Pies in the Oven

by Betty G. Birney

Everyone is gathering at Grandma's house, drawn by the delectable aromas emanating from the kitchen, until it begins to look like there will not be enough food to go around.

Genres: Picture Books, Family

32 pages, Hardcover

First published September 23, 1996

About the author

From kindergarten through graduation, I attended school in Affton, Missouri, a suburb of St. Louis. Then I graduated from Webster College (now Webster University) in Webster Groves, Missouri. Of course, I majored in English and kept on writing.

After working in advertising in St. Louis, Missouri and in Chicago, Illinois, I eventually moved to Southern California. First, I worked for Disneyland (fun job!) in the advertising department. The monorail whizzed past my window all day long. Then I worked at the Disney Studio in Burbank, where I had another fun job, writing and producing television and radio commercials and theatrical trailers (previews of coming attractions) for everything from re-releases of "Cinderella" and "Fantasia" to "Tex."

When the Disney Channel was started, I became a writer and story editor for WELCOME TO POOH CORNER. Since then, I've written more than 200 episodes of animated and live-action television programs including MADELINE, DOUG, BOBBY'S WORLD, DUMBO'S CIRCUS, THE PUZZLE PLACE, CAMP CANDY, LITTLE MOUSE ON THE PRAIRIE, WHERE'S WALDO, FRAGGLE ROCK and ZOOBILEE ZOO. That's right, I write cartoons! I also wrote a number of award-winning afterschool specials and many interactive CD-ROM programs, including the award-winning "Berenstain Bears on their Own," "Richard Scarry's Busiest Neighborhood Ever," and "The Crayon Factory."

A made-for-television family movie I wrote, MARY CHRISTMAS, starring John Schneider, Cynthia Gibb and Tom Bosley, aired on the PAX network in 2002. It was the highest rated movie in PAX history and has aired each Christmas season since then.

I have been fortunate enough to win a Writer's Guild of America Award and three Humanitas Prizes (as well as two other nominations). In 2002, I won a Daytime Emmy Award for MADELINE, after two previous Emmy nominations. More recently, I received the Christopher Award for FRIENDSHIP ACCORDING TO HUMPHREY, many children's choice awards for THE WORLD ACCORDING TO HUMPHREY and was inducted into the Affton (MO) School District Hall of Fame.

Reviews

[Janet · Rating 4 out of 5]

Yum yum this is a delicious book and see all the people coming for pie! Meade’s collage illustrations are showing lots of movement across the pages of this title.

[Jenna's Mom · Rating 2 out of 5]

Jenna (3) enjoyed this story but didn't love it. News travels fast through the neighborhood that Grandma has a pie in the oven and soon everyone shows up for a piece. After everyone has been served a piece, the little grandson realizes there isn't any left for him and he starts pouting. Then Grandma pulls out a special mini-pie that she baked just for him.

I wasn't crazy about this book, myself. I thought it was kind of strange that there was enough pie for so many people. I think Grandma might have baked two pies, but still - there were A LOT of people who showed up to eat. One of the uncles even had two pieces, I think. I'm probably being too literal, but it seemed odd to me.

I also wasn't really into how the grandson got his very own pie when there seemed to be a number of other grandchildren there.

All in all, an odd story in my opinion.

[Asho · Rating 3 out of 5]

The baby and I seem to have hit on several books lately where I either like the illustrations or the text, but not both. In this book, the illustrations were a hit. I like the bold but simple shapes and texture of the drawings. The text felt kind of clunky, though. It had repetition, but it wasn't really rhythmic, and there were basically two competing texts, one more lyrical than the other. The two didn't tie together well, though. Not that my baby cared! He enjoyed the pictures and likes listening to me read just about anything, so this was good enough for us.

[Haim · Rating 3 out of 5]

What book would one read on March 14, AKA Pi-day? A book about pies!! A whole town comes to Grandma's house for some delicious pie. Told in the first person by the young grandson, the young boy helps his grandmother bake some pie and he hopes that he has some too. I was hoping for the book to be more lyrical than it was.

[Sarah · Rating 2 out of 5]

Love the illustrations of this...in the style of Molly Bang, with thick outlines and a graphic feel. The text, however, doesn't have much punch. It feels like a song because there's a chorus (pie's in the oven) but there's no rhyme or rhythm that pulls us through.

[Maximus · Rating 2 out of 5]

its okay but its not my favorite