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Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs #2
Pickles To Pittsburgh
In Pickles to Pittsburgh , the sequel to Cloudy With a Chance of Meatballs , Kate drifts off to sleep and, with her brother Henry as her copilot, visits the land of Chewandswallow—a land characterized by massive amounts of food, immense carrots, leafy jungles of lettuce, and tuna fish sandwiches so gigantic they have to be moved by helicopter. And what the people of Chewandswallow are doing with all that food is most intriguing of all!
Fans of Cloudy With a Chance of Meatballs will applaud this return trip with its underlying message of generosity and a world community, available in a Classic Board Book edition that is perfect for the youngest of readers.
Fans of Cloudy With a Chance of Meatballs will applaud this return trip with its underlying message of generosity and a world community, available in a Classic Board Book edition that is perfect for the youngest of readers.
32 pages, Paperback
First published October 1, 1997
15 people are currently reading
698 people want to read
About the author
Judi Barrett
44 books115 followersJudi Barrett is the author of many well-loved books for children, including Cloudy With a Chance of Meatballs, Pickles to Pittsburgh, Animals Should Definitely Not Wear Clothing, and Things That Are Most in the World. She teaches art to kindergarten students at a school in her Brooklyn, New York, neighborhood. And she usually doesn't mind going to the dentist!
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 178 reviews
February 26, 2020
Here is the sequel to Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs. This is about a girl dreaming of a land where food falls from the sky. They explore the entire land and find that the people collect all the food falling and export it to the rest of the world to feed hungry people. They are able to wipe out hunger. OJ falls from the sky, there is a pea soup collection pond and they collect melted ice cream. The girl wakes up and shares her dream with her grandfather.
I think I enjoyed the first one better, but this was pretty good on imagination. At least some industry was collecting the food and shipping it out. I do wonder how they keep it fresh. It starts off with black and white artwork, but the girl’s dream is in color.
The nephew loved this story. Falling hotdogs and hamburger mountains appealed to him. He thought this would be too cool to see. He wanted a giant donut he could jump through the hole. He gave this 5 stars and he then asked for a snack.
I think I enjoyed the first one better, but this was pretty good on imagination. At least some industry was collecting the food and shipping it out. I do wonder how they keep it fresh. It starts off with black and white artwork, but the girl’s dream is in color.
The nephew loved this story. Falling hotdogs and hamburger mountains appealed to him. He thought this would be too cool to see. He wanted a giant donut he could jump through the hole. He gave this 5 stars and he then asked for a snack.
June 18, 2010
I recently read Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs for the very first time, and I wanted to read this book too, even though my expectations were very low because I’d seen & heard others’ opinions of it, and overall they’re not that enthusiastic. Perhaps this is why I ended up enjoying this book, and being so pleasantly surprised by it. No, it’s not as brilliants as the first (famous) book, but I thought it was fun too.
I like the social responsibility message (despite it being a fantasy), I love the children being so close to their grandfather and the multi-generational family, and, once again, I liked the food, huge and outlandish and out of place, though the premise here is not as funny as the first book’s and it’s also no longer so unique. Also, this book does not really work perfectly as a standalone book; it’s definitely a sequel. However, as long as readers’ expectations are not too high, if they’ve enjoyed the first book, I think they’ll be interested to see what happens next.
I like the social responsibility message (despite it being a fantasy), I love the children being so close to their grandfather and the multi-generational family, and, once again, I liked the food, huge and outlandish and out of place, though the premise here is not as funny as the first book’s and it’s also no longer so unique. Also, this book does not really work perfectly as a standalone book; it’s definitely a sequel. However, as long as readers’ expectations are not too high, if they’ve enjoyed the first book, I think they’ll be interested to see what happens next.
December 6, 2024
this book made me hungry
February 12, 2010
Pickles to Pittsburgh is a book intended for children in kindergarten through second grade. This book is the sequel to Cloudy With a Chance of Meatballs. In this story, grandpa goes on vacation, and his grandchildren dream that he went back to the town of Chewandswallow. In their dream, it snows popcorn and mash potatoes, and rains sandwiches and orange juice. This falling food in then shipped to hungry people and needy counties all over the world. When grandpa returns, he shows his grandchildren pictures and they wonder whether their dreams were really reality.
This book is filled with some imagination, but it is not as magical, interesting, and enjoyable as the first book. In addition, without reading the first book, the reader would be quite confused since it does a poor job of summarizing the first book and starting where the last book ended. However, the book does provide a nice solution to end world hunger. The illustrations, design, and layout of the book are wonderful, and have a comic book feel. This book can be used to jumpstart students’ imagination before writing and is a good example of fantasy as opposed to reality. This book sends a good message to students who want to give back, but is not as imaginative, magical, or exciting as the first book, which may leave students feeling disappointed.
