Children - Fiction & Literature
Available on Bookshop
Write a review
Books.org participates in affiliate programs including Bookshop.org and the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program. We may earn a commission from qualifying purchases made through links on this page, at no additional cost to you.
Log in to track your reading progress.
Overview
Petes father starts kneading the dough.Next, some oil is generously applied. (Its really water.)And then some tomatoes.(Theyre really checkers.)When the dough gets tickled, it laughs like crazy.Author Biography: William Steig's drawings have appeared regularly in The New Yorker since 1930. He also writes and illustrates books for children, most recently Pete's A Pizza, Zeke Pippin and Doctor De Soto Goes to Africa. His other books include Sylvester and the Magic Pebble, winner of the Caldecott Medal; The Amazing Bone, a Caldecott Honor Book; and Abel's Island and Doctor De Soto, both Newbery Honor Books. He lives in Boston with his wife, Jeanne.
When Pete feels miserable because rain makes it impossible to play ball outdoors, his father finds a fun indoor game to play with his son.
Synopsis
Pete's father starts kneading the dough. Next, some oil is generously applied. (Its really water.) And then some tomatoes. (They're really checkers.) When the dough gets tickled, it laughs like crazy.
New York Times Book Review - Signe Wilkinson
. . .Pete's a Pizza must be added to the strategic bedside shelf of parenting advice.
Editorials
Signe Wilkinson
. . .Pete's a Pizza must be added to the strategic bedside shelf of parenting advice.—New York Times Book Review
Publishers Weekly
Pile on the pepperoni, William Steig's Pete's a Pizza is now being served up in a board book format. Pete's father knows just how to cheer up his son on a rainy dayby making him into a pizza! He kneads and stretches Pete like dough, and whirls him up in the air. In a starred review of the hardcover (published in 1998), PW said, "The amiable quality of Steig's easy pizza recipe will amuse chef and entr e alike." (Aug.) Copyright 2003 Reed Business Information.Publishers Weekly
Mr. Steig introduces a game guaranteed to produce a good mood. On a rainy day, title character Pete flops down on the couch in an attitude of despair. His father notices, and 'he thinks it might cheer Pete up to be made into a pizza.' Pete allows himself to be carried into the kitchen, where he is kneaded and tossed like dough. 'Next, some oil is generously applied. (It's really water.)... And then some tomatoes. (They're really checkers.)' Pizza-Pete bakes on the couch, (a.k.a. the pizza oven), but when it's time to cut slices (with a karate-chop gesture), 'the pizza runs away and the pizza-maker chases him.' Steig evidently has played pizza before. He substitutes talcum powder for flour and paper scraps for mozzarella; he notes that pizzas struggle when tickled. The text resembles a set of directions, with each step wryly presented as a concise sentence and plainly printed in sans serif capital letters. In keeping with his story's simplicity, Steig creates compact line drawings that are detailed with wild watercolor patterns but symmetrically placed in a spacious white background. The amiable quality of Steig's easy pizza recipe will amuse chef and entree alike. (PW best book of 1998)Children's Literature
Pete is in a bad mood because it is raining and he ca not play outside with his friends. His dad decides to cheer him up by making him into a pizza. He kneads him, tosses him in the air, puts oil, cheese, and tomatoes on him, and bakes him in the oven (really the sofa). By this time, Pete is full of giggles, and the sun has begun to shine again. A delightful book for a young child with the rainy day blues—taking turns being the pizza and the pizza-maker is a perfect parent-child activity. Steig based this book on a game he used to play with his own daughter many years ago. Originally published as a picture book, this story has made the transition to board book, thus making the story fun for really young kids. 2003 (orig. 1998), HarperCollins, Ages 3 mo. to 3.— Cheryl Peterson
Children's Literature -
Pete is in a bad mood because it's raining and he can't play outside with his friends. His dad decides to cheer him up by making him into a pizza. He kneads him, tosses him in the air, puts oil, cheese, and tomatoes on him, and bakes him in the oven (really the sofa). By this time, Pete is full of giggles, and the sun has begun to shine again. A delightful book for a young child with the rainy day blues+taking turns being the pizza and the pizza-maker is a perfect parent-child activity. Steig based this book on a game he used to play with his own daughter many years ago.School Library Journal
PreS-Gr 3-When Pete is in an especially bad mood because it is raining and he can't play ball with his friends, his father decides that it might cheer his son up "to be made into a pizza." The boy is placed on the kitchen table where he is kneaded, tossed, and covered with various toppings including oil (water), tomatoes (checkers), and cheese (pieces of paper). His mother comments that she doesn't like tomatoes, eliciting some giggles from Pete. He is then placed in the oven (the couch) and eventually returned to the table to be sliced. At this juncture, he runs away and is pursued by his father who captures and hugs him. By now the sun is shining and Pete goes outside to look for his friends. The interplay between father and son is both entertaining and endearing. The man says, after tickling Pete, "Pizzas are not supposed to laugh!" and Pete responds, "Pizza-makers are not supposed to tickle their pizzas!" Steig's spare line drawings and zany watercolor paintings are centered against a large white background. The wry text is printed in all capital letters, making it look almost like a recipe. From its tongue-tantalizing title to its understated but delightful ending, Pete's a Pizza is a tour de force.-Tom S. Hurlburt, La Crosse Public Library, WIChristopher Lehmann-Haupt
Pete holding himself stiff as a crust while being carried to the oven-couch is alone enough to make you laugh. -- The New York TimesSigne Wilkinson
. . .Pete's a Pizza must be added to the strategic bedside shelf of parenting advice. -- The New York Times Book ReviewHorn Book
Young Pete, a soulmate of the formidable sulker Spinky, moodily contemplates a rain-drenched landscape when his understanding father decides to cheer him up by transforming him into a pizza. The recipe: plenty of kneading, stretching, twirling, and decorating with delicacies such as cheese (in reality pieces of paper) and tomatoes (checkers), plus tickling and obviously lots of love. Result: one happy small boy and a great book to share with would-be pizzas of all ages. As always, the illustrations develop characters and situations with telling economy. The small, square format is a departure for Steig, with a distinctive upper-case, sans serif typeface that somehow -- and appropriately -- suggests instructions to a game. By the way, don't overlook the wordplay in the title.Kirkus Reviews
Steig, inspired by a game he used to play with his daughter, turns a rainy day into a pizza party, starring a caring father and his feeling-blue son, Pete. Just when Pete was set to go play ball with his friends, it starts to rain. His melancholy is not lost on his father: 'He thinks it might cheer Pete up to be made into a pizza. Which is just what the father proceeds to do. Pete is transported to the kitchen table where he is kneaded and stretched, tossed into the air for shaping, sprinkled with oil and flour and tomatoes and cheese (water, talcum, checkers, and bits of paper). He then gets baked on the living room couch and tickled and chased until the sun comes out and it is time to speed outside, a pizza no more, but happy. What leaps from the page, with a dancer's grace, is the warmth and imagination wrapped in an act of kindness and tuned- in parenting. As always, Steig's illustrations are a natural, an organic, part of the story, whether Pete's a pizza, or not.Book Details
Published
August 1, 2003
Publisher
HarperCollins Publishers
Pages
34
Format
Hardcover
ISBN
9780060527549