Pasta Pasta Lotsa Pasta

by Aimee Lucido, Mavisu Demirağ (Illustrator)

A family dinner gets out of hand as guest after guest arrives with a different pasta request in this rambunctious rhyming picture book. How much pasta is too much pasta?Ring-a-ding, the doorbell rings, and oh! What did my Nonna bring? Nonna Ana from Catania only likes to eat lasagna. But Nonno Titi from Tahiti only eats his spaghettini! Zio Tony wants ravioli, Zia Trini wants rotini, the cugini want tortellini… Family dinners can be tricky when the guests are oh-so-picky! As the kitchen gets more and more chaotic, can family pasta night go off without a hitch?

Genres: Picture Books, Food, Family, Storytime, Childrens, Fiction, Italian Literature

Kindle Edition

Published July 2, 2024

Reviews

[Brittany · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is a very cute story about a bunch of family members coming together to make a variety of different types of pasta. When the pasta is made, it gets cooked and then the worst happens. We end with PIZZA for everyone! This book does have some hard words for K-3rd readers (bucatini, gnocchi, capellini -- and other various names of pasta) and names of family members that are not common here (nonna, famiglia, nonno, zio/zia, and cugini). The illustrations throughout are very fun to look at with every flip of the page. The illustrations are digital in nature, made with a collage effect. This book would be fun to pair with a recipe or talking about a specific country. It needs to be paired with something to make it fun, and to be able to give more detail about it. It feels odd as a lone-read. (Diamond 25-26)

[Monica · Rating 4 out of 5]

Such a cute book to read to your littles. I gave this book to my niece and nephew who are having their first baby and they make homemade pasta often. The flow of the story introducing various family members and pastas was cute and the ending was funny. Makes a cute baby shower gift for baby’s first library.

[Kimberly Simpson · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fun intro to pasta shapes, rhymes, and Italian vocabulary. Illustrations are whimsical and assist in plot progression and relatable to young reader.Great book for ages 4-6. Cute plot twist as well.

[Amelia · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good rhymes, good learning about pasta shapes, lovely illustrations with good vibes.

[Viviane Elbee · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very funny book that describes a lot of different kinds of pasta.

[Ms. Yingling · Rating 3 out of 5]

Copy provided by Young Adult Books Central

A little girl and her mother are cooking a meal for their famiglia, and as they are cooking, more and more relatives show up with their favorite dishes to prepare. Nonna wants lasagna, Zio Tony wants ravioli, and Zia Trini even brings her cat, Houdini and her parrot, Pokey, who want rotini and gnocchi! The kitchen becomes more and more chaotic, especially when Zio Renz and his five children show up, wanting a variety of different pasta! When all the cooking is done, the mother tries to take all of the plates to the table at once... and drops them. Nothing is salvageable, so the family ends up ordering pizza!

I imagine that young readers who don't have a lot of family around will love seeing all of the grandparents, aunts, uncles, and cousins gathering around in the way that earlier generations loved to watch the big family in The Brady Bunch. It's a little chaotic, but everyone pitches in and helps out.

My favorite part of the whole book was the endpaper illustrations, which show different types of pasta, and I think the lasagna might be made out of a brown paper grocery bag! I would definitely have a couple of different types of pasta on hand before reading this one, because it just begs to be accompanied by a meal of macaroni and cheese made with fusilli or gemelli! (A little fancier than elbows, but not impossible to find!)

The pages are filled to the brim with characters, food, and background details like the pets and ingredients, so young readers will love to pick out objects from the pages, making this a perfect book for learning new words. Where are the zucchini? Where's the olive oil? What color is the cat?

The text is fast paced and exuberant, and rendered in half rhymes. The scansion is good, but I'm very picky about rhyme schemes so struggled with some of the pairings.

Add this book to the pantry with other titles that celebrate cooking with family and showcase a lot of diverse cultures, such as Gilmore and Valiant's Cora Cooks Pancit, Russell's Seoul Food, Kramer's Empanadas for Everyone, Reynoso-Morris Plátanos Are Love, Saaed and Syad's Bilal Cooks Daal, Tanumihardj's Ramen For Everyone, and Tamaki's Our Little Kitchen.

