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Pizza!: A Slice of History

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From Geisel Award-winning author Greg Pizzoli comes a hilarious and mouth-watering history of pizza.

Do YOU like PIZZA? Because right now, somewhere in the world, someone is eating it. Did you know that in the United States we eat 350 slices of pizza every second? Or that in Sweden they serve pizza with bananas and peanuts? All over the world, people love pizza—but where did it come from? And who made the first pizza?

Join award-winning author and illustrator Greg Pizzoli as he travels through time and around the globe to discover the mouth-watering history of pizza. Bursting with color, flavor, fun facts, and a family-friendly English muffin pizza recipe, Pizza! : A Slice of History reveals the delicious story of the world's best food.

56 pages, Hardcover

First published August 9, 2022

7 people are currently reading
382 people want to read

About the author

Greg Pizzoli

74 books169 followers
Greg Pizzoli is the author and illustrator of The Watermelon Seed, winner of the Theodor Seuss Geisel Award, Number One Sam, Templeton Gets His Wish, Tricky Vic: The Impossibly True Story of the Man Who Sold the Eiffel Tower, and coming in April 2016, Good Night Owl. He lives in Philadelphia.

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5 stars
366 (39%)
4 stars
444 (47%)
3 stars
113 (12%)
2 stars
9 (<1%)
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2 (<1%)
Displaying 1 - 30 of 163 reviews
Profile Image for Matal “The Mischling Princess” Baker.
508 reviews28 followers
December 9, 2022
It’s truly amazing the things that adults can learn from children’s picture books. After reading Greg Pizzoli’s PIZZA!: A SLICE OF HISTORY, I discovered that Hawaiian Pizza was actually created in Canada. Who’da thunk?

This PB was adorable. I don’t think I’ve ever met anybody who didn’t like pizza, and I don’t doubt that they would love this book as well. The story gives children bits of culinary history in small, manageable chunks. I recommend this book to all pizza-loving kids you might know!
Profile Image for Cris.
2,304 reviews26 followers
April 27, 2023
Pizza!: A Slice of History

I thought I knew everything about pizza, but I learned so much! I know I’m picky about my food but I don’t think I want to try the pizzas from other countries.
Profile Image for Brittany.
2,662 reviews4 followers
January 7, 2024
I read this book as an adult reader for the AR Diamond Book Award. This book is written by an amazing author and he did such a wonderful job on this book. I read it with my daughter (a pizza lover) and she enjoyed every page. We learned about the origin of the pizza and how different countries around the world prefer their pizza. It's just a fun, easy to read book about a food we all love!
Profile Image for Binxie.
894 reviews3 followers
August 18, 2022
This book is so much fun! the limited colors of the illustrations give it an old time feel. And, the history of pizza is fascinating. This is sure to be a hit with mystery readers in the coming year.
Profile Image for Mary.
3,641 reviews10 followers
November 24, 2022
An entertaining introduction to the history of pizza that tells of its Italian origin, its immigration to the United States, and the different ingredients used in pizzas around the world. This fun picture book will pair well with Lotta Nieminen's Pizza! An Interactive Recipe.
Profile Image for Emily.
1,704 reviews13 followers
March 23, 2023
A very simple nonfiction title on the history of pizza. Lots of fun illustrations and occasional asides add humor and interest.
Profile Image for Ann Haefele.
1,630 reviews22 followers
March 27, 2023
Fun facts about pizza and it’s history, with humor. Not too many words on a page, with large text, makes it accessible for young readers.
Profile Image for Ro.
391 reviews1 follower
January 30, 2024
This made me afraid to try new pizza from other countries without knowing what's on it.
Profile Image for Karol.
839 reviews20 followers
October 22, 2022
I love PIZZA.
I want to do a pizza tour. The differences in the pizzas from around the world and the states is yummy deliciously interesting.
I’ve had California and Chicago pizzas. I’ve eaten New York and Detroit style pizzas. Costa Rica and Sweden and Brazil pizza sound good to me.
Profile Image for Danielle Booey.
1,241 reviews13 followers
December 2, 2022
A winner of a nonfiction picture book. The 3rd graders really enjoyed this one. Not sure about that California pizza style that is mentioned. That might be fake news. But the rest of the book sparked a lot of fun comments and discussion.
Profile Image for Srujan.
477 reviews62 followers
May 25, 2025
Simplifying the history and background of pizza into slices palatable to 4-7-year-olds. Cute illustrations too. It won't be path-breaking to an adult, but little foodies will like it, I feel. :)
Profile Image for Angie.
166 reviews
February 6, 2023
Picture book for school-age students. Possibly a hit with 3rd graders, I know I loved it (I’m forever a 3rd grader at heart)!
Profile Image for Preetam Chatterjee.
7,287 reviews395 followers
October 10, 2025
Greg Pizzoli’s Pizza!: A Slice of History is one of those books that walks into your reading life like a warm, cheesy smell from the kitchen—instantly familiar, comforting, but with a hint of surprise. On the surface, it’s a children’s picture book about everyone’s favourite food, but beneath the bright colors and cartoon humor lies a surprisingly thoughtful meditation on history, culture, and the way the simplest things connect people across time and space. It’s the kind of book that manages to feel both silly and smart, which, let’s be honest, is a pretty rare crust to balance everything on.