This book is filled with some imagination, but it is not as magical, interesting, and enjoyable as the first book. In addition, without reading the first book, the reader would be quite confused since it does a poor job of summarizing the first book and starting where the last book ended. However, the book does provide a nice solution to end world hunger. The illustrations, design, and layout of the book are wonderful, and have a comic book feel. This book can be used to jumpstart students’ imagination before writing and is a good example of fantasy as opposed to reality. This book sends a good message to students who want to give back, but is not as imaginative, magical, or exciting as the first book, which may leave students feeling disappointed.
March 27, 2008
A disappointing sequel to the great hit, Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs. I was not impressed, but I like the effort to revive the story.
May 25, 2025
Pickles to Pittsburg (Updated)
Grandpa writes Kate and Henry a letter that says he’s having the best vacation ever, but doesn’t get much rest. He really wishes they were there. His group travels around in a big blue bus and it can somehow travel up bumpy mountains and around giant plants. They’ve visited unusual places and meet the locals and helped them with chorse. He says he’s taking lots of pictures because the place is unbelievable! He says he can’t wait to see them next Thursday.
Henry and Kate are really missing their granddad. To pass the time, they help their mom make spaghetti and meatballs. Only the meatballs turn out huge. To huge to even fit in the book and she asks that next time they make them smaller. After dinner, Henry and Kate make a special cake that looks like Grandpa’s face. It’s chocolate with strawberry icing. (The cake is round. The hair is made out of coconut flakes. The nose is a cupcake. The eyes are cookies with candies and so are the ears. There are swirls for the mustache, chin, cheeks, and smile),
Kare puts the postcard by her bed and keeps staring at it in wonder. Then she drifts off. Kate has “a dream” that she and Henry have flown to an island where underneath them they can see big vegetables, salads, and deserts. The mountains resemble loaves. A huge hamburger bun is about to hit the plane and out the window are smaller hamburgers. There’s a landing of bacon strips.
When they get off the plane, their greeted by larger than life vegetables, a lake that smells like breakfast, and a forest of lettuce (that looks like a tossed salad). The lake has fish swimming in it and bread slices and sunny side up eggs floating on the surface. Frogs jump from slice to slice. One of the frogs has an egg as a hat. One, with a sunny–side–up egg covering his face, is doing a back flip from the back of another frog that, with his long tongue, is taking a pat of butter from a nearby piece of bread.
Henry and Kate try to keep their balance as they walk around the top of a giant bagel and past a forest of carrots. There’s a stream of alphabet soup. As they walk down a two-lane road, they’re surrounded by broccoli stalk trees, chocolate chip cookies, a wedge of apple pie, a wedge of rasberry cheesecake, a wedge of two-layer white cake with chocolate frosting, a wedge of two-layer chocolate birthday cake with brown and white frosting and Happy Birth . . . written on it, and a rectangular piece of three-layer yellow cake with chocolate frosting. In the distance, pieces of popcorn are falling. Above them, there are birds nesting in shredded wheat biscuits being feed mustard hot dog pieces by their mother.
In front of them looks like a abandoned town and they walk toward it. Orange juice rain starts to fall and is collected in lined up jars on the street. All of a sudden they see a tun fish sandwich being carried in a sling by a helicopter. A little ways away another helicopter carries a jumbo pickle. When they reach the town, they see a sign welcoming them to ChewandSwallow. It’s covered by spaghetti stands. Hot dogs are falling onto the sidewalk. Sunny–side–up eggs are floating down from the sky.
They walk through the town amazed at what they see. There’s a convertible with a large meatball sitting in it. A little further down the street are a couple of very large round waffles, one on its side, the other flat on the street. Syrup is oozing out onto the street from under the latter. Blocking the street ahead of the car is a large piece of custard pie. On the roof of a house on the corner are large slices of cucumber. The brick chimney of the house rises through the hole of a frosted doughnut which has fallen onto it.
A meatball has fallen on the street and cracked it. The roof of KATES GIFT SHOP has been caved in by a huge turkey. A third waffle lies on the roof of a building behind KATHY’S, and on the roof of the barbershop next to KATHY’S is a large hamburger. Pimento-stuffed green olives have fallen, one to the sidewalk in front of the barbershop, the other onto an awning over the door. A piece of fruitcake has cracked the sidewalk in front of the stores.
