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xterminal's review
4.0
Judi Barrett, Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs (Atheneum, 1978)
A classic of kidlit that I never actually got round to reading (I was ten when it was released, and feeling too old for stuff like this; I first read 'Salem's Lot two years previous) until now, a year and change after seeing the film version (which both I and my daughter adored, though it seemed few others did). It is, of course, an almost entirely different story; the setting from the book, the small island town of Chewandswallow, was preserved, but everything else in the movie is different. (What does that mean? Why, that you should read the book, of course!) What we have here is a lovely, and quite funny, tall tale presented to a couple of inquisitive kids by a much-beloved grandfather who is a veteran spinner of tall tales, and simply describes the place and its weather. The bulk of the book's hook comes from the illustrations by Barrett's (former? So says wikipedia, though no cite is given) husband Ron, which are just as amusing as you'd expect. Very cute book for the I-can-read-it-myself crowd (think 4-6 here). *** 1/2
A classic of kidlit that I never actually got round to reading (I was ten when it was released, and feeling too old for stuff like this; I first read 'Salem's Lot two years previous) until now, a year and change after seeing the film version (which both I and my daughter adored, though it seemed few others did). It is, of course, an almost entirely different story; the setting from the book, the small island town of Chewandswallow, was preserved, but everything else in the movie is different. (What does that mean? Why, that you should read the book, of course!) What we have here is a lovely, and quite funny, tall tale presented to a couple of inquisitive kids by a much-beloved grandfather who is a veteran spinner of tall tales, and simply describes the place and its weather. The bulk of the book's hook comes from the illustrations by Barrett's (former? So says wikipedia, though no cite is given) husband Ron, which are just as amusing as you'd expect. Very cute book for the I-can-read-it-myself crowd (think 4-6 here). *** 1/2
luann's review
4.0
I've been wanting to reread this ever since I saw the trailer for the movie they are making based on this book. Like many movies based on picture books, though, it looks like they are adding quite a lot of additional detail to the story. I just hope they stay true to the idea of the book, which is that there is a town called Chewandswallow where they get their food from the weather instead of a grocery store.
The idea is fun, but the illustrations are the best part of the book. Of course giant food is always hilarious, but probably my favorite illustration has the lady caught in the tomato tornado sitting in her easy chair reading Gone with the Wind. :)
The idea is fun, but the illustrations are the best part of the book. Of course giant food is always hilarious, but probably my favorite illustration has the lady caught in the tomato tornado sitting in her easy chair reading Gone with the Wind. :)
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