Humble Pie

by Jennifer Donnelly, Stephen Gammell (Illustrator)

Being such a spoiled and rude child, Theo's grandmother decides to teach her grandson a lesson, thus after tempting him with a special pie, Theo finds himself trapped inside of it where he must reflect on his behavior and change his ways in order to be set free.

Genres: Picture Books, Childrens, Fiction

32 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 2002

About the author

Jennifer Donnelly is the author of fourteen novels - Beastly Beauty, Poisoned, Stepsister, Lost in a Book, These Shallow Graves, Sea Spell, Dark Tide, Rogue Wave, Deep Blue, Revolution, A Northern Light, The Tea Rose, The Winter Rose and The Wild Rose - and Humble Pie, a picture book for children. She is a co-author of Fatal Throne, which explores the lives of King Henry VIII's six wives, for which she wrote the part of Anna of Cleves, Henry's fourth wife.

In 2023, she published Molly's Letter, the first in a series of novella-length stories called Rose Petals set in the world of her three-volume Tea Rose series -- followed by Where Roses Fall in August, 2024.

Jennifer grew up in New York State, in Lewis and Westchester counties, and attended the University of Rochester where she majored in English Literature and European History.

See Jennifer's full bio on Wikipedia.

Reviews

[Nadia · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is about a boy named Theo who was spoiled rotten by his parents and as a result, he was unappreciative of everyone and everything in his life. One day, his grandmother was baking a pie and mischievous Theo decided to pick a plum out of the bottom of the pie and plopped right in. His grandmother sealed him in the pie to teach him a lesson. Theo fought to get himself out and began rolling down the hill. He ran into his schoolmates and asked for their help and they didn’t want to help him. So, he continued to roll down the hill until he rolled into an impoverished village. The people were so hungry that they were ecstatic at the sight of some food and were extremely grateful. So, they grabbed the pie Theo was in and almost put him in into the oven to bake until Theo jumped out. He ran straight home with a newfound love and appreciation for his life and his family. When his parents asked his grandmother, what had gotten into him, she explained he had a piece of “humble pie”.

The overall theme of this book is to always be appreciative of what you have and to never take things for granted.

Personally, I thought this book was very exaggerative in the way his grandmother sealed him in the pie. However, the theme was very present throughout the whole book. It portrayed the overall evolution of Theo’s character. It was nice to see how he eventually started to appreciate everyone and everything that made up his life.

I would recommend this book because it has a good underlying message for children on being thankful for the good fortune’s life can bring. That message also coincides with carrying oneself with humbleness and never taking things for granted. Overall, it is an important lesson children should be made aware of at a young age. I think this book is a funny, over the top representation of what it means to have a slice of humble pie!

[Victoria Moon · Rating 5 out of 5]

I think this book makes a good read aloud because it teaches about being appreciative and how we should appreciate what others do for us. In the story, the boy was not appreciative until he was almost baked into a pie but when he realized what some other people were going through, he realized that he had a really good life and he was grateful for everything he has.

[Courtney Heard · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a good book to teach kids a lesson about how to be humble.

Six + 1Traits: idea
DRA Level: ~A-2
Lexile: ~25

[Chrisanne · Rating 2 out of 5]

A nice attempt but it was really hard to suspend disbelief.

[Stephanie · Rating 3 out of 5]

Nathan picked this one at the library bc there was a boy sticking out of the pie. Good message...odd story!

[Kathy · Rating 4 out of 5]

What a fun book. Teo never thought of anyone but himself, he was jealous and greedy. His grandmother has a plan to fix this, and you will probably enjoy this book.

[Kim Higgins · Rating 3 out of 5]

It was a cute book

[Haley Malloy · Rating 5 out of 5]

i. Humble Pie, is about a young boy named Theo who is described as: greedy, inconsiderate, obnoxious, thoughtless and unkind. Whenever Theo wants something, he gets it and because of that, he developed a very arrogant attitude at a young age. His grandmother notices his behavior and wraps him in a pie she is making called, "Humble Pie." He rolls all around town searching for people to help him get out of the pie he's trapped in but no one wants to help him because he never cared for others. Theo gets anxious as no one is helping him and finally becomes free from the pie right before it was about to go into an oven. He realizes that not everything is about him and he needs to be more humble in order to be known as a good person.

