. Serves up fun (and likely a waffle craving)—a good bet for breakfast reading. (Picture book. 3-7)

Kirkus Reviews

Narrator Guy Olivieri packs as much enthusiasm into being a woodpecker as woodpecker Benny does into his imaginative plans. The first plan is necessitated when curious Benny wants to experience “W-A-F-F-L-E-S” for the first time and is thwarted as he tries to disguise himself to enter a diner. Bunny and assorted animals find his curiosity about waffles ridiculous and rattle off a list of absurd animal foods: “Raccoons don’t eat ravioli!” “Coyotes don’t eat cupcakes!” “Snakes don’t eat snow cones!” Olivieri’s alliterative “s” sounds have gusto. Not willing to take the animals’ word that woodpeckers don’t eat waffles, Benny pulls off his most inventive plan yet—one that has break dancing, a comedy act, and fireworks. A.R. © AudioFile 2016, Portland, Maine

AUGUST 2016 - AudioFile

Narrator Guy Olivieri packs as much enthusiasm into being a woodpecker as woodpecker Benny does into his imaginative plans. The first plan is necessitated when curious Benny wants to experience “W-A-F-F-L-E-S” for the first time and is thwarted as he tries to disguise himself to enter a diner. Bunny and assorted animals find his curiosity about waffles ridiculous and rattle off a list of absurd animal foods: “Raccoons don’t eat ravioli!” “Coyotes don’t eat cupcakes!” “Snakes don’t eat snow cones!” Olivieri’s alliterative “s” sounds have gusto. Not willing to take the animals’ word that woodpeckers don’t eat waffles, Benny pulls off his most inventive plan yet—one that has break dancing, a comedy act, and fireworks. A.R. © AudioFile 2016, Portland, Maine

AUGUST 2016 - AudioFile