Marsupial Sue Presents "The Runaway Pancake"

by John Lithgow, Jack E. Davis (Illustrator)

Overview

“I'm too fast, you're too slow. Pan, pan, patty-cake pan, I can get away from you, I can!”
The much-loved story of the Runaway Pancake who pops out of the oven and is sure he can escape all who want to eat him is given a new spin when Marsupial Sue and her friends put on a play version for their neighborhood. This has all of the wit and whimsy of Marsupial Sue and again features lively illustrations by Jack E. Davis. From the friends’ preparations behind the scenes to the actors’ final bows, readers will be inspired by the production.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780689878480
Publisher:	Simon & Schuster Books For Young Readers
Publication date:	10/21/2008
Edition description:	Reprint
Pages:	40
Product dimensions:	10.00(w) x 8.20(h) x 0.14(d)
Age Range:	4 - 8 Years

About the Author

John Lithgow is the New York Times bestselling author of I Got Two Dogs; Mahalia Mouse Goes to College; Marsupial Sue Presents: The Runaway Pancake; I’m A Manatee; Micawber; Marsupial Sue; The Remarkable Farkle McBride; and Carnival of the Animals. An award-winning actor, he has starred on stage, film, and television. He performs concerts across the country and has recorded the CDs Farkle and Friends, Singin’ in the Bathtub, and The Sunny Side of the Street. Visit John at JohnLithgow.com.

Jack E. Davis was senior art director with a a large ad agency before becoming a children's book illustrator. Among the books he has illustrated are Bedhead by Margi Palatini, Metro Cat by Marsha Diane Arnold, Music Over Manhattan by Mark Karlins, and the ongoing series The Zack Files by Dan Greenburg. He lives in Port Townsend, Washington, and has three sons and two cats.

Interviews

A Conversation with John Lithgow

Fans were first introduced to the kangaroo Sue in the book Marsupial Sue (2001). Why did you decide to bring this character back in your latest book?

JL: Marsupial Sue has been one of my most popular books, so it was only logical to bring her back for another visit. In the first one, I loved her three supporting players, the koala, platypus, and wallaby. So I decided to make up a story with an even larger cast of characters. What do you do with a cast of characters? Have them put on a play!

In Marsupial Sue Presents "The Runaway Pancake," Sue and her friends put on a neighborhood play. Do you remember the first play you acted in?

JL: My dad produced theatre and so as a child, I played various children. In my first role I was so young, I don't even remember it! At two years old, I played one of Nora's children in Ibsen's A Doll House (my dad played my father). I have not one single memory of it, but I'm told I was very good.

You have performed "The Runaway Pancake" live in concert. How has the audience responded?

JL: I made up the song of "The Runaway Pancake" when my oldest boy was a toddler, which means I've been singing it for over thirty years. In concerts I always kept it until last because it was the kids' favorite. By the time I finished the song, the kids would know it by heart. Just when the Pancake was singing his loudest, the kids were singing their loudest too. You can hear it happen on the CD!

All of your children's books deal with the fine arts. Why do you think it's important to introduce children to the arts at an early age?

JL: In many ways, kids introduce themselves to the arts. Creative play involves all of the arts: playacting, music-making, dancing and drawing. I intend my books to be just plain fun stories, but my hidden intent is to nudge their discovery process along.

You recently became the first professional actor ever to speak at a Harvard commencement. In your speech, you mentioned your children's books and emphasized the importance of art in society. What do you feel is the biggest challenge to the arts at this time?

JL: I firmly believe that vibrant, vital, unfettered creativity in the arts is absolutely essential to a healthy society. This means encouragement, education, support, and audience-building. The challenge to the arts is that they remain such a low priority among educators and legislators. Arts education, for example, is the first thing to go when a board of education is in financial trouble. This shouldn't be so.

You worked with Jack E. Davis on the first Marsupial Sue book. Has your collaboration process changed over time?

JL: Jack is a wonderful collaborator. He takes what you give him and spins it into something much more. It's delightful to work with an illustrator with such an exuberant visual imagination.

Editorial Reviews

Marsupial Sue, the kangaroo, returns for an encore, starring with her fellow Aussie pals in a boisterous backyard play production of The Runaway Pancake. Lithgow's comic wordplay combines with zany pictures to create an exuberant read-aloud. Best of all are the cast's hilarious homemade costumes (picture a tasmanian devil posing as a fox with taped-on whiskers and a toilet-brush tail). A CD of Lithgow reading the story is included. (ages 4 to 6)
Child magazine's Best Children's Book Awards 2005

In this hilarious sequel, Sue, Bartholomew Koala, Sydney Wombat, Winifred Wallaby, Percy Platypus, Melbourne Sheep and Neville, the Tasmanian Devil star in their local Aussie production of "The Runaway Pancake." Sue plays Auntie May who bakes a pancake for lunch that jumps from the oven wearing a "naughty expression on his face" and runs away singing, "I'm too fast, you're too slow. . . . I can get away from you, I can." With Auntie May in hot pursuit, the Runaway Pancake rolls through the countryside taunting all with his cocky refrain. Soon a Dog, a Cow, a Donkey, a Wolf and a Bear join the chase until the Fox lures the renegade Pancake just close enough. Colored-pencil, acrylic and ink illustrations packed with wacky details are entertaining in their own right, especially the Pancake in his running shoes. From endpages showing cast and crew prepping backstage to the final-page bow, this rollicking, rib-tickling, rhythmic rendition of a favorite tale will provide a gleeful read-aloud and sing-along. (CD recording of author's live performance) (Picture book. 4-8)

Kirkus Reviews