On the other side of Main Street, a couple of meatballs are stuck in syrup on the sidewalk in front of DanDee cleaners and step–in–style SHOES, and the street lamp is bent over from the weight of the spaghetti strands hanging from it. Short pasta noodles lie on the top of the shoe store and a gigantic piece of cherry pie droops from the roof of the MULTIPLEX theater, spilling cherries onto theater’s marquee. A vanilla ice cream cone has landed upside down on the roof of Gigi’s, the store next to the theater.
Further down Main street is another road on the other side of which are houses and a church, several of which have upside-down vanilla ice cream cones on their roofs or in their yards. It’s raining short curved pasta. Up ahead, lots of workers wearing helmets and dressed in matching uniforms are loading huge potatoes onto a truck. Other trucks hold artichokes, enormous eggplants, and massive peas and carrots. Foot–long veal cutlets are stacked up to be packed for shipping. Sandwiches rain down to the east and they see a freighter packed with a variety of sandwiches to be shipped (cheese and lettuce, peanut butter, hot dogs in buns, and hamburgers in buns. There’s a workman reading a schedule
SHIPPING SCHEDULE
Monday
eggplants to Ecuador
Chili to Chile
Milk to Milkwaukee
Hamburgers to Hamburg
Tuesday
Pickles to Pittsburgh
Pears to Paris
Artichokes to Argentina
Sandwiches to Sandusky
One of the workers tell them the story of what happened to the small town of ChewnSwallow and how some people decided one day to come back and start the company FALLING FOODS. As soon as food lands it’s packaged, boxed, bottled and shipped out. They think it’s a great idea and wish they could stay there and work for the company. Only they probably don’t hire kids. The workers give them a two-inch cookie to take back.
Grandpa comes back on Thursday and has a present for Henry and Kate (a two-inch chocolate chip cookie). They have spaghetti and meatballs for dinner and the special cake. That night they tell him their “tall tale” and Grandpa gets this glint in his eyes and says wait until they see the pictures.
My Thoughts:
I did love the idea behind this one! What an amazing concept to create a company that sends the food to places (and people) that need it to eliminate poverty! On this read, the version of the book I had really didn’t have the illustrations but the descriptions were *so* thorough -as a part of the book- that I didn’t have any problem visualizing what I was reading. I did write on the original summary I did that the illustrations were just as charming as in “Cloudy With A Chance Of Meatballs”. I don’t know why I may have to rewatch the movies but the description of the jungles and the lettuce trees reminded me vaguely of something I may have seen in one of the adaptations.
Rating: 8
Grandpa writes Kate and Henry a letter that says he’s having the best vacation ever, but doesn’t get much rest. He really wishes they were there. His group travels around in a big blue bus and it can somehow travel up bumpy mountains and around giant plants. They’ve visited unusual places and meet the locals and helped them with chorse. He says he’s taking lots of pictures because the place is unbelievable! He says he can’t wait to see them next Thursday.
Henry and Kate are really missing their granddad. To pass the time, they help their mom make spaghetti and meatballs. Only the meatballs turn out huge. To huge to even fit in the book and she asks that next time they make them smaller. After dinner, Henry and Kate make a special cake that looks like Grandpa’s face. It’s chocolate with strawberry icing. (The cake is round. The hair is made out of coconut flakes. The nose is a cupcake. The eyes are cookies with candies and so are the ears. There are swirls for the mustache, chin, cheeks, and smile),
Kare puts the postcard by her bed and keeps staring at it in wonder. Then she drifts off. Kate has “a dream” that she and Henry have flown to an island where underneath them they can see big vegetables, salads, and deserts. The mountains resemble loaves. A huge hamburger bun is about to hit the plane and out the window are smaller hamburgers. There’s a landing of bacon strips.
When they get off the plane, their greeted by larger than life vegetables, a lake that smells like breakfast, and a forest of lettuce (that looks like a tossed salad). The lake has fish swimming in it and bread slices and sunny side up eggs floating on the surface. Frogs jump from slice to slice. One of the frogs has an egg as a hat. One, with a sunny–side–up egg covering his face, is doing a back flip from the back of another frog that, with his long tongue, is taking a pat of butter from a nearby piece of bread.
