Everything on a Waffle
Polly Horvath
©2000 Farrar, Straus and Giroux, LLC

Primrose Squarp simply knows her parents did not perish at sea during a terrible storm. Unfortunately she is the only one that thinks so. Primrose’s search for peace and understanding is somewhat assisted by her Uncle Jack who reluctantly takes her in, the elderly Miss Perfidy and the owner of a local restaurant where everything – and we mean everything – is served on a waffle.

Everything on a Waffle was read by Lili Gamache

Lili Gamache is a professional actress, director and writer who has worked
in television, radio, stage and film. She lives in Vermont with her 13 year
old daughter and 3 cats.

What do YOU think?

Why do you think the title of the book is Everything on a Waffle?

There are several adults trying to help Primrose. Which is your favorite and why?

(Ok, we’re giving away some of the plot here, so skip this if you haven’t read the whole book yet.) Primrose loses a toe in one chapter, and then four chapters later, she loses the tip of a finger. Does her loss of body parts symbolize anything?

Primrose is the only person that believes her parents will return. Throughout the story she asks adults if they believe in something that logic or other people deem impossible.

Do you believe in something contrary to the evidence? What do you do when someone challenges that belief?

What do you think of Primrose’s relationship with Mrs. Perfidy? With Miss Bowzer?

What does Primrose receive from these relationships? What does she give?

Author Polly Horvath uses very descriptive language. For example, she describes someone’s eyes.”fizzing like a Coke that’s shaken up.” What are some of your favorite descriptions from the book?

Fun & Adventure Beyond the Book

Primrose is comforted by a recipe card of her mother’s and memories of her mother’s cooking. Worked into the story are recipes that Primrose learns or remembers. So, here are two recipes for you to whip up. It’s up to you if you want to serve them on a waffle! (Thanks to Horvath’s publisher Farrar, Straus and Giroux, LLC for permission to include the recipes as they appear in the book.) Contact us at Camel’s Hump Radio to let us know how they taste!

Aunt Tilly’s Lemon Sugar Cookies

• Mix together a cup of sugar and 2 sticks of butter and some salt. I don’t remember how much Miss Honeycut said, so go with a pinch.
• Put in some grated lemon zest.
• Add 2 eggs and 2 teaspoons of vanilla.
• Beat it all together and add 2-1/2 cups of flour.
• Roll it out and cut with a drinking glass into rounds and bake at 350 degrees. She didn’t say how long but probably until slightly brown. That will usually do it.

Caramel Apples

• This is perhaps the easiest recipe of all. Buy a bag of caramels and melt them slowly in a double boiler – that is, in a saucepan that is over a saucepan of boiling water.
• When the caramels have melted, take apples that you have stuck Popsicle sticks through and dip them in the caramel until they are coated.
• Let dry on waxed paper. Do not muck around with chocolate or nuts or anything else fancy that might 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.

Author Polly Horvath struggles with several of the questions fans always ask. You can read how she tries to answer them – and why she likes melons – on her publisher's website. In this one she talks about her favorite author.

We haven’t found a restaurant like “The Girl on the Red Swing” where everything is served on a waffle. We did find a Chicken ‘n Waffles restaurant in Los Angeles, CA and two more in Georgia (co-owned by great R&B singer Gladys Knight and gospel singer Ron Winans. Knight had hits like “Midnight Train to Georgia” with “the Pips”; but we digress). If you’re hungry for waffles, check out 30 recipes used by bed and breakfast inns across America .

Everything on a Waffle is based in Coal Harbour, Vancouver. Learn about the area at this site and view photos at this one.

The whaling industry was important to Coal Harbour, and it was a great place for whale sightings. How well do you know whales? Check your knowledge by taking the quiz offered by Whale World . The New Bedford Whaling Museum also has a good overview of the whaling industry.

Sail the seas with the Odyssey! The whale research vessel set sail in 2000 for a five year project gathering baseline data on levels of synthetic contaminants throughout the world’s oceans. They are using whales to help gauge the health of the seas. Check out their cool “BowCam”, listen to the sounds of whales underwater and track the ship’s journey and the crew’s day-to-day life with the crew’s log .



If You Like This Book, Check Out...

Grace Greene, from the Vermont Department of Libraries, thinks you’ll also enjoy:

No More Cornflakes. FSG, 1990.
The Happy Yellow Car. FSG, 1994.
When the Circus Came to Town. FSG, 1996.
The Trolls. FSG, 1999.
The Canning Season. FSG, 2003.
Bauer, Joan. Hope Was Here. Putnam, 2000.
When sixteen-year-old Hope and the aunt who has raised her move from Brooklyn to Mulhoney, Wisconsin, to work as waitress and cook in the Welcome Stairways diner, they become involved with the diner owner's political campaign to oust the town's corrupt mayor.

Freeman, Suzanne. Cuckoo's Child. Greenwillow, 1996.
Eleven-year-old Mia refuses to believe that her parents are not coming back after they're reported lost at sea.

McKay, Hilary. Saffy's Angel. McElderry, 2001.
After learning that she was adopted, thirteen-year-old Saffron's relationship with her eccentric, artistic family changes.

White, Ruth. Tadpole. FSG, 2003.
In rural Kentucky in 1955, Serilda Collins, single mother of four lively girls, discovers that her orphaned nephew is being subjected to brutality.