Citation:
Barret, Judi. (1982). Cloudy with
a chance of meatballs. New York, NY: Simon &
Schuster.
Summary
While preparing a Saturday morning breakfast
for his grandchildren, Grandpa manages to inadvertantly land a flapjack on
his grandson's head. The humorous incident sparks a storytelling time that
night, as Grandpa relays a creative tale about a tiny town called Chewandswallow.
This seemingly normal town has quite a special trait...there were no food
stores to be found. Any food its residents consumed, was produced from the sky.
Grandpa's story tracks the early days of Chewandswallow when folks were
happily fed, to the darker days of the town's history. What was once an
enjoyable meal-time tradition of falling food, became a dangerous, and
unappetizing experience for its residents. With their homes buried under
giant pancakes and hamburgers, the citizens of Chewandswallow are forced
to leave their beloved town in search of refuge, taking with them only the bare
necessities. They soon must learn to fend for themselves in an environment
where one must shop at the supermarket for their food!
My Impressions
When I saw this title as an option on the
reading list, I was immediately drawn to it, as I've never read it or seen the
movie. However, I remembered all the hype surrounding the movie, and
wanted to see what all the fuss was about. I thought the book was a delightful,
and creative read.
I really liked the multi-generational family
dynamic of this story. You could tell the kids had a special bond with their
grandfather, and were creating memories of time spent with him that would last
a lifetime. I thought it was interesting that narrator was the
grandaughter, and the only character given a proper name was her brother Henry.
Normally I would have preferred for all the characters to have been named
simply so that I could establish more of a connection with them, but for some
reason, I still was invested in the characters.
The idea of a town in which food rained
down daily was an incredibly unique idea, and had a very
"magical realism" quality to it. The story of Chewandswallow was
enveloped nicely within the story of the family spending quality time together.
Usage in a Library Setting
I initially thought this would be the perfect
opportunity to pair up with the culinary arts teacher and bring some cool
recipe books to the table. However, I then remembered elementary schools don't
have culinary arts teachers! So, instead I thought this would be a good
opportunity to pair up with teachers on a science unit about weather. It would
also be possible to use this book as a jumping off point for a class recipe book
project. I remember working on a class recipe book in elementary school. When
we were done with the project, the finished product became a nice mother's day
gift.
Review:
Cloudy With a
Chance of Meatballs by Judi Barrett and illustrated by Ron Barrett is another
of my all-time favorites. Although it is a picture book, I wouldn’t generally
recommend it for children under the age of two, as it is quite wordy and takes
a bit of effort to follow. That being said, my friend’s three year old loved
it, and actually stayed focused for the whole thing. I suppose that you can’t
go too far wrong with a story about a place where food rains from the sky
instead of being cooked.
The story of
the town of Chewandswallow is told by a Grandfather as a bed-time story. It’s the
best bed-time story ever as far as the kids are concerned. I agree with them.
This story is one of my favorites, and I have been known to read it to anyone
who seems slightly interested. The artwork in this book is very detailed, but
not very colorful. I’ve never been certain about whether or not I like their
sketchy style. In any case, the scenes which appear in the art are hilarious.
Where else will you find a picture of a football game called on account of pie?
What can I say but: Try it, you’ll like it. (Just don’t eat the
book.)
celticlibrarian.
(2008, December 22). Book Review: Cloudy With a Chance of Meatballs\ [Web log].
Retrieved from: http://fremontlibraries.wordpress.com/2008/12/22/book-review-cloudy-with-a-chance-of-meatballs/
No comments:
Post a Comment