Henry and Kate try to keep their balance as they walk around the top of a giant bagel and past a forest of carrots. There’s a stream of alphabet soup. As they walk down a two-lane road, they’re surrounded by broccoli stalk trees, chocolate chip cookies, a wedge of apple pie, a wedge of rasberry cheesecake, a wedge of two-layer white cake with chocolate frosting, a wedge of two-layer chocolate birthday cake with brown and white frosting and Happy Birth . . . written on it, and a rectangular piece of three-layer yellow cake with chocolate frosting. In the distance, pieces of popcorn are falling. Above them, there are birds nesting in shredded wheat biscuits being feed mustard hot dog pieces by their mother.
In front of them looks like a abandoned town and they walk toward it. Orange juice rain starts to fall and is collected in lined up jars on the street. All of a sudden they see a tun fish sandwich being carried in a sling by a helicopter. A little ways away another helicopter carries a jumbo pickle. When they reach the town, they see a sign welcoming them to ChewandSwallow. It’s covered by spaghetti stands. Hot dogs are falling onto the sidewalk. Sunny–side–up eggs are floating down from the sky.
They walk through the town amazed at what they see. There’s a convertible with a large meatball sitting in it. A little further down the street are a couple of very large round waffles, one on its side, the other flat on the street. Syrup is oozing out onto the street from under the latter. Blocking the street ahead of the car is a large piece of custard pie. On the roof of a house on the corner are large slices of cucumber. The brick chimney of the house rises through the hole of a frosted doughnut which has fallen onto it.
A meatball has fallen on the street and cracked it. The roof of KATES GIFT SHOP has been caved in by a huge turkey. A third waffle lies on the roof of a building behind KATHY’S, and on the roof of the barbershop next to KATHY’S is a large hamburger. Pimento-stuffed green olives have fallen, one to the sidewalk in front of the barbershop, the other onto an awning over the door. A piece of fruitcake has cracked the sidewalk in front of the stores.
On the other side of Main Street, a couple of meatballs are stuck in syrup on the sidewalk in front of DanDee cleaners and step–in–style SHOES, and the street lamp is bent over from the weight of the spaghetti strands hanging from it. Short pasta noodles lie on the top of the shoe store and a gigantic piece of cherry pie droops from the roof of the MULTIPLEX theater, spilling cherries onto theater’s marquee. A vanilla ice cream cone has landed upside down on the roof of Gigi’s, the store next to the theater.
Further down Main street is another road on the other side of which are houses and a church, several of which have upside-down vanilla ice cream cones on their roofs or in their yards. It’s raining short curved pasta. Up ahead, lots of workers wearing helmets and dressed in matching uniforms are loading huge potatoes onto a truck. Other trucks hold artichokes, enormous eggplants, and massive peas and carrots. Foot–long veal cutlets are stacked up to be packed for shipping. Sandwiches rain down to the east and they see a freighter packed with a variety of sandwiches to be shipped (cheese and lettuce, peanut butter, hot dogs in buns, and hamburgers in buns. There’s a workman reading a schedule
SHIPPING SCHEDULE
Monday
eggplants to Ecuador
Chili to Chile
Milk to Milkwaukee
Hamburgers to Hamburg
Tuesday
Pickles to Pittsburgh
Pears to Paris
Artichokes to Argentina
Sandwiches to Sandusky
One of the workers tell them the story of what happened to the small town of ChewnSwallow and how some people decided one day to come back and start the company FALLING FOODS. As soon as food lands it’s packaged, boxed, bottled and shipped out. They think it’s a great idea and wish they could stay there and work for the company. Only they probably don’t hire kids. The workers give them a two-inch cookie to take back.
Grandpa comes back on Thursday and has a present for Henry and Kate (a two-inch chocolate chip cookie). They have spaghetti and meatballs for dinner and the special cake. That night they tell him their “tall tale” and Grandpa gets this glint in his eyes and says wait until they see the pictures.
My Thoughts:
I did love the idea behind this one! What an amazing concept to create a company that sends the food to places (and people) that need it to eliminate poverty! On this read, the version of the book I had really didn’t have the illustrations but the descriptions were *so* thorough -as a part of the book- that I didn’t have any problem visualizing what I was reading. I did write on the original summary I did that the illustrations were just as charming as in “Cloudy With A Chance Of Meatballs”. I don’t know why I may have to rewatch the movies but the description of the jungles and the lettuce trees reminded me vaguely of something I may have seen in one of the adaptations.
Rating: 8
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
October 13, 2013
Pickles to Pittsburgh (1997)
Picture Book
Format: Book
Plot summary: Dozing off while contemplating Grandpa's unusual vacation, Kate dreams about Chewandswallow, where it snows popcorn and rains sandwiches, and the fate of the falling food intrigues her.
No special considerations.
Review citation (if available): Bateman, Teresa. School Library Journal. January 2010.
