School Library Journal Review
PreS-Gr 3-When children open this book, they find themselves at Pettson's charming farm, complete with a red barn, an outhouse, a woodstove, a gramophone, a chicken coop, a neighbor's contrary bull, and a talking cat named Findus. Pettson is determined to make a birthday cake out of pancakes for the feline-one of three cakes he makes yearly for his impatient, opinionated, and sometimes lazy cat. The project is immediately derailed when the farmer realizes that he has no flour. Next, he is frustrated to discover that his bike has a flat tire, preventing him from riding to the store to buy some. The key to the shed, which contains the items needed to repair the bike, is at the bottom of the well, and the ladder to climb in through the shed skylight is being used by a mercurial bull as a pillow. Pettson's and Findus's antics to repair the bike are old-fashioned fun for kids, but downright mystifying for Pettson's neighbors, who think he is crazy. The wholesome story and quirky characters make this a great read-aloud. The illustrations may even be better than the story; Nordqvist uses saturated colors, clean lines, and a million tiny details to bring the story to life. This story was published earlier in the United States under the name Pancakes for Findus (Hawthorn, 2008).-Sally James, South Hillsborough Elementary School, Hillsborough, CA (c) Copyright 2014. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Publisher's Weekly Review
The Adventures of Pettson and Findus series continues with this second tale, originally published in 1985, which demonstrates why Pettson's neighbors wonder if he might be "crazy." His efforts to make a cake for his cat Findus's birthday ("Findus had three birthdays a year just because it was more fun that way") turn into a wild goose chase involving missing flour, a flat bicycle tire, lost keys, a gramophone, and an angry bull. Nordqvist's illustrations are packed with inviting detail, and Pettson and Findus's testy but tender relationship is as enjoyable as the broad, goofy humor that runs through the story. Ages 4-8. (Feb.) © Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved.
Horn Book Review
It's cat Findus's birthday, and Pettson, his eccentric elderly-farmer owner, is intent to make him his customary cake out of pancakes, which leads to a comedy of errors involving a sleeping bull. As in Findus Disappears!, Nordqvist takes his time, giving equal attention to the plot and the cat-human friendship. Also attentive are the illustrations, featuring bushels of country-life details. (c) Copyright 2015. The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Booklist Review
Pettson, an old man, and his cat, Findus, live in a little red farmhouse. Three times a year, they celebrate the cat's birthday, just for fun. After Pettson gathers eggs for their traditional pancake-and-whipped-cream birthday cake, he needs to buy flour. He takes out his bicycle, but a tire is flat. To fix it, he needs tools from his locked shed, and he needs to retrieve the shed's key from the bottom of the well. In order to retrieve the key, he has to climb through a window to get his fishing rod, which involves distracting a bull in the neighboring field. What could go wrong? Somewhat longer than most picture-book texts, the well-told story is fun to read aloud. While Findus is impatient for his cake to be ready, Pettson likes things done just so, a contrast in temperaments that leads to friction and comedy. The expressive ink drawings, washed with bright colors, are full of lively details. This amusing picture book, first published in Sweden in 1985, is from the Pettson and Findus series. A pancake cake recipe is appended.--Phelan, Carolyn Copyright 2015 Booklist
