Pete's A Pizza

Steig, W. (1998). Pete's a Pizza. Illustrated by William Steig. New York, NY: Harper Collins Publishers.

Brief Annotation: Pete is having a bad day, it is raining and he wants to go outside and play. To cheer him up, Pete's father decides that he is going to turn Pete into a pizza. He kneads the dough (squishing Pete) and adds toppings (like pieces of paper for cheese) and finally cooks him (lies him on the couch for awhile). Pete giggles and thinks it's very fun to be a pizza- and is reminded that pizzas can not laugh! Father and son have a wonderful afternoon together, and the pizza finally races outside to enjoy his friends once the rain has let up. Pete stays a pizza.

Genre: Picturebook

Grade Level: Pre-K-3rd Grade

Readers who will like this: Young readers should be able to read this book since the words are not very extensive, or pre-k students would really enjoy listening to it too! It's an uplifting and cheerful, helping Pete get into a better mood by turning him into a pizza is a really fun and unique story.

Response/Rating (1-4):4, The pictures are great- Steig gives so much character in his drawings. We feel the love for Pete and his family, and can tell how much Pete's parents love him. The story is very sweet and easy to read, so it makes for an enjoyable book. I will definitely read this to students when they are having a bad day. Maybe I can turn all of my students into pizzas someday!

One question you would ask before a read aloud: “If you were any type of food, what would you like to be?”