Section source used to find the material: School Library journal review
Recommended age: Pre-K to 2nd grade
Picture Book
Format: Book
Plot summary: Dozing off while contemplating Grandpa's unusual vacation, Kate dreams about Chewandswallow, where it snows popcorn and rains sandwiches, and the fate of the falling food intrigues her.
No special considerations.
Review citation (if available): Bateman, Teresa. School Library Journal. January 2010.
Section source used to find the material: School Library journal review
Recommended age: Pre-K to 2nd grade
November 6, 2017
I feel as if this book would have been better had the bar not been set so high with CLOUDY WITH A CHANCE OF MEATBALLS. The illustrations were fun and surreal, but the magic seemed to be missing from the text. The intended audience, kids, will probably still enjoy it though.
I was disappointed to see that the illustrator, if his short bio at the book's conclusion is correct, seems to have given up his vegetarianism since the publication of CLOUDY.
I was disappointed to see that the illustrator, if his short bio at the book's conclusion is correct, seems to have given up his vegetarianism since the publication of CLOUDY.
September 27, 2018
Ages: 5 - 9
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**Like my reviews? I also have hundreds of detailed reports that I offer too. These reports give a complete break-down of everything in the book, so you'll know just how clean it is or isn't. I also have Clean Guides (downloadable PDFs) which enable you to clean up your book before reading it!
Visit my website!
Read
November 19, 2019… Surrounded by milky blue skies and Henry as my copilot, we carefully steer our plane through Lauren‘s puffs of mist.
The grandkids return to Chewandswallow
November 15, 2022
It was all a dream . . . or was it?
That's all you need to know about this tripe.
That's all you need to know about this tripe.
Read
January 28, 2014I love Cloudy With a Chance of Meatballs, and I have never read this book, which is the sequel, and I was drawn to it. The book was a lot like the first book, full of great descriptions and great pictures that match the text. In fact, I loved both of these books because the descriptions are really great. Each food item has great descriptors including colors, textures, sizes, and even how they taste.
The illustrations match the text, which creates a better feel for the story. Specifically, the pictures match the words that describe the foods and so much more. Students could easily spend a lot of time on each page observing the types of things that were happening in teach picture throughout the city.
I was probably most drawn to the creativity of the author for this book. Just like the first one, it is a fun and creative idea filled with foods and descriptive words that children would find entertaining. Also, this is a book that sparks imagination in any child.
I read children's books differently now, thinking of how I can use each book in the classroom. With this book, I would love to do a unit on descriptive writing. There are a ton of books that would be great for descriptive writing, and this one is included in that. Children can write about all the food they see on each page, specifically on page 13. This page shows the entire town covered in various foods from the recent weather. The amount of material children would have to write about would be endless. Using descriptive words to describe this town, each child would have a great piece of descriptive writing.
Spinning off of descriptive writing, this is a great book just to expand the imagination of a child. It is fun and extremely creative! I recommend this book to any parent for reading enjoyment for their children, but I also recommend this book to any teacher teaching descriptive writing.
The illustrations match the text, which creates a better feel for the story. Specifically, the pictures match the words that describe the foods and so much more. Students could easily spend a lot of time on each page observing the types of things that were happening in teach picture throughout the city.
I was probably most drawn to the creativity of the author for this book. Just like the first one, it is a fun and creative idea filled with foods and descriptive words that children would find entertaining. Also, this is a book that sparks imagination in any child.
I read children's books differently now, thinking of how I can use each book in the classroom. With this book, I would love to do a unit on descriptive writing. There are a ton of books that would be great for descriptive writing, and this one is included in that. Children can write about all the food they see on each page, specifically on page 13. This page shows the entire town covered in various foods from the recent weather. The amount of material children would have to write about would be endless. Using descriptive words to describe this town, each child would have a great piece of descriptive writing.
Spinning off of descriptive writing, this is a great book just to expand the imagination of a child. It is fun and extremely creative! I recommend this book to any parent for reading enjoyment for their children, but I also recommend this book to any teacher teaching descriptive writing.
June 16, 2015
When I picked up Cloudy With a Chance of Meatballs at the library (which I had never read), I was surprised to discover that there was a lesser-known sequel on the shelf next to it. Published almost twenty years after the first book, Pickles to Pittsburgh tells of the two kids from the first book, and their dream-like journey back to the island of Chewandswallow, where they witness the changes that have taken place after the people were forced by destructive edible weather to vacate their homes.