[Mandy · Rating 4 out of 5]

Picture book, told in rhyme. An Italian family is getting together for homemade pasta. But everybody wants a different type of pasta! Nonna brings eggs and wants lasagna, Nonno brings vegetables, and wants spaghettini, and it keeps going through aunts, uncles, and cousins, even pets! The kitchen is a bit chaotic, and when Mama finally brings the pasta over-- oh no! All of the pasta falls in a mountain, Mama shouts "Basta!" and the family eats pizza.

The pictures are lots of fun, starting with the endpapers featuring all sorts of types of pasta and their names. The Italian extended family is fun to watch, and the Italian words sprinkled thoughout are very fun. I figured the translations out from my knowledge of Spanish and French, but I would have loved to see a glossary in the back. I also would have liked to see an actual usable pasta recipe, as there is a rudimentary illustrated one on the verso page. Overall a fun book, and it makes me want to try to make homemade pasta-- of only one variety!

[Linda · Rating 4 out of 5]

Aimee Lucido tells of family love and sharing food with LOTSA PASTA. She shows this celebration with lots of famiglia (family), and in an anthem of rhyme. Various relatives arrive for dinner and bring a favorite dish, or they make that dish at the house. Everything builds to the big meal, but, wait, does "Lotsa Pasta" mean too much? For a read-aloud while viewing the collaged illustrations of all the families AND the pasta by Mavisu Demirag brought me so many smiles. Can you imagine creating quite realistic pasta? Various cultural relatives arrive with their special names, in Italian, like nonna (grandma) and nonno (grandma), also zio (uncle), and others. " Here is one example of the fun story-telling: "Nonni Titi from Tahiti/only eats our spaghettini."

[John Mullarkey · Rating 4 out of 5]

A fast-paced, rollicking story all about - pasta. A large family, full of colorful names all have their favorite pastas and each is hoping that it will be served for Sunday dinner. Each time the doorbell rings - it’s one of the family! It all plays out in a fun and chaotic way - complete with lots of repetition, alliteration and tongue-twisting names of pasta, until - holy ravioli! - a surprise ending! A super fun read aloud to share with a class or a small group, or at the dinner table on Sunday (that will make you hungry) by Aimee Lucido with colorful illustrations by Mavisu Demirag.

[Erin Buhr · Rating 5 out of 5]

PASTA PASTA has serious THE DOORBELL RANG vibes if you take out the math and add in lots of cooking and pasta. It has a pleasing structure with the doorbell ringing and new family members arriving with more pasta. In between there is lots of cooking and "lotsa pasta." From cover to cover it brims with energy of big, bustling family and lots of delicious vocabulary words. A fun picture book to share aloud. 

[Storytorium · Rating 5 out of 5]

Bravo!!! A fun book about a family who loves pasta! Each page introduces a different type of pasta and it is so much fun! It inspired a family pasta night-we made our own fresh pasta! I read it during cooking week with a group of 15 kids 6-8 years old and they LOVED it! They were fascinated with the different kinds of pasta and were so excited with each page! It is so much fun! Add it to your shelves and enjoy a family pasta night! We love it!

[Kelly {SpaceOnTheBookcase] · Rating 4 out of 5]

A children's book with an Italian flare, each family member who shows up at the door has a new type of pasta they want to make. Of course there is a big twist at the end, but it's really about spending time with family and cooking food from scratch. I'm dinging a star because I felt some of the rhythms were really forced and it effected the flow of the book. I think kiddos will like the storyline and illustrations.

Thank you Simon Kids for the gifted copy.

[Mr. Lowton · Rating 4 out of 5]

2024 Picture Book. American author. Turkish illustrator.

Different family members arrive with different pastas. Story is told in rhyme.

What I liked: It's super cute, embraces Italian cuisine (and family), and the rhyme is fun.