Pizzoli writes and illustrates his own work, which gives the book that rare unity of tone—text and image feel like they’re winking at each other constantly. He begins by tracing the murky origins of pizza, not with boring historical certainty, but with a storyteller’s shrug.

Maybe it was the ancient Greeks, maybe the Persians, or maybe the people of Naples who got the recipe just right. His recurring use of “maybe” and “possibly” is disarmingly honest—it teaches young readers that history is sometimes deliciously uncertain. The story of Raffaele Esposito and Queen Margherita gets a lively retelling, complete with a dash of myth-making, but Pizzoli’s real strength lies in his ability to make that story less about royal approval and more about how food evolves through people, through need, and through pure curiosity.

The illustrations pop like a wood-fired oven. Reds, greens, and yellows—the entire colour palette seems inspired by the pizza itself: tomato, basil, cheese, and crust. It’s bold and consistent, and Pizzoli’s linework is clean but playful. His pizza rat character—equal parts guide, comic relief, and chaos—is the perfect device to carry children through time. There’s humour in every frame: Roman emperors nibbling on proto-pizzas, American soldiers discovering Naples’ finest slices, and pizza boxes stacked like architectural wonders. The humour isn’t random, though—it’s situational, and it keeps the facts light enough to float. You can tell Pizzoli respects the intelligence of his audience. He assumes kids will get the joke, and they do.

What makes this book shine is the way it tells a global story through a local dish. Once pizza leaves Italy, it becomes a shapeshifter. There’s New York thin crust, Chicago deep dish, Brazilian pizza with peas, and Japanese pizza with mayonnaise and corn. Pizzoli’s treatment of this culinary diaspora is largely celebratory—he shows that every culture takes a dish and makes it their own, which, in a subtle way, mirrors the larger story of migration and adaptation. Food becomes a record of movement, trade, and imagination. For young readers, that’s a beautiful, subconscious lesson about diversity. For adults, it’s a reminder that globalisation isn’t just about economics; it’s about what’s on your plate.

Of course, as with most children’s nonfiction, the book has limits. Its simplicity is part of its charm, but also its ceiling. The pacing follows a fairly predictable path: origins, spread, modern-day varieties, and a final recipe for mini English muffin pizzas. It’s a neat ending, but older readers might crave a little more flavour—perhaps some back matter with timelines, maps, or fun pizza trivia beyond the main narrative. Pizzoli could have leaned a bit more into the human stories behind those global adaptations: who were the immigrants who opened the first pizza joints in New York? How did pizza parlours become community hubs? But then again, that’s adult criticism of a children’s joy.

The book’s tone is another thing worth celebrating. It’s conversational without dumbing down, funny without becoming slapstick, and it acknowledges what it doesn’t know. That intellectual honesty is refreshing in a genre that often tries too hard to sound definitive. You can sense Pizzoli’s genuine affection for the subject—this isn’t a cynical “food book for kids”. It’s made with love, the way a pizza should be. Each page feels seasoned just right: a sprinkle of facts, a drizzle of humour, and a lot of visual flair.

Pizzoli’s art direction is deceptively sophisticated. The colour palette, though limited, is used with confidence, and the layouts are kinetic without being chaotic. There are moments when the pages do feel a little crowded—text and image jostling for attention—but it’s a controlled messiness, like a table after a great meal. You wouldn’t want it too neat anyway. The repetition of colours keeps the reader grounded even as the book leaps across centuries and continents. It’s visually coherent and narratively rhythmic, like slices being pulled from the same pie.