This book is in some ways an exact repeat of the first book, which makes it seem completely unnecessary. There are a few new elements which were kind of fun, but overall, I feel like it just the story just didn't need to continue. It was nice to see that there was some use for the enormous food that continued to fall, since the whole thing seemed so wasteful in the first book! It's sad to me that this even crossed my mind, but it almost seemed to have a political slant, dealing with issues like international politics and poverty in underdeveloped countries, but that's a pretty oblique deal overall. Again, the illustrations were sometimes jarring (in the bookends with the main characters) and sometimes amusing (in the pages of the actual story of Chewandswallow), and the story was quite simple, but it was an all right read. I kind of just wished the author had done something a little more interesting with this unique concept.
Overall, it seems like this lesser-known sequel to Cloudy With a Chance of Meatballs is kind of superfluous, but it was quick and painless, and would probably amuse young fans of the first book.
This book is in some ways an exact repeat of the first book, which makes it seem completely unnecessary. There are a few new elements which were kind of fun, but overall, I feel like it just the story just didn't need to continue. It was nice to see that there was some use for the enormous food that continued to fall, since the whole thing seemed so wasteful in the first book! It's sad to me that this even crossed my mind, but it almost seemed to have a political slant, dealing with issues like international politics and poverty in underdeveloped countries, but that's a pretty oblique deal overall. Again, the illustrations were sometimes jarring (in the bookends with the main characters) and sometimes amusing (in the pages of the actual story of Chewandswallow), and the story was quite simple, but it was an all right read. I kind of just wished the author had done something a little more interesting with this unique concept.
Overall, it seems like this lesser-known sequel to Cloudy With a Chance of Meatballs is kind of superfluous, but it was quick and painless, and would probably amuse young fans of the first book.
September 2, 2016
As the sequel to one of my absolute favorite kids' books, Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs, Pickles to Pittsburgh has a lot to live up to in my library. If you're unfamiliar with the original story, the first book is about a fantastical town called Chewandswallow. Kate and Henry's grandfather tells them what they believe to be a tall tale about this ordinary little town with a main street where the weather patterns are made of food. Orange juice and other beverages rain down from the sky, snow is made of popcorn, and the sunrise resembles butter melting over soft hills of mashed potatoes. Pretty awesome, right? Unfortunately, Pickles to Pittsburgh doesn't recapture the magic of the original tale.
Pickles to Pittsburgh again features Kate and Henry, whose grandfather is on vacation. While they anxiously await his return, Kate dreams about returning to Chewandswallow. Through her dream, we learn what's become of Chewandswallow since the townspeople evacuated it after finding they couldn't weather massive storms of giant hamburgers and other over-sized snacks in her grandfather's tall tale.
In the end the book was just "ok." I was happy to revisit Chewandswallow, and the illustrations of giant popcorn clouds and airlifted pickles are still fun, but it lacked an engaging storyline to carry the book and match the original's whimsy. I'd re-read Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs instead the next time I want to imagine what it would be like to land an airplane onto a runway made of bacon.
Pickles to Pittsburgh again features Kate and Henry, whose grandfather is on vacation. While they anxiously await his return, Kate dreams about returning to Chewandswallow. Through her dream, we learn what's become of Chewandswallow since the townspeople evacuated it after finding they couldn't weather massive storms of giant hamburgers and other over-sized snacks in her grandfather's tall tale.
In the end the book was just "ok." I was happy to revisit Chewandswallow, and the illustrations of giant popcorn clouds and airlifted pickles are still fun, but it lacked an engaging storyline to carry the book and match the original's whimsy. I'd re-read Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs instead the next time I want to imagine what it would be like to land an airplane onto a runway made of bacon.
