[.ca] Everything on a Waffle (ISBN 0786273577)

From Amazon.com:
In the small Canadian town of Coal Harbour, in a quaint restaurant called The Girl on the Red Swing, everything comes on a waffle--lasagna, fish, you name it. Even waffles! Eleven-year-old Primrose Squarp loves this homey place, especially its owner, Kate Bowzer, who takes her under her wing, teaches her how to cook, and doesn't patronize or chastise her, even when she puts her guinea pig too close to the oven and it catches fire. Primrose can use a little extra attention. Her parents were lost at sea, and everyone but her thinks they are dead. Her Uncle Jack, who kindly takes her in, is perfectly nice, but doesn't have much time on his hands. Miss Perfidy, her paid babysitter-guardian, smells like mothballs and really doesn't like children, and her school guidance counselor, Miss Honeycut, an uppity British woman of the world, is too caught up in her own long-winded stories to be any kind of confidante. Nobody knows what exactly to think of young Primrose, and Primrose doesn't quite know what to make of her small community, either. She entertains herself in a variety of ways--mostly by wryly observing those around her with wisdom, compassion, and slightly cynical humor that belie her years. She also sits on the dock and waits for her parents to get back, goes to the store and tells the grocer the cottage cheese has expired (not appreciated), and writes recipes that her mother taught her in a memo pad. About Caramel Apples, she writes: "Do not muck around with chocolate or nuts or anything else fancy that may tempt you. It will only gum up the works. Sometimes you get tempted to make something wonderful even better, but in doing so you lose what was so wonderful to begin with." Everything on a Waffle is ultimately a folksy, Garrison Keillor-style take on small-town life, spiced with sometimes hilarious, sometimes poignant anecdotes about the quirks and adventures of individual townspeople as seen through Primrose's wise eyes. It's a quiet, but very funny book, infused with the hope of a girl who knows in her heart that there are things that science, and even the uppity Miss Honeycut, can't explain. We first were introduced to author Polly Horvath with her National Book Award finalist, The Trolls, which you absolutely have to read if you haven't already! (Ages 9 to 13) --Karin Snelson

age-appropriate reading:
I bought this book for my 11-yr-old granddaughter and decided to read it before sending it to her. In spite of some of the other reviews which criticize the happy ending, I believe tht it is age-appropriate for the intended audience. For my granddaughter, life's cruel realities will evidence themselves in good time, but for now I would like her to have happy stories to read. Primrose sounds like a little girl that I would like to meet, and I hope her story will encourage my granddaughter to read more. I give this book 4 stars only because I have not read enough children's literature lately to form a superlative opinion for the time being.

I loved it on a waffle!:
As a freshman in high school, and a huge bookaholic who usually enjoys the 'higher level' literature (I love Jane Austen, the Brontës, Sylvia Plath, John Irving...), I have to say I truly loved this book. It was light, quirky, funny, well-written, and different! The characters were eccentric, the plotlines amusing. Primrose's life is, no pun intended, an open book. She is frank, amusing, and candid. Primrose is also full of wise-beyond-her-years perception; she says: "Sometimes you get tempted to make something wonderful even better, but in doing so you lose what was so wonderful to begin with." I would highly reccommend this book to ANYONE who wants to read something light, well-done, and funny!

Everything on a Waffle:
The book is about a girl named Primrose Squarp's problems in life. She has had problems ever since that one rainy day when her dad was out on his boat and rhe waves were brewing when her mom went out on their skiff to save him. In this book it starts out slow but it gradually gets better. This book also has large amounts of suspense. One thing I didn't like about the book is that it ended the way I thought it would. This book is about one girls fight to impress her uncle fit in and keep belief that her parents are still alive. My favorite thing about this book was that it was interesting through the whole thing and it always kept you guessing. This was a good book.

Everything on a Waffle:
-I read the book Everything on a Waffle by Polly Horvath. I give this book a 4 star rating. -Everything on a Waffle is a Boston Globe-Horn Book Award Honor book. This book earned a 4 star rating because I think it is unique. After each chapter you read there is a recipe. Some of the recipes are very inventive like how to make Pear Soup or Cherry Pie Pork Chops. Other recipes are plain for example how to make Perfectly Boiled Potatoes. The recipes have meaning to the main character, Primrose, because they were recipes from her mother who was lost at sea. A weird part of this story is at Miss Bowzer's restaurant called, The Girl on the Red Swing, where everything including lasagna comes on a waffle. (That's how the book got its name) -The reason I didn't give this ALA Notable book a 5 star rating is because of the ending. The ending was boring. By this I mean, it ends how every fairy tell ends. There wasn't any twist or turns in the book. If you like those happy endings that aren't really realistic and you know what is going to happen, then this is the book to read. I personally like suspense in my books. This is why I gave Everything on a Waffle a 4 star rating. -Other titles I would recommend is Go for the Goal by Mia Hamm, Anne Frank: A Diary of a Young Girl, and Another favorite of mine is A Circle of Time.

Everything On A waffle:
Every Thing On A Waffle Primrose is 11 year old. Her parents left to sea and she never saw them again, because a storm came. So she lived with several different people.They were Bert and Evie; Miss Perfidy, who smelled like mothballs; and Uncle Jack. How the book got its title is they would go to a diner that served waffles for plates. They even have recipes in the book. Primrose believed that her parents were still alive, But people would tell her that her parents were dead. She wouldn't believe them. Do you want to know if they are alive or dead? Read this book and you'll find out.