How to Eat Pizza

October 1, 2018
“The first thing you need to do is choose a slice,” explains the unseen narrator of this culinary how-to spoof, who then admits, “I always pick the biggest!” Removed from the cheesy pie, the googly eyed pizza slice sprouts arms and legs and comments good-naturedly as it is sprinkled with chili flakes (“Ha-ha-ha. Hey, I’m ticklish!”) and topped with a basil leaf (“Cute!”). But its chirpy tone melts away after it realizes what is to come. The fast-talking slice points to its crusty bottom (“No one likes the crust!”) and lists the remaining pieces’ virtues: one knows karate, another is musical, yet another is a perfect isosceles. But none is willing to be eaten, so they band together in an attempt to change the menu, extolling the merits of vegetables (mushrooms, broccoli, peppers, etc.) and fruit (pineapple), a plan that can only backfire, as pizza fans well know. Set against bright backdrops, animated slices by Burgerman (Rhyme Crime) amplify the narrative’s goofy humor, which juggles the characters’ small-font asides and dramatic, large-type exclamations, making for a tangy, chucklesome mix. Ages 3–5.

October 1, 2018
A slice of pizza with googly eyes encourages a prospective eater to look elsewhere for a meal.At first, the pizza slice is unsuspecting as the second-person narrator describes how to go about eating pizza: choose the right slice, sprinkle with hot-pepper flakes, add some basil. The eater (never pictured) says, "I always pick the BIGGEST," and it dawns on the slice that it's about to be eaten. "Now, hold on a minute! You're planning to eat me?" the slice demands. "That is disgusting!" But it seems perfectly willing to serve up its neighbors to save itself. And, really, each slice does have something special to offer. One's a "perfect isosceles," one knows karate, one's musical, one is a bookworm. It's a diverse cast of slices, although they are united in outrage in learning their fate. But then the slices rally together in an act of pizza power and recommend that the eater choose vegetables and fruits instead. But: "Don't eat me!" says the mushroom, "I'm a fun guy!" and "Save the trees!" says the broccoli. But it becomes a domino effect, as each vegetable becomes just another topping. Burgerman's signature doodle art, with googly eyes on every prospective foodstuff, cheesy humor, and crusty characters, will have young readers drooling as they digest a good book.A slice-of-life tale that delivers. Kids will eat it up. (Picture book. 3-8)

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