July 1, 2011

Once I Ate a Pie (by Patricia MacLachlan and Emily MacLachlan Charest)

Posted by Blurber Blabber at 10:43 PM
Title:  Once I Ate a Pie
Author:  Patricia MacLachlan and Emily MacLachlan Charest
Summary: Snap your fingers and appreciate the lyricism in fourteen poems that reveal the inner thoughts of a wide array of loveable dogs.

Blurber Blabber Review:  Borrow it from the library.

Blurb:  Ever wondered what your dog was thinking?  Once I Ate a Pie explores the inner thoughts of various dogs in the form of free verse poems, accompanied with adorable illustrations that capture the essence of each dog.  The little ones will love the cute pictures and creative usage of font, but will probably not appreciate the poetry until they are older.
Age Range: General recommendation is 4-8.  I think this is fine for kids 2 and older who love dogs because they will appreciate the pictures, but the poetry structure will be best appreciated by the older kids.
Story Type:  Free verse poetry.
Scary Factor:  None, unless your little ones are scared of dogs.
Reading Out Loud:  I always feel pretty stupid reading poetry out loud unless it's silly rhymes like Dr. Seuss but go wild with your best spoken word skills.  The creative usage of words, fonts, shapes and spaces encourages some interpretive readings like imitating a dog as you, "BARK! BARK! BARK!" or altering your volume as you read, "They say I am tiny," and "I am HUGE."
Rereadability:  If your little ones are dog lovers and/or love the poetry structure, then this can be a fun book to reread as it's pretty quick to get through and the fourteen different poems and dogs help avoid boredom.
Illustrations:  Humorous and cute full page oil illustrations by Katy Schneider with realistic depictions of dogs.
Medals/Honors/Recognition:  N/A.
Published: 2006
Length:  29 pages
(Read on for the more detailed "blabber" review)

Blabber  
I'll be honest.  The only reason why I bought Once I Ate a Pie was because on the cover was an illustration of a cute pug puppy.  The illustrator perfectly captured the puppy's mischievous face and pug slump and I knew I had to get this for my niece and nephew.  I had it sent to their house as part of a gift package and had no clue what was inside until a month later when I visited and was asked to read this to them.   

I was pleasantly surprised to find that the book contained free verse poems, with creative usage of font, supposedly authored by a group of adorable dogs.  I also loved the beautiful, realistic, and humorous illustrations of the dogs.  While the free verse structure was lost on my niece and nephew who were about 2ish at the time, they love dogs and enjoyed looking at the pictures and hearing me do my interpretive readings.

Let's visit each of the dogs, shall we?
  • The first dog we're introduced to is a nameless brown and white puppy who is happy to be safe and warm with you.
  • Next, we have my personal favorite - a chubby pug named Mr. Beefy who has embraced his size and loves butter and pie (who doesn't?).
  • Following, is Gus a watchful german shepard who likes to herd his people into groups.
  • Then we have a sleeping black and brown dog named Lucy, sandwiched between a boy and a girl and tucked under the covers with her teddy bear. 
  • Why hello Wupsi!  Wupsie is a large brown and white dog, rolling over onto her back as she declares her cuteness. 
  • Next up is Darla, a sharpei who rings the bell when she has to go out and doesn't like other dogs, but loves her cat buddy.
  • Louis is a typical pomeranian who likes to "BARK! BARK! BARK!"
  • Then we meet a very sleepy and "T I R E D" white pitbull named Sugar who is dozing and lounging on the pages.
  • Next we have our first pack of dogs - three sweet and shy greyhounds that love to run, leap and chase together.
  • Needle Nose pokes up next.  A brown dog with a long snout (maybe chocolate lab or afghan hound?) who tells us all the wonderful things he/she can do with his/her long nose.
  • Oh Pocket.  Pocket is a tiny yorkshire terrier, dressed in a yellow raincoat and standing next to a tennis ball that looks like it's the size of a soccer ball compared to her tiny frame.
  • Abby is a rambunctious boxer who likes to steal things from other dogs and people and chew on them.
  • Tillie and Maude are my niece's and nephew's favorites because they think the dogs are twins just like them.  Tillie and Maude are two west highland terriers, with distinct and separate personalities, peeking from the backseat of a car. 
  • The book ends with Luke, a senior st. bernard who likes to dream of his youth. 
I still enjoy reading this one but I think it's because I love all dogs.  I'm wondering whether and hoping that my niece and nephew will revisit this book as they get older and start reading on their own.  I also learned later on that most of the dogs in this book are based on real dogs in the authors' families.  I would love to meet Mr. Beefy.

I think the real highlights of this book are the illustrations and how the authors manage to capture the essence of each dog, picking up on their most salient doggy characteristics.  And what better way for a dog to convey his/her thoughts than in the loose, random, and expressive form of free verse.  Because of the beauty of the illustrations, I don't think I'd want this in ebook form.  I think this would be a good book to get from the library to enjoy and possibly revisit in the future, but if you are a true fan of dogs, then I would bump this up to a rating of buy it used or on sale.

Questions the little ones may ask you: 
  • What dog is that?
    • Most of the dog breeds are identifiable (and noted above) but a few were ambiguous.
  • Can I have a dog just like that one?
    • Ha!  You're on your own with that one.  Good luck!
Where to find Once I Ate a Pie?
Borders
Go to your local book store or library!


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