Cloudy With a Chance of Meatballs [Paperback]

Judi Barrett (Author), Ronald Barrett (Illustrator)

Book Description

Release date: April 1, 1982 | Age Range: 4 and up | Lexile Measure: 730L (What's this?)

If food dropped like rain from the sky, wouldn't it be marvelous! Or would it? It could, after all, be messy. And you'd have no choice. What if you didn't like what fell? Or what if too much came? Have you ever thought of what it might be like to be squashed flat by a pancake?

Editorial Reviews

From the Publisher

The tiny town of Chewandswallow was very much like any other tiny town except for its weather which came three times a day, at breakfast, lunch and dinner. But it never rained rain and it never snowed snow and it never blew just wind. It rained things like soup and juice. It snowed things like mashed potatoes. And sometimes the wind blew in storms of hamburgers. Life for the townspeople was delicious until the weather took a turn for the worse. The food got larger and larger and so did the portions. Chewandswallow was plagues by damaging floods and storms of huge food. The town was a mess and the pople feared for their lives. Something had to be done, and in a hurry. END --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

About the Author

Judi Barrett is the author of many beloved books for children, including the bestselling Cloudy With a Chance of Meatballs, Pickles to Pittsburgh, Animals Should Definitely Not Wear Clothing, and Santa from Cincinnati. She teaches art to kindergarten students at a school in her Brooklyn, New York, neighborhood.

Ron Barrett is the internationally bestselling illustrator of many books for children, including Superhero Joe, Cloudy With a Chance of Meatballs, Pickles to Pittsburgh, Animals Should Definitely Not Wear Clothing, and Old MacDonald Had an Apartment House. His illustrations have been honored by the Society of Illustrators and have been exhibited at The Louvre in Paris. He lives in New York City.

Product Details

• Age Range: 4 and up
  
• Paperback: 32 pages
• Publisher: Atheneum Books for Young Readers; 1 edition (April 1, 1982)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0689707495
• ISBN-13: 978-0689707490
• Product Dimensions: 4.4 x 0.1 x 7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.6 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (291 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #3,000 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Judi Barrett is the author of many well-loved books for children, including Cloudy With a Chance of Meatballs, Pickles to Pittsburgh, Animals Should Definitely Not Wear Clothing, and Things That Are Most in the World. She teaches art to kindergarten students at a school in her Brooklyn, New York, neighborhood. And she usually doesn't mind going to the dentist!

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

185 of 188 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars First-Class Fun! June 7, 2000

By Carole Burrage

Format:Paperback|Amazon Verified Purchase

This is one book that bridges the generation gap. There are many books in my son's library that elicit a groan in me when he chooses them during our nightly story reading, but "Cloudy With a Chance of Meatballs" certainly isn't one of them. From the absurd tall-tale to the fabulously detailed drawings, each time we read this book we find something new to discuss. Due to the fact that my son is only three and a half, and not able to understand much of the subtle humor of the illustrations, I know this book will have a very long shelf-life at our house as he starts "getting" more and more of the punchlines throughout the years. In the meantime, he is fascinated by the pancake that Grandpa flips onto Henry's head and the giant jello setting in the sky after dinner one night in the delicious land of Chewandswallow.

108 of 108 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Tickles a child's sense of silliness! April 29, 2004

By J. Marren VINE™ VOICE

Format:Paperback

This is a funny book with an imaginative concept--the people of the town CHEWANDSWALLOW eats what drops from the sky--orange juice rain, pancakes floating down, hamburgers on a stormy day. The climate goes awry and the people set sail on stale bread boats to move to a world where food is bought in the supermarket. The illustrations are very funny, moving from line drawings in black and white to lovely colored illustrations as the fantasy story begins. This story appeals to a wide range of ages, from 3 to 7 or 8. The text would be challenging for a first grade reader but the concept appeals to pre-schoolers as well as older kids.

42 of 45 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Oh, the Weather Outside is Frightful. May 12, 2002

By tvtv3 TOP 500 REVIEWERVINE™ VOICE

Format:Paperback|Amazon Verified Purchase

I remember when I was in the first grade and having had this story read to us at library time. Everyone in the class loved it and every time when it snowed for the next two winters I looked outside and every once in while I thought I saw mashed potatoes covering the ground. I'm all grown up now and I still love this book, but kids still love it too. We were requested to read this about at least once a month at the day care where I worked.

The story is full of imagination and the illustrations, though animated are detailed. The story is a modern tall tale and reading this book is like looking through a giant children's comic book. My favorite section is when the weather food goes beserk and there is a pickle in a living room, a noodle stuck on a man's head, a dog stuck to piece of pizza, and a hamburger stuffed atop a chimney. Stories don't get much more imaginative and creative than that.

18 of 18 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars A fantastic read for children........ and adults. May 8, 2001

By Cristy Clark

Format:Hardcover

When I first read this book I was about seven years old.... and I haven't stopped loving it in the 13 years since. The book is so imaginative and beautifully illustrated. The story holds a child's attention.. a feat that a book rarely accomplishes in the age of television and computer games. It starts on saturday morning... pancake morning. And it ends with a bedtime story that stretches across oceans, desserts, mountains, and into the realm of Chewandswallow, a most extraordinary town. As I child I was fascinated with rain, snow, and thunderstorms. I aboslutely loved them! In Chewandswallow, the weather brings breakfast lunch and dinner. The illustrations are so well drawn and full of detail, there is always something new to see. My favorite drawing is the two page spread in the middle of the book, which depicts the town under destruction of monstrous food... gargantuan pizza, two-story pickles, and doughnuts the size of cars. Everytime I read the story to my cousins, they laugh over the man with the noodle on his head. It is fun for us to think up our own weather-menus for Ralph's Roofless Restaurant, and draw pictures of the food falling from the sky. Kid's love it, it's good clean fun, and the adults don't get bored reading it over and over. In fact, I have it memorized! And I just found out that there is a sequal to this book, Pickles to Pittsburgh, so I am going to have to get it to read... after all these years, I finally get to see what happened back in the town of Chewandswallow... the town everyone was afraid to go back to because of the giant food that fell from the sky.....

13 of 13 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Long time absolute favorite and a true gem on imagination and execution! November 13, 2006

By Annie M.

Format:Paperback|Amazon Verified Purchase

I've been working with this book (with children) for many years and have just bought my fifth copy (as they seem to 'disappear' whenever I loan them to children to take home--I suspect they love them too much to part with them for good!). The idea of reality being what we're used to it being (not rather what it HAS to be everywhere), as well as the hilarity of the situation the people of the story are faced with is just delightful. It is an excellent resource of rich vocabulary and expression, and the drawings are believable and at the same time jaw dropping. Highly recommended to all ages, especially preschool through the lower grades.

9 of 9 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Lovingly and laughingly remembered November 9, 2006

By C. Kelley Black

Format:Paperback

I recently purchased this book, again, for my grandchildren. My daughters and nephew still remember this book. They loved it and we read it many, many times together. It is the perfect age level for my 7 yr. old grandson, but a little long for the 4 year old. We usually just "talk the book" because he loves the illustrations. I am an artist myself and I just love the artwork. After the first reading of the book, it transferred over to the dinner table. What would happen if we had a flood of green beans? A funny, silly and wonderful book!