Enemy Pie

by Derek Munson, Tara Calahan King (Illustrator)

Overview

A Reading Rainbow Book! Enemy Pie serves up a sweet lesson as one little boy learns an effective recipe for turning a best enemy into a best friend.

"An impressive picture story book about friendship, judgment, and bullying."—Ripple Kindness Project

It was the perfect summer. That is, until Jeremy Ross moved into the house down the street and became neighborhood enemy number one. Luckily, Dad had a surefire way to get rid of enemies: Enemy Pie. But part of the secret recipe is spending an entire day playing with the enemy!

In this funny yet endearing children's book, filled with charming illustrations, kids learn about dealing with conflict as well as the difficulties, and ultimate rewards, of making new friends.

SOCIAL EMOTIONAL LEARNING BOOKS: Enemy Pie is a wonderful addition to books like The Invisible Boy, The Name Jar, and The World Needs Who You Were Made to Be that teach important lessons on kindness, empathy, respect, and friendship.

TEACHERS PICK BOOK LIST: Ideal as a read aloud book for elementary schools, and featured on LeVar Burton's Reading Rainbow, this book is recommended by experts for children who are reading independently and transitioning to longer books.

POPULAR CHILDREN'S BOOK AUTHOR: Created by Derek Munson who has directly shared his children's stories with over 100,000 kids across the globe.

Perfect for:

• Parents, teachers, and kids who love Reading Rainbow books
• Independent readers in grades 3 – 5
• Kids experiencing bullying or conflicts with friends
• Readers of books like We Don't Eat Our Classmates, The Choices I Make, and Those Shoes

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780811827782
Publisher:	Chronicle Books
Publication date:	09/01/2000
Pages:	40
Sales rank:	13,112
Product dimensions:	8.72(w) x 10.70(h) x 0.46(d)
Lexile:	AD550L (what's this?)
Age Range:	3 - 8 Years

About the Author

Derek Munson lives in Washington state. This is his first book for children.

Tara Calahan King studied at the Art Academy of Cincinnati. Tara lives in Ohio with her husband Rick. This is her first book for children.

Editorial Reviews

K-Gr 3-What should have been a perfect summer for one young boy is ruined when Jeremy Ross moves in and becomes number one on the narrator's enemy list. Fortunately, his father has a secret recipe for a pie that is guaranteed to help get rid of enemies. While Dad works on mixing the ingredients and baking the pie, he explains his son's role in the plan: "-you need to spend a day with your enemy. Even worse, you have to be nice to him." It sounds tough, but the boy decides to give it a try. Predictably, between throwing water balloons at the girls, playing basketball, and hiding out in the tree house, he decides that Jeremy is not so bad after all. There's still the problem of the pie, however. When his father serves up the dessert, the young protagonist decides to warn Jeremy that it is "poisonous or something." However, it seems that both his father and his new friend are just fine, and what's more, the pie is delicious. This is a clever tale with an effective message about how to handle relationships and conflict. King's stylized and humorous illustrations, done in colored pencil and pastel, will work well with a group.-Roxanne Burg, Thousand Oaks Library, CA Copyright 2000 Cahners Business Information.

School Library Journal

Bland pictures and superficial presentation sink this problem-solver. Feeling slighted by new neighbor Jeremy, the aggrieved young narrator accepts his father's offer to make an"enemy pie." Dad insists on doing the baking, but tells the lad that the recipe also requires spending a day playing with the enemy—after which, predictably, the two lads sit down as newly minted friends for pie à la mode. Though the narrator speculates about the pie's ingredients, the promisingly gross worm-and-weed dishes on the cover never materialize in the illustrations inside, nor are any of Jeremy's supposed offenses depicted. Instead, King shows the boys in a series of conventional, static scenes, throwing water balloons at girls and other fun activities. Meanwhile, Dad's fixed, knowing smile invites viewers to share the conceit—even though his naïve son never does catch on. And is Jeremy really so hostile? He displays so little individual character that it's hard to get a read on him; he just seems to be going with the flow. Invite readers to order up a bowl of Betsy Everitt's Mean Soup (1992) instead, or a slice of Margie Palatini's Piggie Pie (1995). (Picture book. 6-8)

Kirkus Reviews