The Great Pancake Disaster at the Zoo

By Oliver Heath

The Great Pancake Disaster at the Zoo follows Lucy as she embarks on a wild adventure to make pancakes for the zoo’s annual breakfast party. What starts as a simple plan to create the perfect pancakes quickly turns into a chaotic disaster, with pancakes flying, syrup spilling, and animals causing more mishaps than help. From pancake towers that topple over to mischievous animals making everything worse, Lucy and her animal friends must work together to clean up the mess before the guests arrive. Packed with hilarious moments, slip-ups, and funny fails, this book is a laugh-out-loud journey that teaches kids the importance of teamwork, creativity, and rolling with the punches. Perfect for children aged 5-12, The Great Pancake Disaster at the Zoo will have young readers giggling from start to finish.

• Language: English
• Publisher: The Good Child Bookstore
• Release date: Aug 12, 2025

Book preview

Chapter 1: The Big Idea

Lucy’s heart was racing with excitement as she prepared for the zoo’s annual breakfast party. This year, she had an idea that she just knew would be a hit: she was going to make pancakes for the animals! Not just any pancakes, mind you, but the tallest, fluffiest, most delicious pancakes ever created. She could already imagine the guests' wide eyes and impressed smiles as she served them up on giant platters.

The zoo was buzzing with energy. Visitors were arriving early, and the animals were all getting ready for the day’s festivities. Lucy was in the zoo kitchen, looking around with a feeling of utter determination. Her apron was tied securely around her waist, and her sleeves were rolled up. A large mixing bowl sat on the counter, waiting to be filled with flour, eggs, and sugar. The griddle was heating up nicely, its surface starting to shimmer with anticipation.

I’ve got this, Lucy whispered to herself, gripping the handle of the wooden spoon. This is going to be amazing.

Just as she was about to begin mixing the ingredients, her best friend, Harry the monkey, swung through the kitchen door, hanging from a vine. He let out an enthusiastic WOO HOO! as he landed gracefully on the countertop, causing a few stray pancake mix packets to jump in the air.

Lucy! What’s going on in here? You’re cooking up something big, huh? Harry asked, eyes twinkling with curiosity.

I’m making pancakes, Harry! You know, for the breakfast party! Lucy replied, her voice full of excitement.

Harry scratched his chin with one hand, then quickly grabbed a pancake packet with the other. Pancakes, huh? I love pancakes! he said, tossing the packet into the air. I’ll help! I’ll make sure everything is super fun!

Lucy chuckled, watching Harry scurry around like a whirlwind. He grabbed a few more packets of pancake mix and tossed them into the air, as though he were juggling. The powder inside spilled out in tiny clouds, drifting down like snowflakes, coating the countertops, the floor, and—of course—Harry himself. He didn’t seem to mind. In fact, he was now laughing hysterically, his wide grin covered in pancake mix.

Harry! Lucy exclaimed, laughing. You’re making a mess!

I’m helping! Harry protested, wiping flour off his face and using his foot to kick a bowl of sugar into the air. It landed with a soft thud on the counter, splashing white sugar all over the place.

Lucy tried to stay focused. She took a deep breath, grabbed the mixing bowl, and started adding the ingredients. The first thing she did was crack open a dozen eggs. At least, that was the plan. But just as she cracked the first egg, a mischievous parrot flew into the kitchen through the open window, squawking loudly.

Crack! Crack! You’ve got this, Lucy! You can do it! Go, go, go! the parrot squawked, flapping its wings around Lucy’s head. The little bird’s enthusiasm only added to the chaos as it flapped in circles, causing the egg in Lucy’s hand to slip out and plop into the mixing bowl in the most unceremonious way possible. A perfect splash of egg yolk splattered across the counter, landing on the floor and all over Lucy’s shoes.

Ugh, this is going to be harder than I thought, Lucy muttered, wiping her shoe off with a towel.

Ha! Pancakes are supposed to be fun! Harry shouted, giving Lucy a thumbs-up while standing atop a pile of flour bags. Let’s make them even more fun! We could have pancakes that spin in the air! Pancakes that bounce like bouncy balls! Pancakes that…

Okay, okay, I get it, Harry! Lucy laughed. But we still need to get the basics down first. Let’s focus on making just one batch of pancakes before we get too crazy.

Harry shrugged, looking mildly disappointed, but he gave Lucy space to continue. She mixed the ingredients carefully this time, despite the flour dusting the air and the occasional squawking parrot. Her arms worked rhythmically, stirring the batter until it was smooth and ready to pour. Then came the moment of truth—she poured the batter onto the sizzling griddle.

