The Dancing Pancake Hardcover - 2010

I am on the front lawn making snow angels with Albert Poole.  

This is what I like about Albert: He's not afraid to do "girly" things. He'll bake cookies as quick as toss a football.  

He'll tend the African violets in his grandmother's front window as tenderly as a mama cat tends her kittens.  

He likes to shop!  

What I don't like about Albert is this: He talks about bugs all the time. All. The. Time. He can tell you anything you want to know about horseflies or houseflies or dung beetles or cockroaches.  

And me--? I can tell you most anything you want to know about Albert Poole or classic books or the film The Wizard of Oz.  

My dad is outside, too. He is dumping two suitcases into the trunk of his car.  

I sort of hear him backing out of our driveway and driving off, but I'm not watching. Why should I? Albert Poole and I have snow angels to make, and besides, my father is simply driving to a different city to find a new job. That's all.   That's what he said.  

That's what Mom said.  

That's what they both said.  

C'mon, Albert! You have to flap your legs and arms at the same time.      

Eileen Spinelli is the popular, critically acclaimed, and beloved author of nearly fifty children's books. With twenty-nine (and counting!) immediate family members, Eileen knows about kids and family and drew upon her experiences and imagination to create this sensitive portrait of a child handling parental separation. She also mixed in her fondness for diners-their blend of sights, sounds, and aromas evoke "instant good feelings and a craving for pancakes" in Eileen. She hopes that kids will be entertained and find a reflection of their feelings and lives within the pages of "The Dancing Pancake." Eileen and her husband, Jerry, live in eastern Pennsylvania.
About the Illustrator
A graduate of the Art Center College of Design in Pasadena, California, Joanne Lew-Vriethoff began her career in television and has created artwork for many formats and media. Joanne's best art ideas often come when she is doing "the most ordinary but wonderful things," such as sliding down a slide or riding on her bike. Joanne's art first met Eileen Spinelli's verse in "Summerhouse Time," to which Joanne contributed lyrical and charming illustrations. She and her husband and their children live in the Netherlands and enjoy driving trips and visits to castles.