Once I Ate a Pie
Gus herds his people like sheep.
Abby loves borrowing slippers.
And once, Mr. Beefy ate a pie.
It's a dog's life. Filled with squeaky toys, mischief, and plenty of naps. Every dog has a tail to wag and a tale to tell. Patricia MacLachlan and Emily MacLachlan Charest asked this collection of canines to speak up with their own words, barks, and yips.
Abby loves borrowing slippers.
And once, Mr. Beefy ate a pie.
It's a dog's life. Filled with squeaky toys, mischief, and plenty of naps. Every dog has a tail to wag and a tale to tell. Patricia MacLachlan and Emily MacLachlan Charest asked this collection of canines to speak up with their own words, barks, and yips.
Hardcover, 40 pages
Published
April 25th 2006
by HarperCollins
Friend Reviews
To see what your friends thought of this book,
please sign up.
This book is not yet featured on Listopia.
Add this book to your favorite list »
Community Reviews
(showing
1-30
of
447)
Sep 30, 2008
Linden
rated it
5 of 5 stars
Recommends it for:
Anyone!
Recommended to Linden by:
Appreciation for the author
Can you imagine a book of poetry that could hold a first grade class spell-bound until the end? Once I Ate a Pie is that book! Maclachlan has written fourteen poems about dogs, each in the voice of a different breed. While each kind of dog has its own characteristics, each poem reflects both that and perspective of an individual.
Every illustrated two-page spread has an image of the dog who authored that poem. It's hard to say how this could have been any better: the oversize oil-painted illustr...more
Every illustrated two-page spread has an image of the dog who authored that poem. It's hard to say how this could have been any better: the oversize oil-painted illustr...more
Once I Ate a Pie by Patricia MacLachlan and Emily MacLachlan Charest consists of a series of mini-poems each telling the stories of the lives of puppies as they see themselves; these poems are written through the perspectives of the puppies. This is a non-fictional book that would most likely be comfortable reading for beginning readers or children in kindergarten. The words used in the book are very simple and easy for someone who is new to reading to understand. In addition to the use of simpl...more
Well now, here is a book that was, from beginning to end, a very fun and enjoyable reading experience! Once I Ate a Pie is made up of short vignettes told from the perspectives of many different dogs of a variety of temperaments. Some of the dogs seem to like everyone, to love getting petted and just being in the company of other people. Some of them don't care much for people or animals outside of their immediate sphere of influence (namely, their own house), and do their best to prevent other...more
Books like this make me re-discover the joy of poetry. The poems are funny, heartfelt, and just lots of fun. From Mr. Beefy, the dog who sheepishly admits that "once I ate a pie" to Gus, the dog who always wants to be near his people, there is a dog in this collection for everyone.
The illustrations are simple, and not that colorful, but they do fittingly show each dog's personality. I think readers will have fun recognizing the dog breed that goes with each poem. (How fitting is that the Pug is...more
The illustrations are simple, and not that colorful, but they do fittingly show each dog's personality. I think readers will have fun recognizing the dog breed that goes with each poem. (How fitting is that the Pug is...more
Once I Ate a Pie, by Patricia Maclachlan, is a must read poetry book for dog lovers. This collection of dog poems is told through the dog's perspective. The author playfully uses words and arrangement of text shape and font size to describe a variety of dog types from a pug (Mr. Beefy) who loves to steal food, to an old Saint Bernard (Luke) who likes to sleep and dream about when he was young. The illustrations in this book are exceptional and capture the sweetness, charm, and playfulness of eac...more
This is a themed book that has a collection of poems about many different types of dogs. The poems include both the names and breeds of dogs describing their appearance and their personality. The dogs in this book love their squeaky toys, their naps, and especially getting into mischief. The dogs tell their story from their perspective, including one dog that ate a pie, another who loves slippers, and a third who likes to herd people like sheep. This collection of poems does a great job of getti...more
Goodreads Bookshelf Book (2 out of 4):
Once I Ate a Pie by Patricia MacLachlan is a collection of poems about puppies. I'm a puppy lover and would love any books about animals, especially dogs. However, I found some of the text may be too difficult for young readers to understand. Not every child or reader can really understand the different personalities of the different dogs. The readability is a little more on the difficult side, especially if you're a teacher of ELL students. The illustratio...more
Once I Ate a Pie by Patricia MacLachlan is a collection of poems about puppies. I'm a puppy lover and would love any books about animals, especially dogs. However, I found some of the text may be too difficult for young readers to understand. Not every child or reader can really understand the different personalities of the different dogs. The readability is a little more on the difficult side, especially if you're a teacher of ELL students. The illustratio...more
Once I Ate a Pie by Paticia MacLachlan is collection of poems about dogs. The author writes about 14 different breeds of adorable dogs that bring their personalities to life. The illustrations are done in watercolor and add to the beauty of the poems. The author, who also wrote Sarah Plain and Tall, does a great job of bringing to life the personalities and characteristics of each dog for the reader to enjoy. I enjoyed the playful way that the words were displayed on the page, while keeping in m...more
