A Pizza With Everything On It

February 1, 2021

K-Gr 2-A seemingly innocent request for a "pizza with everything on it" turns into an adventure that tests the limits of taste and space time for the owner of a pizza shop and his child, who narrates. At first the duo, both white, adds typical ingredients to their pie like cheese, pepperoni, and sausage. Unsatisfied with the basics, the child insists that they use everything. Dad begins adding unconventional foods to top the pizza: pickles, an ice cream cone, and an entire turkey. Still, the child demands everything and the indulgent father complies with increasingly ridiculous toppings from a blender to the White House. This culinary calamity cannot sustain itself and transforms into a pizza black hole. The innovative chefs are pulled through a vortex in which everything is made of pizza, but happily land back into their shop albeit with a new cheesy landscape. Even as the situation careens out of control, the pair face the unknown together. The book is lighthearted in tone, while expertly depicting the the bond between father and child. The bulbous, cartoony illustrations complement the zany plot. White space and muted colors are effectively employed at the story's mundane start. Vast spreads and deep, saturated hues strike a vibrant contrast in the fantastical outer space scenes. VERDICT Deliciously absurd, serve this tale to readers looking for fun and hilarity.-Sophie Kenney, Aurora P.L., IL

Copyright 2021 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

April 15, 2021
Preschool-Grade 2 *Starred Review* In this delightful collaboration, a quest for the perfect pizza leads to a cosmic journey and the universe being reborn--as pizza. After a boy demands a pizza with everything--everything--on it, his stereotypically Italian American dad--serene, mustachioed, always with a chef's kiss at the ready--obliges, first adding the usual (pepperoni, tomatoes, mushrooms), then the unusual (bag of chips, entire turkey, rolling pin), and finally the absurd (doghouse, tree house, the White House). Ultimately, the addition of a particle accelerator leads the ever-expanding pie to collapse in on itself and turn into a pizza black hole. After a moment--or an infinity?--of burnt-crust darkness, the universe explodes, and the sheer joy of Pizza's illustrations becomes palpable in a savory series of tomato-saucy full-bleed spreads that capture the majesty and scope of a new universe made of pizza. Father and son float like lost toppings through the cheese-laden solar system, finally returning to a pizza Earth and their pizza pizza shop, where together they finally enjoy the perfect slice. Beyond Scheele's hilarious concept and Pizza's endearing pencil-and-gouache art, the creators manage to capture some real heart in the father-son relationship. And what is pizza, really, but the great connector? Its power is on full display here, and a brilliant case cover mimicking a pizza box hidden underneath the book jacket is the cherry on top of this savory screwball romp. Delicious.

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