ii. A major theme in this novel is about how being arrogant and selfish will get you no where in life but instead leave you stranded. It is important to be humble and kind to everyone you come in contact with throughout your life.

iii. I would give this book a 5 star rating because it does an excellent job at presenting the problem while having a fun story to describe the situation.

iv. I personally loved "Humble Pie" because I think it is so important for children to learn how to be humble at a young age. I think the book did a good job at making the story non-realistic in today's world but provided deep meanings behind the suspense felt throughout the story. The situation Theo is in would never happen in real life but it gets the attention of younger children while also teaching them that if you are in trouble but known selfish, no one feels the need to help you.

v. I would highly recommend this book because I think it does an excellent job at teaching children how important it is to be humble. The book did a good job explaining Theo at the beginning, people's reaction to him as he is in a bad situation and then explaining his change at the end. The book started off on a negative note but progressed by showing positive change in Theo. It is important for young children to realize that being selfish and unkind to others will leave you alone because no one will want to be there for you when you need it the most. It shows that you get back what you give to others.

[Lisa Frase · Rating 5 out of 5]

One of my favorite authors of young adult and adult literary fiction is Jennifer Donnelly. I recently discovered her picture book Humble Pie. This original story is a funny little medieval tale about a spoiled and selfish boy who nearly gets baked in a humble pie. The is a character transformation story with a strong beginning, middle, and end. The story moves along at a nice clip, and uses a lot of snappy language and various sentence structures. It's a great read aloud and has lots of teaching potential for elementary grades. This morality tale teaches a lesson in a rip-roaring way that will keeps kids giggling while reflecting on why the boy acts the way he does and why it is wrong.

[Ryan · Rating 3 out of 5]

I was curious about a children's book written by someone who writes historical fiction for young adults. The illustrations are very fun, and the book is sweet (no pun there). It was a little unclear exactly why the boy was a spoiled brat - he certainly was and certainly learned something from not quite being baked into a pie.

[Lindsay · Rating 4 out of 5]

I originally picked this up simply because I love Jennifer Donnelly, and really didn't believe that anything written by her could possibly be bad. Not only was I right, but it was actually pretty great! My kids absolutely loved the story, and the artwork. And I loved the moral. Maybe a little of the message will later be remembered. ;)

[Matthew · Rating 2 out of 5]

This was an okay story, though the grandmother's punishment was a bit on the cruel side. The kid nearly was cooked and eaten rather than learning his lesson. The whole scare you straight angle was definitely the focus of this one. The story had a well-paced plot, but I don't know.

[Jenny · Rating 3 out of 5]

A selfish young boy who is spoiled and entitled gets put into a pie. His grandmother says only he can get himself out. Eventually, he learns an important lesson about humility and unselfish behavior.

[The Brothers · Rating 3 out of 5]

A snotty, bratty boy finally gets his "just desserts" when his grandmother bakes him into a pie and all the people and animals he abused do nothing to help him get out.

Illustrations are okay.

[Scarlett]

Very good story- love teh illustrations.

[SARAH · Rating 2 out of 5]

Grandma teaches her spoiled grandson a lesson...by letting him see how those around him see him and how those less fortunate live.

[Alicia · Rating 4 out of 5]

Gammel is an amazing illustrator. (He won the Caldecott for Song and Dance Man). This book is also filled with colorful, quirky pictures that add a lot to the already adequate words. Cute story.

[Heloyce · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is not a true story. Bad as my piecrust may be, it was never this flexible. Nevertheless, while the tale is unbelievable, the moral is true.

[Maxwell · Rating 2 out of 5]

Max did not really understand the incantations or the idea of humble pie. Rather random and disconcerting. But it had enough parts he liked, he likes books about children that misbehave.

[Stephanie · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is great. I will use it for story time when I am doing kindness. Oh the just desserts.

[Megan]

CURRICULUM: RR/Classics

[Melody · Rating 3 out of 5]

A greedy, mouthy boy learns to be humble.

[Brindi Michele · Rating 4 out of 5]

wonderful illustrations with a great moral story

[Christine Kallner · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love everything I’ve read by Donnelly so far, including this, her only picture book to date. And I’m fast becoming a fan of Gammell’s artwork. This is my fourth book or so with his illustrations and I’m seriously considering a deep dive into his backlist — library catalog, here I come :)