Cloudy With a Chance of Meatballs

Rating:
Summary: Cloudy With a Chance of Meatballs
Review: The title of the story is Cloudy With a Chance of Meatballs. The author is Judi Barnett. The story is illustrated by Ron Barnett. The story is about a Grandpa who tells his grandchildren (Henry and his sister) a tall tale about a make-believe town called Chewandswallow. In Chewandswallow it rains food three times a day. A problem occurs when the town has to evacuate because the food is getting too big and heavy. The people leave and never return to the town. They go to an island across the ocean. We think that Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs is a good book to read because it makes you hungry for food and it makes you laugh. If you like this book, you should read Pickles to Pittsburgh.

Rating:
Summary: First-Class Fun!
Review: 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.

Rating:
Summary: 666 STARS!!! A FAVORITE BOOK FROM MY CHILDHOOD
Review: i GENRALLY GIVE RATINGS OF 666 STARS TO MY FAVORITE ALBUMS (MOST OF THEM BEING METAL I FIND IT APPROPRIATE) BUT FOR THIS BOOK I MUST MAKE IT PAINFULLY APPARENT THAT THIS IS ONE OF THE GREATEST WORKS OF FICTION AND ILLUSTRAION EVER PLACED BETWEEN A FRONT AND BACK COVER.
A GRANDFATHER TELLS HIS GRANDCHILDREN THE STORY OF THE ILLFATED TOWN OF CHEWANDSWALLOW, LOCATED IN A REIGION WITH SOME BIZZARRE WEATHER. HALF THE BOOK SHOWS THE TOWN THRIVING, WITH IT'S RROFLESS RESTAURANTS AND PIE IN THE SKY COMING DOWN. THE LATTER HALF IS THE DOWNFALL OF CHEWANDSWALLOW, WHERE PANDEMONIUM IS THE FORECAST AND A RAIN OF TERROR AND PEASOUP FOG, DRIVES IT'S RESIDENTS FAR AWAY ON BOATS OF BREAD.
THE STORY ITSELF IS PURE GENIUS AND THE ILLUSTRAIONS ARE LIKE NO OTHER BOOK I CAN RECALL. IM GOING TO GO TO MY PARENTS HOUSE TONIGHT AND FIND IT.

Rating:
Summary: A fantastic read for children........ and adults.
Review: 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.....

Rating:
Summary: An appetizing adventure for all ages
Review: I first read this book when I was 9 years old. I must have read it at least 25 times over the course of that year, and now, at age 25, I have begun reading it to my 7 month old son. It is one of the truely classic children's books. Judy Barrett combines the unrealistic tales told to children by their elders along with the wonderfully believeable tales that children concock in their own minds. Imagine for a moment that the town of Chewandswallow were real...for an adult this would mean the fantasy of never having to cook another meal and for the child this would mean playing with their food and eating with their hands all the time! For the town of Chewandswallow is a town where all of your meals come from the sky - clouds of scrambled eggs for breakfast followed by a shower of orange juice. It is a wonderfully illustrated tale that makes one wish they could experience life in this town for just one day. While I have now become an adult, it is still nice to dream about a place where the sunset atop a snow covered hill resembles a pat of butter atop mashed potatoes.

Rating:
Summary: Tickles a child's sense of silliness!
Review: 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.

Rating:
Summary: This is STILL my favorite book
Review: No other words than BUY this book are necessary here. I am now a mom of 2 wonderful kids and to this day, this is still my favorite book. It is wonderful for children and also teaches valuable lessons.

Rating:
Summary: More different than I expected.
Review: If you like the word "the" you will really enjoy this book. This book is fille with all sorts of great words like "the" and "and". I find that words really help the story develop. Oh yeah - the pictures are also good. By using lines and stuff - they are able to make the paper resemble something that looks familiar. The book does not contain meatballs - but there are pictures of meatballs.

Rating:
Summary: What can I say about this book?
Review: As many other people, I read this book when I was younger (well, my mother read it to me). My family is very food oriented so me and my brother LOVED this interesting story about one of our favorite things. The pictures are beautifully done, none of that big bubbly neon drawings found in many childrens' books. The story kept me interested for 2 reasons: 1. It was about food. Any story about food can do no wrong. and 2. It keeps you guessing just how the people of Chewandswallow will survive. It is a great read, for just about anyone. Even if your child is too young to understand the story, they will love looking at the pictures of huge pieces of food falling from the sky. A must read for anyone looking for a unique and creative story.

Rating:
Summary: A marvelous childrens book
Review: I first read this book a long time ago, when I was 7 or 8. I loved the unique idea, the descriptive, detailed and often funny pictures, and the flow of the story. Now, 8 years later, I still love this book and read it often. I reccomend it for everybody, whether you're still a "young reader" or not.