What I didn't like:I didn't love illustrations, but didn't hate them.

Overall, if a school is doing a unit on food or Italy, it's a solid purchase.

[Katie Lawrence · Rating 3 out of 5]

Such a charming rhyming book about a family that's obsessed with pasta, but they all like different kinds! A girl and her mom keep making more and more varieties to appeal to all of their dinner guests, but when tragedy strikes they have to make a surprising choice! Would definitely be a great readaloud, though the text is lengthier, so maybe for an older group of readers or more one-on-one. Super fun!

[Janet · Rating 3 out of 5]

Colorful illustrations and a rhyming text about people arriving at a home who love pasta and are preparing the pasta. Basically I could not get the tread of the storyline and what the point is the story was. If I am enjoying a picture book I linger over the illustrations and to see the text in action. This one made me go quickly and the story made me feel rushed.

[Lisa Riddiough · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is just plain fun! The rhyme, the rhythm, the repetition, and the pasta!!! The author did a brilliant job creating a rollicking story of pasta creation and anticipation. Every time the doorbell rings, a new relative appears hoping for their favorite pasta dish. The adorable little kitten and chicken add to the fun. And the ending is a classic!

[Patricia N. McLaughlin · Rating 4 out of 5]

Lasagna, spaghettini, ravioli, rotini, gnocchi, bucatini, tortellini, capellini—that’s a lotta pasta, even for this extended family. Oops! A sudden change of menu leads to a surprise ending that’s sure to satisfy everyone’s tastebuds in this bilingual tale with an Italian twist that’s fun to read aloud. Simple illustrations show how much fun making a family dinner together can be.

[Blair Thornburgh · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is such a tasty delight to read aloud! Such fun for our little one (who loves to read about pasta almost as much as he loves to eat it) and truly tongue-twisting in the best way. Plus a great way to introduce a little Italian vocabulary! It's a chef's kiss from me.

[Holly Wagner · Rating 3 out of 5]

I would struggle to read this out loud to students. The rhyming scheme was a little wonky to me. But I think families with Italian roots or lovers of Italian food will really enjoy it. All the relatives names would be good vocabulary building.

[Madison LibraryBookFamily · Rating 4 out of 5]

Family dinners with a big Italian family can be tricky, especially when everyone has a different type of pasta they adore. Told in rhyming sentences this book introduces Italian family names and the names of many many types of pasta.

[Ali Bohrer · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is such an incredibly fun book to read aloud! It’s a fun-filled story about family and food, and who doesn’t love pasta?! The illustrations are also beautiful and help tell the whimsical story. Definitely worth reading!!

[Rosalynne · Rating 5 out of 5]

Super cute book all about different kinds of pasta! Would be super fun to make interactive and either make or buy different kinds of pasta with your family - bonus if you invite people over! Plus I love the subtle hints at Italian words and looking them up with my kids to see what they mean.

[Jessica · Rating 3 out of 5]

It was fun to read all the Italian words and see all the different kinds of pasta. The illustration of the zio was scary, though, and also it was sad when all the food fell on the floor and was wasted.

[Carol Lucido · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was such a fun read aloud book! Great not only for kids, but also for the adults that read it to their little ones.

[Caroline · Rating 5 out of 5]

A delightfully rhyming picture book that centers food and family. The illustrations are so fun. Crowded and colorful, they match the tone of the book nicely.

[Syntha Green · Rating 3 out of 5]

A fun ode to family and pasta

[Aolund · Rating 4 out of 5]

A rhyming pasta extravaganza.

Themes: Pasta/Pizza, Italian culture, Family
Age range: Toddler-Kindergarten

[H. L. Reyes · Rating 4 out of 5]

So much fun!

[Bookishrealm · Rating 2 out of 5]

Yea, I didn't like this one at all. I think between the artwork and the forced rhymes, this is one that you can hold off on purchasing.

[Aisha · Rating 5 out of 5]

Super fun to read kids book with lots of great rhymes. My toddler loves it and so do I!