Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs

This story is a gratifying, if lightweight, dish of foolishness. It aims for laughs and gets them -- through sight gags for both kids and adults, the deadpan tones of an old-style weather forecast ("Dinner one night consisted of lamb chops, becoming heavy at times, with occasional ketchup"), and the sheer preposterousness of events. Don't look for hidden depths here; the story lives on the surface, and as slapstick it works just fine. It also has a bit of science fiction, too: Those giant T-bones could easily have come from a spaceship.

The lengthy text rambles at times, which can be a problem for some younger listeners, but the funny story and detailed illustrations will hold most kids' interest. The illustrations look like old-fashioned comic-strip drawings or something found in a turn-of-the-century magazine, with hectic line work and wealth of details.