April 18, 2011
Judi Barrett, Pickles to Pittsburgh (Atheneum, 1997)
Almost twenty years after the original, there was finally a sequel to Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs. Unsurprisingly, it's not quite as good as the original. Much of the whimsy has disappeared from the concept, though one can't fault the direction the story takes; I'm sure the question popped up every time Judi Barrett took the Meatballs show on the road: “why don't the people of Chewandswallow use all that food to feed the hungry kids in [fill in the blank]?” And that's exactly what we get here; Kate and Henry, our protagonists from the original, find themselves back in Chewandswallow in a dream Kate has. This time, the town has turned its food-based weather into a thriving export industry, sending its bounty around the world to feed the hungry and end drought. Quite civic-minded, and to be honest, a little boring. What saves it from obscurity is Ron Barrett's faithfulness to the artwork of the original; you'd never know nineteen years passed between book A and book B, and the two can be read together without any sort of jarring when you cross between them, thanks to the artwork's similarity. If you've read the first, you'll eventually come to this one, though I doubt you'll be tempted to revisit it as often. ***
Almost twenty years after the original, there was finally a sequel to Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs. Unsurprisingly, it's not quite as good as the original. Much of the whimsy has disappeared from the concept, though one can't fault the direction the story takes; I'm sure the question popped up every time Judi Barrett took the Meatballs show on the road: “why don't the people of Chewandswallow use all that food to feed the hungry kids in [fill in the blank]?” And that's exactly what we get here; Kate and Henry, our protagonists from the original, find themselves back in Chewandswallow in a dream Kate has. This time, the town has turned its food-based weather into a thriving export industry, sending its bounty around the world to feed the hungry and end drought. Quite civic-minded, and to be honest, a little boring. What saves it from obscurity is Ron Barrett's faithfulness to the artwork of the original; you'd never know nineteen years passed between book A and book B, and the two can be read together without any sort of jarring when you cross between them, thanks to the artwork's similarity. If you've read the first, you'll eventually come to this one, though I doubt you'll be tempted to revisit it as often. ***
October 24, 2012
Pickles to Pittsburgh by Judi Barrett is is the sequel to Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs.
Food continues to rain down in Chewandswallow. It's gotten larger and larger and more out of control. Now that the residents have evacuated they have to decide what to do with their weather problem.
Rather than see this over-sized food as a problem (as it is in the movie adaptation of Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs), the food is seen as a blessing. There's a chance to share the bounty, hence the Pickles to Pittsburgh.
As I mentioned in my review of the first book, the artwork, while retro feeling, did provide much of the artistic inspiration for the film. That holds true for the sequel. As the food here is naturally occurring, it's seen as a natural resource.
If you read the book with a child who has seen the movie, take a chance to talk about how it's similar and different. They will recognize many of the scenes from the second half of the movie but they might be surprised at how differently these scenes are described in the book.
Four stars
Food continues to rain down in Chewandswallow. It's gotten larger and larger and more out of control. Now that the residents have evacuated they have to decide what to do with their weather problem.
Rather than see this over-sized food as a problem (as it is in the movie adaptation of Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs), the food is seen as a blessing. There's a chance to share the bounty, hence the Pickles to Pittsburgh.
As I mentioned in my review of the first book, the artwork, while retro feeling, did provide much of the artistic inspiration for the film. That holds true for the sequel. As the food here is naturally occurring, it's seen as a natural resource.
If you read the book with a child who has seen the movie, take a chance to talk about how it's similar and different. They will recognize many of the scenes from the second half of the movie but they might be surprised at how differently these scenes are described in the book.
Four stars
May 4, 2015
This book is everything you loved about Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs but supersized! and I do mean literally! All of the food you loved to watch falling from the sky now still falls down but in super sized fashion. All of the food is bigger than life and so is this story. It is the perfect circle story that will bring a smile to your face. The journey the kids start comes back to them at the end when they visit their dear old grandfather.
I highly recommend this book to kids, especially if you loved the first one. The illustrations are classic and very descriptive without using any words! The text box makes it easy to find the read the words without getting lost in the chaos of the pictures. The frames around the drawings box the illustrations up like a little boy around a present, which is exactly what they are, a gift to the reader!
I highly recommend this book to kids, especially if you loved the first one. The illustrations are classic and very descriptive without using any words! The text box makes it easy to find the read the words without getting lost in the chaos of the pictures. The frames around the drawings box the illustrations up like a little boy around a present, which is exactly what they are, a gift to the reader!
April 12, 2018
Had no idea this book existed until I read Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs. On Goodreads here, you can view the other books in the series, and that's how I found out about Pickles to Pittsburgh. Entertaining book! Judi Barrett, the author, once again brings us to a place called Chewandswallow, a land where food is being rained down upon the civilians, where trees are broccoli, where mountains are made of large loaves of bread, and more. Great for the imagination! But the food must be spread throughout the world, and the Falling Food Company does just that. They send pickles to Pittsburgh, eggplants to Ecuador, and chili to Chile. The overabundance of food is now organized and shared. The illustrations in Pickles to Pittsburgh were fun to look at, with so much to look at in every page. Do I recommend the book? Yes!