At first, everything seemed to be going according to plan. The batter sizzled and bubbled, creating the perfect golden-brown pancake on the griddle. Lucy smiled. She was starting to feel like maybe, just maybe, this wouldn’t be so difficult after all. She flipped the first pancake—perfectly—and placed it on a plate.

But just as she was about to start on the second pancake, things started to go wrong. Harry, who had been watching intently, decided it was time for a taste test. He grabbed the spatula and enthusiastically flipped the next pancake without warning.

The pancake flew high into the air—too high—and landed with a giant splat against the ceiling. There it stuck, a sad, misshapen pancake clinging to the surface.

Oh no, Harry! Lucy exclaimed, her mouth dropping open in disbelief. She stared at the pancake hanging from the ceiling as if it were some kind of pancake artwork. How did you even manage to do that?

Harry looked up, his eyes wide with surprise. I didn’t mean for that to happen! he said, scratching his head. He jumped up, trying to reach the pancake, but only managed to knock over a jar of syrup in the process. The syrup spilled all over the floor, creating a sticky mess.

Great, Lucy sighed, staring at the syrup puddle now covering the entire kitchen floor. She grabbed a towel to clean it up, but as she bent down to wipe up the syrup, she slipped on the slick surface and fell backward into a bowl of pancake batter.

Harry, still perched on the countertop, burst out laughing. Lucy, you’ve got pancake batter all over you!

Lucy groaned, sitting up with batter dripping from her hair and face. This is a disaster.

But just then, a loud voice interrupted her self-pity. What’s all the commotion in here?

Lucy and Harry both looked up to see Ellie, the elephant, standing at the door, her large ears flapping in the breeze. She looked both concerned and curious.

Hi, Ellie! I’m just trying to make pancakes for the zoo’s breakfast party, Lucy explained, wiping batter off her chin.

Ellie’s eyes grew wide. Pancakes? she asked, her trunk swinging around excitedly. I love pancakes! Can I help?

Before Lucy could respond, Ellie used her trunk to scoop up a handful of pancake batter and plopped it right onto the griddle. The batter spread out in a giant puddle, much too large for one pancake.

Ellie, wait! Lucy called, but it was too late. Ellie’s enormous trunk kept adding more and more batter, until there was a massive, pancake-shaped blob cooking on the griddle.

Oops! Sorry! Ellie said, looking sheepish. I just wanted to help!

Lucy couldn’t help but laugh. The kitchen was a mess, the pancakes were piling up, and it was clear that her carefully planned breakfast party was quickly spiraling into utter chaos. But in that moment, Lucy realized something. It didn’t matter how messy things were. What mattered was that she was having fun—and so were her friends.

It’s okay, Ellie, Lucy said, smiling. We’ll clean it up together.

Just then, the parrot, Harry, and even the giraffe—who had somehow wandered into the kitchen and was now peering down from the doorway—joined in, and soon enough, the pancake disaster was turning into a fun, albeit messy, group project.

Chapter 2: Trouble with the Ingredients

Lucy’s fingers fumbled with the bag of flour as she tried to open it, the paper crinkling under the pressure. She had managed to rescue the pancake batter from Harry’s enthusiastic mishaps, and now, with the kitchen slowly regaining some semblance of order, she was ready to move on to the next step of her grand pancake plan. Unfortunately, flour, sugar, and other baking essentials were scattered all over the place. If it weren’t for the animals’ help, she would have been in a world of hurt.

Harry, perched on top of the refrigerator, was making an attempt to organize the chaos, though in his usual way of helping, it meant tossing everything into random places. Lucy could hear him muttering to himself, probably trying to figure out how to turn the cupboard into a makeshift pancake pancake mix cannon.

I got it, Lucy! I’ve got the perfect idea! Harry shouted down, drawing Lucy’s attention. She was about to start sifting the flour when she felt the unmistakable scent of syrup once again creeping through the room.

Lucy turned around in time to see Harry gleefully dragging the enormous bottle of syrup across the counter, his eyes fixed on a large stack of pancakes that had yet to be served. No, Harry! That’s not what we need right now! Lucy called out in a frantic tone, her hands already outstretched toward him, ready to stop the syrup flood.

But Harry, too excited to stop, poured an enormous stream of syrup directly onto the pancake batter already sitting in the mixing bowl. The syrup cascaded down like a sticky waterfall. The sight was both mesmerizing and disastrous. The bowl trembled under the pressure of syrup flooding into it, the once smooth batter now resembling a sticky swamp of goo.

Lucy’s eyes widened in horror. Harry! We don’t need syrup in the batter. We need it to be… well, normal! She rushed forward, trying to save what she could. You’re going to ruin everything.

Harry paused, syrup dripping from his hand and pooling on the floor. He blinked, realizing the chaos he had just caused. Oops, he said sheepishly, staring at the mess now quickly spreading