A laugh-out-loud pleasure from beginning to triumphant end. Polly Horvath is the author of many books for young people, including Everything on a Waffle, The Pepins and Their Problems, The Canning Season and The Trolls. 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. 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. Everything on a Waffle Summary This novel for young adults is the story of an eventful year in the life of eleven-year-old Primrose Squarp, whos forced to cope with the apparent loss of her seafaring parents after they go missing in a storm. Meanwhile, she is shuffled from the custody of her elderly neighbor Miss Perfidy to her likable but somewhat feckless Uncle Jack. ''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. Eleven-year-old Primrose Squarp refuses to attend the memorial service for her parents after they disappear at sea. Horvath (The Trolls) delivers another hilariously puckish read with this tale of a (possibly) orphaned girl from a small Canadian fishing village.

Everything on a Waffle by Polly Horvath