May 20, 2018
This book is a sequel to Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs which I enjoyed. However, I was not fond of this book. The story is about two kids, Henry and Kate that received a post card from their grandpa while he was on vacation. Eagerly awaiting his return, Kate and Henry prepare for him to come home by baking him a cake. The night before grandpa comes home, Kate reads the postcard before she goes to bed and then has a dream about traveling through the town of Chewandswallow. On their journey, Kate and Henry encounter mountains of bread, a jungle of lettuce, a forest of carrots and bagels, and many other strange things. While the pictures are beautifully sketched, I was bored while reading this book and couldn't wait for it to end. I feel a sequel was not necessary as Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs is a classic.
March 5, 2019
A fine and quick read. I enjoyed the message about social responsibility. Never too soon to begin teaching children about their responsibility to the world and others.
The world of Chewandswallow with the popcorn snow and a lake that smells like breakfast and food rain was quite the dream and a bit of a nod to Willie Wonka, no?
I think what I liked most about Barrett's work was the illustrations. They were great but gave an illusion that this was a mere children's book, and while it is I found the text on each page to be substantial. This is one of the best ways to get the young reader reading a bit more -- I imagine they don't even realize they are doing it as the illustrations draw them in.
A cute little story that would be a great start to a lesson about social responsibility.
The world of Chewandswallow with the popcorn snow and a lake that smells like breakfast and food rain was quite the dream and a bit of a nod to Willie Wonka, no?
I think what I liked most about Barrett's work was the illustrations. They were great but gave an illusion that this was a mere children's book, and while it is I found the text on each page to be substantial. This is one of the best ways to get the young reader reading a bit more -- I imagine they don't even realize they are doing it as the illustrations draw them in.
A cute little story that would be a great start to a lesson about social responsibility.
June 23, 2015
In this sequel to Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs, Kate and Henry can't wait for their grandfather to return. They even make him a special cake for his welcome home.
The next before his return, Kate and Henry fall asleep while staring at a post card from their grandfather. In their dreams, they find a town filled with giant food and explore it.
I liked this as much as the first book. I think it was a enjoyable read and those who liked the first book will probably like this one too.
The next before his return, Kate and Henry fall asleep while staring at a post card from their grandfather. In their dreams, they find a town filled with giant food and explore it.
I liked this as much as the first book. I think it was a enjoyable read and those who liked the first book will probably like this one too.
May 16, 2017
This sequel to Cloudy With a Chance of Meatballs makes a visit to the legendary city of Chewandswallow. The townspeople have figured out what to do with the copious amounts of food that have fallen from the sky. The generosity of the town will be heartwarming to young readers who are learning to be mindful about waste. The artwork is very similar to the drawings in the first book: larger than life servings of every imaginable food piling up on the streets of Chewandswallow. It's a fun follow-up, but the original book is still the best.
January 23, 2018
I like how this sequel focused on sharing abundance. Where is there abundance, where isn't there abundance, and how do we all work together toward supporting needs...that can lead to a great PBL project. :-) It also can lead toward a discussion on the needs of living things. I also appreciate how inventive this series is. I think it is important to connection the creativity found within writing with the concept of invention found in science. It would have help my younger writing self, see myself as also having a science self.
August 9, 2009
I had big hopes for this one, but maybe I should've reread Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs right before reading it, because it seemed like it lacked explanation. The ending of the story was positive and a great dream, but the setup seemed stretched thin and like I had missed something fundamental. If I reread the previous book, maybe I'll kick myself for being so hard on it, but on its own, it wasn't my favorite and I can't imagine it was any more fun for my preschooler.
February 19, 2014
found out recently that there was a sequel published in 1997 to CWACOM's which was published in 1978. I had read CWACOM's in the early 2000's when my daughter was little and again a few years ago with my son, now age 9. never knew about the sequel. Just read it with my son. I didn't like it as much as the first book, and like others have said, found it repetitive of the 1st book. The plots is basically just telling you what happened in the same town after the 1st book ended.
October 30, 2019
I love the subtle message of helping others and doing what we can to help and feed those in need. That's a beautiful message.
November 1, 2023
Children's Picture Book
Sequel to Cloudy With A Chance of Meatballs.
The storytelling siblings in this story return to the quaint little island town of Chew-and-Swallow for the aftermath of Cloudy With A Chance of Meatballs!
Sequel to Cloudy With A Chance of Meatballs.
The storytelling siblings in this story return to the quaint little island town of Chew-and-Swallow for the aftermath of Cloudy With A Chance of Meatballs!
June 14, 2020
I enjoyed this book, but it's not nearly as good as the original. And if you haven't read the first book, this one won't really make any sense.
September 10, 2024
No mention of Pittsburgh.
One mention of pickles.
The sequel nobody asked for.
One mention of pickles.
The sequel nobody asked for.
May 23, 2020
It was a pretty good sequel!
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