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    Everything on a Waffle
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    Everything on a Waffle
    Unavailable
    Everything on a Waffle
    Audiobook3 hours

    Everything on a Waffle

    Written by Polly Horvath

    Narrated by Kathleen McInerney

    4/5

    ()

    Currently unavailable

    Currently unavailable

    About this audiobook

    Primrose Squarp simply knows her parents did not perish at sea during a terrible storm, despite what the other residents of Coal Harbour believe. For all practical purposes, Primrose is an orphan, and there's no great clamoring of prospective adopters. After realizing the impracticality of continuing to pay Miss Perfidy (a mothball-scented elderly lady) an hourly wage to baby-sit her, the town council places her with Uncle Jack, who reluctantly takes her in. Primrose does warm up to him, but her true sanctuary is a local restaurant called The Girl on the Red Swing, where everything--including lasagna--is served on a waffle, and where the proprietor Miss Bowzer offers a willing ear.
    Through a mixture of eccentric humor and probing philosophy, author Polly Horvath makes Primrose's search for peace and understanding a most memorable one.
    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherPenguin Random House Audio
    Release dateFeb 26, 2002
    ISBN9780807207161
    Unavailable
    Everything on a Waffle
    Author

    Polly Horvath

    Polly Horvath has written many books for children and young adults, among them Everything on a Waffle, The Canning Season, and One Year in Coal Harbour. She has won numerous awards including a National Book Award, Newbery Honor, Toronto Dominion Award, International White Raven, and Canadian Library Association's Young Adult Book of the Year. She has also been short-listed for Germany's most prestigious literature award, the Deutscher Jugendliteraturpreis, as well as the Writer's Trust Vicky Metcalfe Award for her body of work and many others. Her books have been New York Times and Publishers Weekly bestsellers and Rosie O'Donnell and Oprah picks. She is translated into over 25 languages and her books are taught in children's literature curricula in North America and internationally. She lives in British Columbia.

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    Reviews for Everything on a Waffle

    4/5

    268 ratings27 reviews

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    • 4/5
      Primrose moves in with her uncle when her parents both disappear at sea. Everyone else in their small British Columbia town says they're dead, but Primrose holds on to the belief that they'll still come back. She struggles with kids at school and with the uppity, narrow-minded principal, but finds unlikely friends in the old lady who took her in before her uncle arrived and the proprietor of the local restaurant, which serves everything on the menu on a waffle.I neat little story with vivid characters, of which Primrose is definitely the star. Bonus: recipes for several of the restaurant's offerings are included at the ends of chapters.
    • 3/5
      Everything on a waffle:A girl named sally who believes that her parents are lost at sea.But everybody else thinks they are dead.So she has to live with her uncle who believes that tourists should come and visit coal harbor. But he is too busy so she hangs out with Miss Beatrix the owner of the only restaurant in town that makes dinner lunch and breakfast...on a waffle! The antagonist of this story is the notorious school guidance counselor miss Honeycut who wants sally to go to a boarding school instead of living with her uncle.Soon believes that her parents are really dead.But then they wash up on shore and they tell their tale about how they lived on an island for a month!Opinion paragraph:I think it deserved this rating because it is very touching but it is not " WOW! I think it was like this is a good book.I also liked this book because this girl has faith that her parents will come back. Sally also learns the goodness in peoples hearts.And miss honeycut has no goodness whatsoever! I also like how Sally has confidence in what she believes that her parents will always come back.It also teaches you that you should also have confidence.Also you should have faith!
    • 4/5
      Everything on a Waffle is a very cute book for children. It is about a a young girl named Primrose. She lives with her uncle because her parents died at see. He doesnt have much time for her so she finds comfort in Kate Bowzer who owns a restaurant called The Girl on the Red Swing, everything comes on a waffle. This is a place where Primrose can get lots of attention and just be a kid. An extension to this book would be to use playdough and cookie cutters. Make the waffles and them make differnt things to pile them high with. You could also have a discussion on how to deal with the emotions of not having a family to let them know that they aren't alone and help them cope with the issue.
    • 2/5
      Cute story about a girl who loses her parents at sea, and how she copes. She's plucky and the characters are amusing, but somehow it's not enough, there's almost too much cuteness.
    • 4/5
      Primrose Scuarp is a dreamy redhead from the small Candian town of Coal Harbor whose parents have been lost at sea. Well that's what Primrose believes, even though everyone else in her small town insists that they died in the terrible storm. Soon Primrose is being shifted from the care of Miss Perfidy, an elderly neighbor with a tricky memory, to her Uncle Jack, the only person who doesn't try to convince her that her parents are really dead. The school social worker, Miss Honeycut is a nightmare who can't stop telling anecdotes and Primrose's fellow students are less than sympathetic to her plight. All Primrose wants to do is wait in peace for her parents to return, but people insist on "helping" her work through her grief - if they can only help her to feel it. Through it all, Primrose finds comfort at "The Girl on the Red Swing," a restaurant owned by Miss Bowzer where every kind of meal is served, but they all come on waffles.

