Planet of the Pies: Cloudy With a Chance of Meatballs, Book 3
More absurdist fun with raining food, this time on Mars.
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A Lot or a Little?
The parents' guide to what's in this book.
What Parents Need to Know
Parents need to know that Judi Barrett's Planet of the Pies is the third picture book in the Cloudy With a Chance of Meatballs series. Like Book 2, Pickles to Pittsburgh, it's not as impressive as the series starter, but it's still a kid pleaser, with absurd situations, likeable characters (including a diverse team of astronauts), a crazy plot, and fun drawings to pore over. Space travel's always fun to contemplate, even if it means ducking pies raining down from Martian skies.
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What's the Story?
Grandpa, his nephew, Henry and his sister, Kate, the narrator, are watching TV when they see a news report about astronauts having landed on Mars, where they discover a thick, glutinous substance is falling from the skies. "Here's a crazy thought: Could it be pie filling?" the reporter asks rhetorically. The kids go off to bed, and Grandpa falls asleep in front of the TV, and has a brightly colored dream about being part of the team of Mars astronauts and dealing with the Martians' problem: pie raining down from the sky. Grandpa suggests they partner in a business venture to export the delicious pies to Earth.
Is It Any Good?
PLANET OF THE PIES will please fans of the series and kids who saw the movie based on the first and best of the series, Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs. And let's face it: Flying food is funny, and big-eared green aliens are funny. But the absurdist story is thin, and the twist at the end -- was Grandpa really on Mars? -- is a bit flimsy.
Isidre Monés' comic-style illustrations are typically wonderful, and fanciful, and it's a clever touch to have the real-world parts of the story in black-and-white and the fantasy portion in vivid, gooey full color.
Talk to Your Kids About ...
Families can talk about space travel. Where have astronauts gone so far? Could they ever really go to Mars?
How do you think this third book measures up in the Cloudy With a Chance of Meatballs series? Is the crazy food theme getting worn out, or would you still like another helping?
How do the Cloudy With a Chance of Meatballs books compare with the film adaptations? Do you like it when books are turned into movies?
Book Details
- Author: Judi Barrett
- Genre: Picture Book
- Topics: Magic and Fantasy, Book Characters, Brothers and Sisters, Science and Nature, Space and Aliens
- Book type: Fiction
- Publisher: Atheneum
- Publication date: August 27, 2013
- Publisher's recommended age(s): 4 - 8
- Number of pages: 32
- Available on: Nook, Hardback, Kindle
- Last updated: July 12, 2017
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For kids who love outer space
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