In Chewandswallow, meals rain from the sky at appropriate times of the day, but a change in the weather blows in massive problems. "Prediction: Chi...
read full description
reviews
Feb 03, 2012
zcb257
rated it: 
We read to our children often when they were little, 20 some years ago. We picked this one up by chance, and I have to say, from the moment we first opened the pages it has stuck with not just me, but them as well.
What a fabulously creative book, one that opened little imaginations wide. Wonderful prose, and illustrations that took that imagination for a ride.
We later watched the movie together as this was *the* favorite book in our house. It was fairly disappointi More...
What a fabulously creative book, one that opened little imaginations wide. Wonderful prose, and illustrations that took that imagination for a ride.
We later watched the movie together as this was *the* favorite book in our house. It was fairly disappointi More...
0 comments
like
(1 person liked it)
Dec 08, 2008
Lstirl
rated it:
Mother nature cooks up a storm, literally, in this madcap story with plenty of silliness to go around.
Ages 4-10
The town of Chewandswallow has some wild weather, bringing meals like burgers, spaghetti, mashed potatoes, and of course meatballs three times a day. Then, things start to go crazy and odd things start happening, like an entire day of just gargonzola cheese and eventually a "tomato tornado" and the poor sanitation department could no longer keep up. Thi More...
Ages 4-10
The town of Chewandswallow has some wild weather, bringing meals like burgers, spaghetti, mashed potatoes, and of course meatballs three times a day. Then, things start to go crazy and odd things start happening, like an entire day of just gargonzola cheese and eventually a "tomato tornado" and the poor sanitation department could no longer keep up. Thi More...
0 comments
like
(2 people liked it)
Nov 02, 2007
OK, this was really my favorite book for most of my childhood. I would pretend to read it before I could actually read (I had simply memorized it from hearing it so many times) and I remember feeling sooo guilty about all the praise I got for being such a good reader at such an early age. Man alive! Really, I think my love for this book stemmed from the fact that I was a deprived child. Well, I suppose I was never deprived of health food like oatmeal and tofu, but I only got white bread with
More...
0 comments
like
(2 people liked it)
Mar 16, 2009
Chris
rated it:
My daughter came home all excited about reading this book in school today. My son then chimed in and I soon had two children dancing around my kitchen telling me all about this book and laughing hysterically. I supposed I should read it myself before I recommend it, but my children definately gave it "two thumbs up"!
Dec 27, 2008
Lesley
rated it:
This is one of the favorite children's books I read to my first and second graders for six years! It's cleverly written, and the illustrations are a lot of fun! I still remember being so delighted the first time I read it, and I got numerous requests to reread it to my classes.
Feb 02, 2012
Bridgette
rated it: 
Ah, to live in a land where you never had to worry about from where your next meal would come. Where you never had to cook. Where you never had to go grocery shopping. What a world that would be! But like any land, it would come with its own set of problems.
This delightful children’s book by Judi Barrett opens on a Sunday morning with gray-scale line drawings of a family eating breakfast and the grandfather flipping pancakes. There are smiles all around, especially when Grandpa flips a More...
This delightful children’s book by Judi Barrett opens on a Sunday morning with gray-scale line drawings of a family eating breakfast and the grandfather flipping pancakes. There are smiles all around, especially when Grandpa flips a More...
Dec 20, 2011
Bishope
rated it:
I am so delighted with how my 6th graders responded to this book. Sometimes when I share a picture book with them, they sit back on their heels and frown skeptically at me, as if to say, "Ms. Frei...we're too old for this." I was especially worried when several kids piped up right away that they have known and read this book since they were little. I thought, "Oh, no. They're going to be so bored and patronized."
NOT AT ALL. There were giggles and gasps and outbursts of More...
NOT AT ALL. There were giggles and gasps and outbursts of More...
Dec 12, 2011
Jerri
rated it:
1. Picture Book- Other
2. A bedtime story from grandpa will magically transport you to the tiny town of Chewandswallow. There is no cooking in Chewandswallow because the food falls from the sky.
3. a. Descriptive language
b. I love the way this story is told. I had seen the movie but had never read the book. I think that the author’s wild imagination combined with the use of descriptive language that the reader can begin to believe there may just be a tiny town More...