      I can only assume that Primrose's red hair and eccentric way of looking at life are Horvath's homage to Anne of Green Gables, but the comparison definitely works.

      Listened to the Listening Library CD edition narrated by Kathleen McInerney. McInerney conveys the humor of the book and differentiates the character voices so that it's always clear who's speaking although the changes are not distracting.

      Previously read.
    • 5/5
      Summary: Primrose is a young child who stays to herself. One day, her mom goes out into a storm to search for Primrose's father. Neither of them return. The town throws a service for her parents because they all say her parents died at sea. Primrose refuses to believe this and just knows in her heart that they aren't dead and they will return. She stays with her babysitter while the town decides what is best for Primrose. Her uncle ends up watching her but he is so busy trying to reconstruct Coal Harbour that he hardly has anytime for Primrose. She spends most of her time Girl on the Red Swing with Miss Bowzer where she can order anything on a waffle. The town finds Primrose's uncle unqualified to watch Primrose so they stick her with a foster family. While all of this is going on, Primrose still tries to convince everyone that her parents are still alive and she continues to go to the beach and wait for them to return. At the end of the story, her parents finally return. They all went out to dinner that night at Girl on the Red Swing where they all could get waffles with anything and everything they could ever want on a waffle.Personal Reaction:I absolutely loved this book! Primrose never loses hope of finding her parents. I wish I was more optimistic like Primrose. No matter how many people told her they were gone, she never gave up waiting for them. I also love how the story involves waffles!Classroom Extensions:1. After each chapter, their are recipes from the food in the book.. It would be fun to make one of the recipes with the class.2. It's also a great book to teach students to never give up no matter how many people doubt them. If they believe they can do it, then they can.
    • 5/5
      Everything on a Waffle was a good feeling book. It has a constant positive attitude that looks like the worst of situations. The book is about a little girl named Primrose who's parents were washed away at sea during a storm. Everyone in the town said they were dead, but Primrose never believed that. She said she knew they were alive. Her uncle had to come take care of her, and when he would not pay the guidance counselor of the school a bit of attention she turn him into child services. Primrose was sent to live with foster parents that after hearing her story moved back with her to her home town. Primrose loved to learn how to cook and their was a restraunt named the girl on the red swing, and the lady that owned it would teach her new recipes everyday. But everything that you received at this restraunt was served on a waffle (hence the namce on the story) no matter what the food was. Even going through all this Primrose has the most positive attitude, and is eventually reunited with her parents. I really liked this story, and it just goes to show it could always be worse but try to find the bright side!
    • 4/5
      Eleven year old Primrose Squarp refuses to attend the memorial service for her parents after they disappear at sea. She is convinced that they are still alive and asks everyone who tries to convince her otherwise, "Haven't you ever just known something deep in your heart without reason?" She is sent first to live with an elderly neighbor who had occasionally babysat her, and then to live with Uncle Jack. Primrose is left without much supervision and she seems to be rather adept at attracting trouble. Because of a series of unfortunate accidents, a local busybody gets her sent to live in a foster home. THis was a cute book with a fun, interesting main character and storyline, but it was not what I expected. I thought there was going to be a lot more of the waffle restaurant. Nevertheless, it was enjoyable. Primrose is very much into food and there is a recipe at the end of every chapter written in her inimitable, eleven year old style. It was different in that this book is about Primrose and her relationships with adults, all the other meaningful characters, both good and bad, are adults.
    • 5/5
      Polly Horvath has a way of making what could have been a really sad story into a very light, touching story about a girl who never gives up hope that her parents (who are lost at sea) are still alive. She has to live with her Uncle who is a reluctant caretaker and an awful one at that. A series of accidents happen to her that seem ridiculous at times considering what she has already gone through. I love that each chapter ends with a recipe that connects to something that happened in that chapter. This is definitely one of my favorite books to share each year with my reading groups.
