Cloudy With a Chance of Meatballs (Paperback)

by Judi Barrett (Author), Ron Barrett (Illustrator) "We were all sitting around the big kitchen table. It was Saturday morning. Pancake morning..." (more)

Editorial Reviews

Product Description

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?

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 the Hardcover edition.

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Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 4-8
  
• Paperback: 32 pages
• Publisher: Atheneum (April 1, 1982)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0689707495
• ISBN-13: 978-0689707490
• Product Dimensions: 9.2 x 8.2 x 0.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 4 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars See all reviews (202 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #143 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

155 of 156 people found the following review helpful:

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

By	Carole Burrage "TruCarMa" (Claremore, OK USA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

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.

90 of 90 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 "jtm497" (Glen Ridge, NJ USA) - See all my reviews (TOP 500 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)

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.

29 of 30 people found the following review helpful:

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

By	tvtv3 "tvtv3" (Sorento, IL United States) - See all my reviews (TOP 500 REVIEWER)

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.