2. A bedtime story from grandpa will magically transport you to the tiny town of Chewandswallow. There is no cooking in Chewandswallow because the food falls from the sky.
3. a. Descriptive language
b. I love the way this story is told. I had seen the movie but had never read the book. I think that the author’s wild imagination combined with the use of descriptive language that the reader can begin to believe there may just be a tiny town More...
Dec 09, 2011
Melanie
rated it:
1. This book would fall under the category of a picture book, other.
2. This book has a grandfather who tells his favorite bedtime story to his grandchildren. He tells of a town where food falls from the sky to feed the townspeople.
3. critique
a. The strongest part of this book is its descriptive language.
b. This story is set up like a tall tale – and it tells you. Grandpa tells his story that is so amazing and imaginative that it pulls you inside and makes More...
2. This book has a grandfather who tells his favorite bedtime story to his grandchildren. He tells of a town where food falls from the sky to feed the townspeople.
3. critique
a. The strongest part of this book is its descriptive language.
b. This story is set up like a tall tale – and it tells you. Grandpa tells his story that is so amazing and imaginative that it pulls you inside and makes More...
May 10, 2011
Angie
rated it: 
Synopsis: "The tiny town of Chewandswallow was very much like any other tiny town except for its weather which came three times a day, at breakfast, lunch and dinner. But it never rained rain and it never snowed snow and it never blew just wind. It rained things like soup and juice. It snowed things like mashed potatoes. And sometimes the wind blew in storms of hamburgers. Life for the townspeople was delicious until the weather took a turn for the worse. The food got larger and larger and
More...
Oct 20, 2010
Ronyell
rated it:
“Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs” is a cult classic children’s book by Judi Barrett along with illustrations by Ron Barrett and it is about a magical town called Chewandswallow (chew and swallow, get it?) where food just falls from the sky and provides people with everything they need. But what happens when there is too much food falling from the sky? “Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs” is definitely one unusual and creative book ever created for children!
Judi Barrett has certain More...
Judi Barrett has certain More...
3 comments
like
(2 people liked it)
Jun 09, 2010
Abigail
rated it: 
When a breakfast mishap ends with pancake all over Henry's face, Grandpa is inspired to tell the story of the small town of Chewandswallow (located "Across an ocean, over lots of huge bumpy mountains, across three hot deserts, and one smaller ocean"), where all of the residents' food needs were once provided for by the local weather. Whether it was raining soup or snowing mashed potatoes, there was always plenty to eat. But as the weather became more and more extreme - nothing but stin
More...
2 comments
like
(4 people liked it)
Sep 29, 2009
Sarah
rated it:
With the arrival of the movie, Cloudy With a Chance of Meatballs to the silver screen, I thought I would revisit the original book, since it had been a long time since I had read it. I do not wish to critique the differences between the movie and the book, but rather to examine elements of the book itself. The book seems to start out as realistic fiction. A mother, two children (a boy and a girl), and a grandfather sit down for a nice pancake breakfast. As the grandfather prepares the pancak
More...
Mar 29, 2011
Shannon
rated it:
This is one of my favorite books! There are so many ways to use this book in a classroom or library. It can be used for economics, weather, creative writing, etc.
The tiny town of Chewandswallow was very much like any other tiny town except for its weather which came three times a day, at breakfast lunch and dinner. But it never rained rain and it never snowed snow and it never blew just wind. It rained things like soup and juice. It snowed things like mashed potatoes. And sometime More...
The tiny town of Chewandswallow was very much like any other tiny town except for its weather which came three times a day, at breakfast lunch and dinner. But it never rained rain and it never snowed snow and it never blew just wind. It rained things like soup and juice. It snowed things like mashed potatoes. And sometime More...
Dec 25, 2008
Jess
rated it:
This is my favorite picture book. Even as a teenager, I'd hunt his book up from time to time to make sure I'd memorized all the lines correctly.
This story reads exactly like all stories told by your grandfather are supposed to. The ones where, as a kid, you keep saying 'really!', then try to verify everything via grandma, who then yells at grandpa for filling your head with nonsense.
This story reads exactly like all stories told by your grandfather are supposed to. The ones where, as a kid, you keep saying 'really!', then try to verify everything via grandma, who then yells at grandpa for filling your head with nonsense.