At its heart, Pizza! A Slice of History is a lesson in connection. Every time a culture tweaks the recipe, it becomes a part of the story. Pizza, in Pizzoli’s hands, becomes an edible metaphor for humanity’s ability to share, remix, and reinvent. The book gently suggests that nothing is ever truly original—everything we eat, say, or make has been kneaded by many hands before ours. That’s a profound idea to slip into a children’s book, and he pulls it off with grace.

There’s also a subtle pedagogical brilliance here. Kids come for the pictures, stay for the jokes, and leave with a handful of historical facts without realising they’ve learnt anything. That’s effective teaching—show, don’t tell. Teachers and parents can easily spin off from this book into creative projects: writing their own “food histories”, drawing their favourite pizza toppings, and even staging a “Pizza Around the World” day where students research toppings from different countries. Pizzoli doesn’t just give information; he gives inspiration.

As a piece of nonfiction for young readers, it hits the sweet spot between accessibility and insight. For older kids, it might read as an appetiser rather than a full meal—but that’s fine. It’s meant to spark curiosity, not to close the topic. It’s the kind of book that could make a child go home and ask, “Mom, where does pizza really come from?”—and that’s the spark every teacher dreams of seeing.

There are moments when the text dips into predictable rhythms, but they’re cushioned by the wit of the illustrations. And while the cultural representation could be a bit deeper—perhaps more attention to local pizza traditions instead of a parade of “strange toppings”—the book still manages to celebrate difference rather than flatten it. Pizzoli’s tone is inclusive, not patronising, and the result is a work that invites rather than instructs.

In the end, what you remember isn’t just the history, but the feeling. Pizza! A Slice of History makes you want to gather with people, laugh, share a slice, and talk about how the same food tastes slightly different everywhere, yet somehow always feels like home. For a children’s book, that’s a deeply human takeaway. It’s warm, flavourful, and made with care.

Greg Pizzoli delivers something deceptively simple—a book that reads like play but leaves behind genuine wonder. It reminds both kids and adults that history isn’t locked in textbooks; sometimes, it’s bubbling on a crust right in front of you.

Four stars, easily. It’s not just a slice of history—it’s a slice of humanity, served hot, illustrated beautifully, and seasoned with joy.
Profile Image for Heath.
187 reviews29 followers
November 13, 2022
I’m t makes sense how Ken Jennings learned so much from children’s. Plus it was enjoyable.
Profile Image for Peacegal.
11.7k reviews102 followers
October 18, 2022
Featuring a great sense of humor, a very popular subject matter, and vibrant, retro illustrations that bring to mind picture books of the 1960s, this one is a lot of fun for readers of all ages.
Profile Image for Maria W.
17 reviews
February 27, 2023
I discovered this book while taking a graduate youth literature course. It has received favorable reviews from KIRKUS, Booklist, The Bulletin of the Center for Children’s Books and is an Amazon Editor’s Best Pick Book.

It is a newly published nonfiction book written and illustrated by Geisel award-winning author and illustrator Greg Pizzoli. Pizzoli takes us on a journey through time and around the globe to discover the mouth-watering history of pizza. An engaging bespectacled rat guides readers as they discover the many variations of pizza and their history from around the world. Readers learn how the evolution of this dish illustrates important events in history such as the immigration of Italians to the United States. Pizzoli has created images that are bursting with bright colors and short sentences disguised as fun facts to engage early readers.

This title would support a unit introducing nonfiction text. It is filled with bold images. It is relatable and unifying. Children see that pizza in Sweden has bananas and a pizza in Brazil may have green peas. They will see people of varying abilities, ages, and skin tones enjoying pizza around a large table and learn that people all over the world love pizza. It even includes a family friendly recipe for English muffin pizza. This title can also support description and process writing instruction.

Profile Image for Calista.
5,434 reviews31.3k followers
January 8, 2025
The wild and crazy history of pizza. This is an energetic book on pizza and its history. Now, I'm craving pizza. I would love a Hawaiian pizza. I like pineapple on my pizza, but no one around me eats it, so I never get it. Anyway.

The pace is fast and the artwork is energetic making this easy to learn from. We learn that the Margherita pizza was, at that time, the queen Margherita's favorite pizza and it was named after her. According to this book, it must have tomatoes on it to be considered pizza. I do like some pesto pizza here and again. There is a recipe in the back for kids to make their own with an adult. They use an English muffin as the base.

The book goes into all the speciality pizzas they have now like New York Style, Chicago style, Philly has their own style I didn't know about as does Detroit. They to a rectangle pizza and I got a lot of that in Michigan, but I didn't know that was Detroit style. There is a California style as well.

