Everything on a Waffle

Everything on a Waffle by Polly Horvath is about a young girl named Primrose Squarp who thinks her parents were not killed in a violent storm but will be towed back to her by a whale in a matter of time. Weird, isn’t it? But the real story is much more than that. It tells stories of Coal Harbor, a small town on Vancouver Island the people in this town who are a big part of this humorous yet heartwarming book like Miss Bowzer, owner of The Girl on the Red Swing, who offers good advice, a willing ear and all food (served at her restaurant), including lasagna, served on a waffle!

I’ve read a lot of books with citywide scales, worldwide scales, and even universe-wide scales. But “Everything on a Waffle” focuses on a small town and since a lot can happen in a small town, it makes the book more interesting. Also, the significant decrease in information (compared to other chapter books) makes “Everything on a Waffle” a book that you can really enjoy.

My favorite parts of the book were the recipes at the end of each chapter. These recipes were mostly Miss Bowzer’s creations, but Primrose’s mother invented two of them. Two of the recipes are Chow Mein Noodle Cookies and Carrots In An Apricot Glaze. Some of these recipes sound delicious, and others just plain wacky, so I think I might try to make some of them.

This book of Polly Horvath won a Newberry Honor Award in 2001. In the very first page of the book, the author says that Coal Harbor is a real place, but she changed its geography to suit the story.

Polly Horvath was born on 30 January 1957. She has written more than 10 books for children, among them are The Happy Yellow Car and Everything on a Waffle. I found a surprising fact about Polly Horvath. She has been writing since the age of eight. She says that she doesn’t know where the ideas for her stories come from, but she does know she likes books with food in them! While selling their (her family’s) house, their realtor would come over in the evening and tell stories about Coal Harbor which, funnily enough, had only one restaurant which served everything on a waffle – for real! I am looking forward to reading more of Polly Horvath’s wonderful books.