0 comments
like
(2 people liked it)
Sep 20, 2007
Erica
rated it:
There are a million reasons to love this book, but above all, it's about a town where it storms food! Who wouldn't love that?
OK, for real, this book encourages kids to stretch their imagination. It has lots of fantasy and creative writing with the aid of amazing color and B&W illustrations. When me and my artist husband finally collaborate on a book, I will definitely look to this book for inspiration. A must have for kids of all ages. Period.
OK, for real, this book encourages kids to stretch their imagination. It has lots of fantasy and creative writing with the aid of amazing color and B&W illustrations. When me and my artist husband finally collaborate on a book, I will definitely look to this book for inspiration. A must have for kids of all ages. Period.
0 comments
like
(1 person liked it)
Dec 28, 2010
Jamie
rated it:
Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs is a classic book about a Grandfather who tells his grandchildren a tall tale about a town that gets breakfast, lunch and dinner from the weather. It rains food. One day, the weather gets so awful that the people have to abandon their town. They start a new town and have to buy food from the grocery store.
The illustrations in this book are mostly black and white with some things accented with shades of red and yellow. Without the pictures, More...
The illustrations in this book are mostly black and white with some things accented with shades of red and yellow. Without the pictures, More...
Nov 27, 2010
Teri
rated it:
The town of Chewandswallow was a place where the weather came at breakfast, lunch, and dinner, and was always in the form of food and beverages. The rain was juice and soup, the snow was ice cream, and the wind brought hamburgers. When floods and storms of giant food came, the population is forced to leave Chewandswallow on boats made of bread, and adapt to their new lives in the world where the sky doesn't bring food.
Age/Grade Level: K-3
Instructional Ideas:
This b More...
Age/Grade Level: K-3
Instructional Ideas:
This b More...
May 27, 2010
Justina
rated it:
Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs is about a small town called Chewandswallow that is like any other city but their weather is a bit different. In the town of Chewandswallow when it rains or snows none of that comes out for it rains food and snows drinks. The setting is in the small town of Chewandswallow and the plot is a city where the weather supplies the food to the town and it becomes too much food, the townspeople have to move somewhere else. The tone of the book seems to be humorous and t
More...
May 29, 2010
Lisa
rated it:
Oh, I just loved this book. The irony. I think this book hadn’t appealed to me that much because of the meatballs. Even though I like premises that are silly. First, I assumed the story would be all about meatballs but it was actually about all sorts of foods, and the main story is also actually a story within a story, and that worked really well. Also, in the back author bio section, the illustrator’s blurb in my edition says: “Mr. Barrett says his drawing of meatballs in no way endorses their
More...
10 comments
like
(3 people liked it)
Oct 06, 2010
Slayermel
rated it:
Cloudy with a chance of meatballs is an older children’s book from the 70’s that has recently been used to base a children’s movie off of. I absolutely adore the story. In the small town of Chewandswallow you will not find a grocery store or a restaurant as all the towns people eat when the weather serves up breakfast, lunch and dinner. It never snow’s or rains in Chewandswallow, but instead you will have eggs and toast fall from the sky for breakfast followed by a sprinkling of orange juice.
More...
Jun 20, 2010
Kathryn
rated it:
I know I read this as a kid but for some reason it didn't leave me with a big "lasting impression" or any sort of feeling I could really latch onto when I thought about the book as an adult. So, I came to it fresh, in a way. And I was MAJOR impressed! The story is so much fun, so imaginative and hilarious (and a tad scary at times!) and it's the best sort of tall-tale, causing our minds to boggle even as we realize maybe some of it could have shadows of truth in the real world. It mi
More...
8 comments
like
(6 people liked it)
Apr 24, 2009
Purplycookie
rated it:
If food dropped like rain from the sky, wouldn't it be marvelous! Or would it?
It could, after all, be messy. And you'd have no choice. What if you didn't like what fell? Or what if too much came? Have you ever thought of what it might be like to be squashed flat by a pancake?
Life is delicious in the town of Chewandswallow (a town with an outrageously funny name!) where it rains soup and juice, snows mashed potatoes, and blows storms of hamburgers every day. It would rai More...
It could, after all, be messy. And you'd have no choice. What if you didn't like what fell? Or what if too much came? Have you ever thought of what it might be like to be squashed flat by a pancake?