    • 2/5
      Imaginative details but thinly supported by a skeletal plot.Most of the story seems to hold its breath waiting to see if Primrose's parents will truly come home to her or if in fact, they are actually dead. Some conflict exists between the characters who would like to convince her that they are dead and who would like to take her away from her Uncle. Some of the town appears to be jealous that her mother loved her father enough to row away in a small boat in an effort to rescue his fishing boat in a storm. While there's great satisfaction in their safe return at the end of the story or some of the delightful recipes or interesting characters along the way, the story never really comes alive.
    • 4/5
      This book was a charming, welcome surprise! I thoroughly enjoyed the humor, the recipes and the array of quirky characters. It provides lots to think about and never outstays its welcome. I would highly recommend this book to parents and kids.
    • 4/5
      Primrose Squarp is 11, and her parents are missing. Not dead, as everyone in her small town thinks, but missing, lost at sea. As she bounces from town babysitter to huckster uncle, losing digits along the way, Primrose takes refuge in a restaurant where everything, even the steak, is served on a waffle. This is hilarious, a collection of the most improbable characters, a picture of small town BC life, and a realistic story of a girl refusing to give up hope.
    • 3/5
      This is the story of young 11 year old Primrose Squarp. She is an orphan because her parents have been lost at sea. However, she believes that they will return shortly in spite of those around her telling her otherwise. Primrose is taken under the care of her Uncle Jack who wants to help "develop" their town, Coal Harbour. Uncle Jack means well, but he is always very busy. Thus, Primrose is still often left to her own devices. She makes a great friend in Kate Bowzer, the owner of the restaurant "The Girl on the Red Swing" where every single food item is served on a waffle. Still she has to deal with mean schoolchildren, stuffy babysitter Miss Perfidy, and the snobbish school guidance counselor Miss Honeycut. However, through it all Primrose remains optimstic.The book is sarcastic and has funny moments. Still, I found it to be too eccentric and a little odd. It wasn't my favorite, but may be a good read a loud for 4th, 5th, and 6th graders. I did listen to the book so perhaps I would have had a different opinion if I had read it with my own eyes.
    • 5/5
      The little girl in the book has great hope and it makes me want to have to hope that she has when I read it.
    • 2/5
      This book is about a girl who's parents had past away during a storm on their boat, now she has to stay with her uncle and get through her parent's death.
    • 1/5
      Primrose will not believe that her parents perished at sea in a terrible storm, even though everyone else in the town thinks so. She lives with a babysitter for awhile, and then with her Uncle Jack. This book is based on the premise that a child will act perfectly normal while in denial, if not of parental death but minimally of the possibility of it. A strange book.
    • 2/5
      A kiddie lit book that I read as a coach for "Battle of the Books." The main character loses her parents to a storm on the sea, but insists they are still alive. She lives in a variety of foster homes, until her uncle comes to town and takes her in. This book was a Newbery runner-up. My strongest impression of the book was that some of the things they ate on a waffle were quite disgusting.
    • 4/5
      Primrose Squarp's parents were both lost at sea and presumed dead. She, however, is simply sure they are alive. After a brief spell under the care of doddering old Mrs. Perfidy, she is sent to live with her Uncle Jack, a real estate developer. (Like lawyers and politicians, real estate developers always seem to get a bad rap in books, but Uncle Jack has a good heart.) We meet several of the eccentric residents of Coal Harbor, British Columbia, through the course of Primrose's tale, which is always lighthearted and cheerful somehow, even when awful things happen.Short and delightful.
    • 4/5
      The cover doesn't do the book justice - it's more exciting and thoughtful than that cartoon. The voice of the young girl is wonderful - she's frank & direct but is also open to the possibilities of the inexplicable. Most of the characters were richly layered - which wasn't obvious at first but as the girl matured and learned, we did too. Quick read. Especially for 'tweens.
    • 3/5
