Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs 3: Planet of the Pies

K-Gr 2—The saga continues with larger-than-life food, but this time the adventure is out of this world-literally. Grandpa shows the kids the newspaper headline: astronauts have landed on Mars. A television reporter comes on saying that the astronauts discovered a "thick, glutinous substance" on the ground and falling from the sky. He suggests that it could be pie filling. The kids fantasize about going to Mars and having Martian pie. Grandpa falls asleep in front of the television and begins to dream. He is on Mars, where there are pies everywhere and raining from the sky. The pie in the sky situation, though, is a little out of hand, and the Martians had been waiting for someone to help. They decide that the best solution is to catch the treats as they fall and start a business, selling the pies all over Earth. Grandpa awakes, and both the news reporter and the newspaper confirm that there were, in fact, no pies on Mars, but it's still fun to dream. Although this third book in the series has a new illustrator, the feel from the previous books is not lost. The pen-and-ink illustrations are filled with action; color is only used while Grandpa is dreaming, which adds to the fantasy of it all. A great purchase for libraries where the series is popular.—Emily E. Lazio, The Smithtown Special Library District, NY