I learned so much. It started around 400-500 years ago in Italy and immigrants brought it over to us. It was WWII that made it so popular in the states. Now, 350 slices are eaten every second in the US. That's a lot.

The artwork uses 4 colors. It's energetic and frenetic. I'm not crazy about it, but it works for the story. It looks digital.

Kids might be interested about their favorite food.
Profile Image for Alicia.
8,576 reviews150 followers
July 24, 2022
I really need a food category for myself in Goodreads...

I had actually just finished the grilled pizzas my husband makes almost weekly when I got the book in the mail and dove in with my fully belly. And I had finished a cool book recently Ten Tomatoes that Changed the World: A History in which I learned a little about the history of tomatoes as it relates to how we connect them to Italy and pizza, so I knew a little of what this children's book was talking about before it even talked about it and I liked that it did a deep dive into everything from deep dish pizza (had in Chicago) to NY style (had in NYC but I also live in New York State) though I haven't had actual Detroit style in Detroit and I grew up in Utica, NY which is known for their tomato pie like Philly. And it's been quite a while since I've been to California so I'll have to check that out though I don't know that I'll ever get to Italy.

Vivid colors, fun with the mouse to bring us along the journey celebrating pizza.
Profile Image for Becky.
6,191 reviews305 followers
September 28, 2022
First sentence: This is pizza. And this is pizza. And so is this. And yes, even this is pizza.

Premise/plot: Nonfiction picture book about the history of pizza--that is the premise of Greg Pizzoli's newest book. It is narrated (I suppose) by a little mouse who is surprisingly knowledgeable about pizza!

My thoughts: Very bright and bold. Lots of contrast. Packed with information. (Well, relatively speaking.) I liked it. I did. I could see this being a big hit for readers in early to mid elementary grades.

I think my favorite favorite favorite part was the spread on international pizza. It was just EXTREMELY packed with fascinating tidbits. Like, "In Japan, people sometimes top their pizza with mayo jaga--a combination of potato, bacon, and mayonnaise." Or "In Brazil, it's not uncommon to see green peas on pizza!"
Profile Image for Becky B.
9,360 reviews185 followers
April 26, 2023
A picture book history of pizza, the possible ancient origins, the man who made the first Margherita pizza in Italy (and how it got its name), the likely first pizza restaurant in New York, and different variations around the US and the rest of the world today.

I really liked the way Pizzoli stated things in this book. He clarified when we don't know things for sure, different theories, and said "probably" or "possibly" if a fact isn't known for sure. It's a great model text for presenting history that isn't 100% sure. But warning, this is likely to make you hungry for pizza. Hand this to little pizza lovers and curious kids.

Notes on content: There's a skeleton in a black robe to help illustrate that some thought tomatoes were deadly on the spread introducing tomatoes, and he shows up again in the back of the book feasting on pizza with others.
Profile Image for Zan Porter.
574 reviews3 followers
July 24, 2023
Bursting with color and fun facts, this delightful history of pizza takes readers through time and around the globe to serve up the real story of the world's favorite food.
From Geisel Award-winning author Greg Pizzoli comes a hilarious and mouth-watering history of pizza. Do YOU like PIZZA? Because right now, somewhere in the world, someone is eating it. Did you know that in the United States we eat 350 slices of pizza every second? Or that in Sweden they serve pizza with bananas and peanuts? All over the world, people love pizza--but where did it come from? And who made the first pizza? Join award-winning author and illustrator Greg Pizzoli as he travels through time and around the globe to discover the mouth-watering history of pizza. Bursting with color, flavor, and fun facts, Pizza!: A Slice of History reveals the delicious story of the world's best food.
Profile Image for Vernon Area Public Library KIDS.
931 reviews43 followers
August 25, 2023
This is a picture book about the history of pizza, various kinds of pizza, and interesting facts about pizza. Different crusts were made with various toppings in ancient Greece and Persia. However, the first person to create pizza with tomatoes was Chef Raffaele Esposito in the 19th century. He made the best pizza in Naples, delivered it to Queen Margherita and her favorite had tomatoes, mozzarella cheese, and basil leaves on top. We find out how pizza is different in various regions across the United States and other countries. There is also a recipe for making mini pizzas in a toaster oven at the end of the book. This title is on the 2024 Monarch list.

Reviewed by Liz Glazer, Youth and School Services, Vernon Area Public Library
Displaying 1 - 30 of 163 reviews

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