      children's fiction (funny stories told by an unlucky child, with recipes)
      The sudden disappearance of one's parents (a storm at sea) would be tragic by grown-up standards, but Primrose takes it all in stride, believing in her heart that her parents are alive somewhere and just waiting to be rescued.
    • 3/5
      Eleven year old Primrose Squarp lives in Coal Harbour, British Columbia. Her father, a fisherman, doesn't arrive home during a storm and her mother takes off after him, leaving Primrose orphaned. Although everyone believes her parents are dead, she is certain they are alive and while waiting for them to return, she is cared for by her uncle, a local woman, and finally foster parents all while visiting the Girl on a Red Swing, a restaurant that serves everything on a waffle. I was surprised how confident Primrose was that her parents would return and also intrigued by many of the wacky characters living with Primrose in Coal Harbour. This book would be good for intermediate children who want to read a bit of a silly tale.
    • 3/5
      Everything on a Waffle is a story about a girl who's parents get lost at sea. She meets and becomes friends with a restaurant owner who serves everything on a waffle.
    • 5/5
      This book is great for all students. Although it is about a girl who refuses to believe her parents are dead after the storm, she winds up in foster care and with her uncle. She watches her caregivers pass and does not show emotion. Her parents eventually come back, they were not dead! I would recommend this book for all children, and the ones who may have some issues going on at home, so that they can know that everything will be okay soon. I would use this in my classroom as an individual or partner reading book, read chapter by chapter.
    • 4/5
      Had I been on the awards committee, I might well have voted for this book rather than for the actual medalist, A Single Shard. I certainly enjoyed reading it. Could it be that the heroine's Dickensian name (Primrose Squarp) took a few points off? And then, the Newbery Medals are for American books -- and although presumably Polly Horvath is a citizen or permanent resident of the US, she set her book in British Columbia. And the book is SO DARN CANADIAN -- which is a big part of its charm. Oh, it starts out like any other "problem book" for kids, with Primrose's parents lost at sea and her fate in the hands of the town council. But almost immediately funny things start happening, and Primrose never loses hope, and you realize this is not going to be another problem story. The setting, a fishing village in BC, is filled with characters who would be right at home in Cicely, Alaska. The only villain in the piece is, of course, a British aristocrat. All's well that ends well, and it's a fun way to spend a few hours. Kids can even try some of the recipes that end each chapter. Highly recommended.
    • 4/5
      Melancholy story of a girl whose parents are lost at sea. She becomes friends with a restaurant owner who serves everything on a waffle. One of the great charms of the book is its recipes. The cinnamon buns are very good.
    • 5/5
      Everything on a Waffle by Polly Horvath is the story of Primrose Squarp and her unusual life in Coal Harbour, Vancouver Island, British Columbia. She begins her tale with her parents being lost at sea. Throughout her tale she maintains her belief that her parents are marooned on an island even if the adults in her life try to tell her otherwise.Young Primrose, then, goes from home to home as her parents' disappearance lengthens. Her first caretaker is her babysitter — an elderly women obsessed with mothballs. Then, there's her wayward uncle, Jack. And finally, she's put into foster care with a delightful couple who dote on their dog as much as they do their charge.The one piece of stability in Primrose's life is The Girl on a Red Swing — the local restaurant where everything is served on a waffle. Primrose spends her free time there, learning how to cook and getting sage advice from the only adult who seems willing to believe her. As food is such a part of Primrose's life, each chapter ends with a recipe.I listened to the book on audio on a family trip. It was entertaining enough to keep the entire family occupied on an otherwise long drive.
    • 3/5
      Based on my previous experience with a Polly Horvath novel, I’d anticipated that this book would be a funny book. Not so, at least not in an uproariously hilarious way. Primrose finds that her parents have been lost at sea, but she never doubts they will return. In the meantime, she is sent to live with a bachelor uncle who wants to transform her town into an economic boom town. The parents do in fact return, against all odds, but most of the other loose ends just seem to drift off. Newbery Honor.