"Once I Ate a Pie" was a delightful read. The book is a collection of poems written from the point of view of different dogs. Big dogs, small dogs, lazy dogs, rambunctious dogs, and all the dogs in between. The poems are written in free verse in a concrete style that dances across the page. Any dog owner will nod their head in agreement to the insights of a dogs life provided by the authors. Katy Schneider provides excellent illustrations that made me want to cuddle up with each of the featured...more
2nd and 3rd grades
Schneider gets the children’s attention by using the dogs on her pages she makes them look almost real with her paintings. The text is very interesting she uses curves on the pages and a step up step down technique, some of the letters are larger than the others which helps the children to emphasis on those words. There is repetition and rhyming on the pages which keeps the reader’s attention and also keeps the attention with a different dog on each page. Many children can rela...more
Schneider gets the children’s attention by using the dogs on her pages she makes them look almost real with her paintings. The text is very interesting she uses curves on the pages and a step up step down technique, some of the letters are larger than the others which helps the children to emphasis on those words. There is repetition and rhyming on the pages which keeps the reader’s attention and also keeps the attention with a different dog on each page. Many children can rela...more
This book was my personal favorite, filled with poems told by dogs! Each page is dedicated to one dog that is given a name and tells a story about his or her life and past. It is funny to read about a dogs view on their surroundings, life, and owners. I think that kids of any age would really find this type of poetry humorous and entertaining.The illustrations take up two pages and help illustrate each dog's personality. Wupsi, a hyper dog is shown jumping across the page upside down. The text a...more
This is my third Picture book review.
I am a big dog lover! A teacher read me a poem last spring from this book about yorkies (my dog is a yorkie poo). I put this book on my goodreads list and forgot that I never actually read it. Today during lunch, I was flipping through the books in the poetry section of our library. I knew I had to read this one and bring it to class for our poetry discussion!
I am a very partial reviewer as an animal lover, but I ADORE this whole book. I was surprised to find...more
I am a big dog lover! A teacher read me a poem last spring from this book about yorkies (my dog is a yorkie poo). I put this book on my goodreads list and forgot that I never actually read it. Today during lunch, I was flipping through the books in the poetry section of our library. I knew I had to read this one and bring it to class for our poetry discussion!
I am a very partial reviewer as an animal lover, but I ADORE this whole book. I was surprised to find...more
April is National Poetry Month and I was looking for some poems that I could read to my elementary classes during their Library time. I stumbled upon this book and what a little treasure! This book is a collection of poems on all sorts of dogs from Mr. Beefy who confesses to eating a pie, Lucy who was adopted from a shelter and sleeps between her owners every night, and Needle Nose who uses his nose to get into all sorts of things from the refrigerator, the dishwasher, dog-cookie boxes and cat-s...more
Genre: Poetry
Copyright: 2006
"Once I Ate a Pie" is a great collection of poems written from the perspective of the dogs themselves. The poems are short and sweet, however, the author definitely has fun with the text and makes the poems come to life with different fonts, text size, and orientation.
This book is a definite read for any dog lover! One poem, about an overweight pug that liked to steal food, had me laughing out loud because it reminded me of a dog I used to have when I was a child! The...more
Copyright: 2006
"Once I Ate a Pie" is a great collection of poems written from the perspective of the dogs themselves. The poems are short and sweet, however, the author definitely has fun with the text and makes the poems come to life with different fonts, text size, and orientation.
This book is a definite read for any dog lover! One poem, about an overweight pug that liked to steal food, had me laughing out loud because it reminded me of a dog I used to have when I was a child! The...more
Once I Ate a Pie
Grades: K-2nd
Schneider illustrated this poem book with big, bold “Paintings”. The graphics such as a big bulldog with an upside down pie plate lead the reader into the poem. The images are so appealing that the reader may not want to look at the text so the author printed the text in a sometimes bold, sometimes small, straight or curvy and very amusing way. The poems do not rhyme but they have a rhythm that carries the reader through each one. As a child I would be very drawn to...more
Grades: K-2nd
Schneider illustrated this poem book with big, bold “Paintings”. The graphics such as a big bulldog with an upside down pie plate lead the reader into the poem. The images are so appealing that the reader may not want to look at the text so the author printed the text in a sometimes bold, sometimes small, straight or curvy and very amusing way. The poems do not rhyme but they have a rhythm that carries the reader through each one. As a child I would be very drawn to...more
"I am not thin, but I am beautiful
When
no
one
is
looking, I steal tubs of butter off the table.