Life is delicious in the town of Chewandswallow (a town with an outrageously funny name!) where it rains soup and juice, snows mashed potatoes, and blows storms of hamburgers every day. It would rai More...
Mar 11, 2009
Alecia
rated it:
Author: Judi Barrett
Illustrator: Ron Barrett
Genre: fictional picture book
Publication Info: Atheneum Books for Young Readers (1978)
Reading Level: Ages 4-8; transitional
Topic/Theme: different food, imagination, weather,
Issues Addressed: imagined weather conditions, food falling from the sky, too much of a good thing can have bad consequences
Classroom Uses: independent reading, read aloud, shared reading
More...
Illustrator: Ron Barrett
Genre: fictional picture book
Publication Info: Atheneum Books for Young Readers (1978)
Reading Level: Ages 4-8; transitional
Topic/Theme: different food, imagination, weather,
Issues Addressed: imagined weather conditions, food falling from the sky, too much of a good thing can have bad consequences
Classroom Uses: independent reading, read aloud, shared reading
More...
Dec 10, 2011
Wendy
rated it:
Cloudy with a chance of meatballs was always a childhood favorite of mine and now I get to share it with my son.
Inspired by a flying pancake during breakfast, Grandpa tells the children a bedtime story about the town of Chewandswallow. A seemingly normal little town with one exception. All of the food the residents ate came from the sky. Breakfast, Lunch and Dinner. Never rain or snow or any "weather" always food of some sort.
The townsfolk carried utensils with them so they More...
Inspired by a flying pancake during breakfast, Grandpa tells the children a bedtime story about the town of Chewandswallow. A seemingly normal little town with one exception. All of the food the residents ate came from the sky. Breakfast, Lunch and Dinner. Never rain or snow or any "weather" always food of some sort.
The townsfolk carried utensils with them so they More...
Oct 11, 2011
Ava
rated it:
i liked cloudy with a chance of meatballs because it was all about how instead of rain coming down, it was food coming down from the sky. it was cool because the food was able to be eaten. Everyone got a little of everything. When there was a problem with the weather it started to overflow and fill the streets. For example, spaghetti fell from the sky and was flooding all around. The people needed to leave chew and swallow because the weather was crazy. they took boats of bread to another
More...
Sep 04, 2011
Sherrie
rated it:
I've been wanting to read this book for ages. I read a review somewhere and it sounded so cute. Grandpa, a dog and pancakes starts all this. Grandpa is fixing pancakes and the dog comes running through the room, upsetting Grandpa. The pancake fly's through the air and lands on his head. Later that night, at bedtime, Grandpa tells them a tall tale about Chewandswallow. It doesn't rain or snow, it comes down as food. But one day the weather gets really strange and starts sending enormous amounts o
More...
Jun 06, 2011
Kelly
rated it:
Cloudy With a Chance of Meatballs is a tale of epic portions (pun intended).
As the story goes, ChewandSwallow is a small town where food rains down on residents. While at first this is pleasant, it soon turns sour when the weather goes awry. Residents are eventually forced to escape using giant slices of stale bread and peanut butter. As you can imagine, hilarity ensues.
This book provides vivid imagery of the food storms the town experiences. The language used to describ More...
As the story goes, ChewandSwallow is a small town where food rains down on residents. While at first this is pleasant, it soon turns sour when the weather goes awry. Residents are eventually forced to escape using giant slices of stale bread and peanut butter. As you can imagine, hilarity ensues.
This book provides vivid imagery of the food storms the town experiences. The language used to describ More...
Sep 23, 2011
Ezekiel
rated it:
A classic in children's picture books. Unlike the movie of the same name, Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs does no moralizing around food and as a result is a much better piece of fiction. Instead it is the bedtime story told by a grandfather after an incident at breakfast that resulted in a flying pancake. In it, he imagines a town far away that had food as weather (as opposed to rain and snow). Residents were happy until one day the weather started to be erratic with large and dangerous (
More...
Aug 21, 2010
Jen
rated it:
I read this book often as a child, and always at the dinner table. There was something about eating food while reading about it that really appealed to me. I saw this at Barnes & Noble the other day and read it in like 5 minutes. Still completely magical.
0 comments
like
(1 person liked it)
