A Newbery Honor Book By the author of The Trolls, a National Book Award Finalist.

My name is Primrose Squarp. I am eleven years old. I have hair the color of carrots in apricot glaze (recipe to follow), skin fair and clear where it isn't freckled, and eyes like summer storms.

Readers will know right from the start that the narrator of Everything on a Waffle is going to tell her story straight and pull no punches. Primrose's parents have been lost at sea, but she believes without an iota of doubt that they are still alive, somewhere. She moves in with her Uncle Jack, but feels generally friendless. Her only real refuge is a local restaurant called The Girl on the Red Swing, where the owner, Miss Bowzer, serves everything on waffles — except advice and good sense, which come free of charge and are always reliable.

Food in general plays an important role in Primrose's journey toward peace and understanding (a recipe dictated in her unmistakable voice is appended to each chapter), and readers will eagerly cheer her on through this funny, bittersweet novel.

"Horvath (The Trolls) delivers another hilariously puckish read with this tale of a (possibly) orphaned girl from a small Canadian fishing village. Eleven-year-old Primrose Squarp refuses to attend the memorial service for her parents after they disappear at sea. 'Haven't you ever just known something deep in your heart without reason?' she demands of all and sundry, convinced her parents are still alive. Meanwhile, she is shuffled from the custody of her elderly neighbor Miss Perfidy to her likable but somewhat feckless Uncle Jack. Not unlike another beloved red-haired Canadian heroine, Primrose whose own hair is 'the color of carrots in an apricot glaze (recipe to follow)' attracts trouble like a magnet. In addition to singeing the fur on the class guinea pig, she manages to lose a baby toe and part of a finger in chapters entitled 'I Lose a Toe' and 'I Lose Another Digit' — accidents that land her in the foster care of an older couple whose stature and girth give them the look of 'kindly old hard-boiled eggs.' Primrose's lively recital of her misadventures comes complete with recipes, pungent descriptions ('the feeling of joy swept through my soul like fire up a vacuum') and memorable characters, among them the tough-talking, golden-hearted owner of a local restaurant that serves everything (even fish and chips) on waffles. A laugh-out-loud pleasure from beginning to triumphant end. Ages 10-up. (Sept.)" Publishers Weekly (Copyright 2001 Reed Business Information, Inc.)

Eleven-year-old Primrose, living in a small fishing village in British Columbia, recounts her experiences and all she learns about human nature and the unpredictability of life after her parents are lost at sea.

This Newbery Honor Book tells the story of 11 -year-old Primrose, who lives in a small fishing village in British Columbia. She recounts her experiences and all she learns about human nature and the unpredictability of life after her parents are lost at sea.

Pollt Horvath's books include The Canning Season, winner of the National Book Award and The Trolls, a National Book Award Finalist. She lives in Metchosin, British Columbia.