I take them to the basement to eat in private.
Once I ate a PIE."
Once I Ate a Pie (2006) is a collection of poems written by Patricia MacLachlan and Emily MacLachlan with illustrations by Katy Schneider.
In this delightful collection thirteen dogs tell all about everything from being small, barking, to "borrowing" bread from the table. The poems fill the page in large, easy to read print that bends a...more
When
no
one
is
looking, I steal tubs of butter off the table.
I take them to the basement to eat in private.
Once I ate a PIE."
Once I Ate a Pie (2006) is a collection of poems written by Patricia MacLachlan and Emily MacLachlan with illustrations by Katy Schneider.
In this delightful collection thirteen dogs tell all about everything from being small, barking, to "borrowing" bread from the table. The poems fill the page in large, easy to read print that bends a...more
Are you looking for a kid friendly poetry book that's also a picture book that also works as a readaloud? Yep, this is your book.
Good variety of poems styles, moods, and dogs; it's really a pretty great mix. It's sweet enough of the time, funny enough to make the kids laugh out loud three or four times, about a topic they love, and something you can ready cover to cover.
Tried it out with both 1st & 2nd grade and I'd say it works best with 2nd. 3rd would probably work, too.
Jan 10, 2009
Kate
rated it
4 of 5 stars
Recommended to Kate by:
Read for Children's Literature portfolio
Shelves:
2007,
age-childrens
A collection of 13 free-form poems, each taking the character of a different dog, are written by a mother and her adult daughter. The title comes from a poem called “Mr. Beefy,” a pug who says, “I am not thin, but I am beautiful,” and confesses to stealing food, including the titular pie. Occasional textual representations, such as thin in a tall, thin font, highlight important words.
May 04, 2012
Linn
rated it
5 of 5 stars
Recommends it for:
Dog lovers, children, silly adults
Shelves:
want-to-own,
picture-books
I do not like poetry. I am not all that fond of dogs. I love this book. My co-workers and I stood in rapt attention over the return counter the first time one of us found this and now we all giggle whenever we find it. The poetry is delightful, the illustrations are hysterical and each piece fits together flawlessly.
I don't have children, but if I ever do, I will read them this book.
I don't have children, but if I ever do, I will read them this book.
This is a great example of a different text structure. I'm not sure what it would be called but each page is a picture of that dog and them telling about themselves. This would be fun to model a class book after or for children to write their own story following this structure. It's like multiple stories in one. The format of the text is interesting because of the placement and sizing.
Once I Ate a Pie is a must read for any dog lover out there. I honestly stood in the bookstore and cried while I read it - not because any dog dies (thank goodness!) but because it so perfectly captures the spirit and personalities in dogs. The illustrations are gorgeous and the text is original and delightful. I think dog lovers of all ages will enjoy this.
This book is by far the best book I read for the homework. I think the illustrations are really good and the text style matches up really well with the words. it describes the dog's characteristics well. There are repetition and compare and contrast. this book will help children to be more familiarized with dogs and get them interested in reading books.
Beautifully illustrated sweet story about 13 different dogs telling a story that showcases that breeds personality. I enjoyed going through with my daughter and saying "Do you think Fern is like that?" (Fern of course being our dog.) Enjoyed laughing and sharing memories with her about some of the silly or naughty things Fern has done over the years.
Jun 27, 2009
Veronica
rated it
5 of 5 stars
Recommends it for:
animal lovers/rescuers.
Shelves:
2009,
juvenile-books
Gentle, touching poems, each from the perspective of different dogs. I personally love Mr. Beefy's poem, but in all the passages the combination of words and images leave you to interpret the past of these animals and the pure and simple happiness that only children and pets can possess. Enjoyable for any animal lover, not just juveniles.
Jun 19, 2009
Tobinsfavorite
rated it
4 of 5 stars
Recommends it for:
people who like children and dogs
Recommended to Tobinsfavorite by:
librarians
This book is darling! It's another of those that the librarians display on top of the shelves in the Children's Room, and I'm glad they did. If you've ever known a dog, you'll find a page or two (or more) that you've experienced, just not from that point of view.
There are no discussion topics on this book yet.
Be the first to start one »
Patricia MacLachlan is a bestselling U.S. children's author, best known for winning the 1986 Newbery Medal for her book Sarah, Plain and Tall.
For more information, please see http://www.answers.com/topic/patricia...
More about Patricia MacLachlan...
For more information, please see http://www.answers.com/topic/patricia...
Share This Book
No trivia or quizzes yet. Add some now »

Loading...






















Sep 30, 2008 08:57pm
Oct 01, 2008 09:16am