Sweet Dream Pie

Author: Audrey Wood
Illustrator: Mark Teague
Title: Sweet Dream Pie
Publisher: The Blue Sky Press, 1998
Genre: Fantasy
Pages: 32
Reading Level (Lexile): 890L

I found this book in the children’s section of the Library.

Plot Summary: Pa Brindle begs Ma Brindle to make her sweet dream pie. Ma warns him that last time she made it, he didn’t have just one piece. The pie is so sweet, but the dreams that follow after you are full are not so sweet. Pa finally persuades her and they begin to make a huge pie. The making of the pie changes the behavior of the people in town and also changes the weather. When the pie is done, the whole neighborhood comes out to enjoy it. Ma warns them as well, but no one listens and they all have more than one piece. The dreams of the people spill into the street as Ma and one little girl who did not eat the pie (because it made her sneeze) watch.
This book relates to my theme of relationships because it shows the dynamic between Ma and Pa Brindle. The story also has a sweet way of showing how kind the Brindles are to other people in their neighborhood.
Sweet Dream Pie immediately reminded me of Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs. This story had elements of fantasy within it as well as humor. The story is similar to Meatballs because food holds a high power and changes people and things within the town. The illustrations in Sweet Dream Pie enhance the story and humor of the pie as it is eaten by the people. The pictures reminded me of the detailed pictures in Meatballs.

Sweet Dream Pie is a “sweet” and comical story to read to children. It allows them to imagine a world where food is bigger than meets the eye. The pie is unrealistically huge and feeds the whole town. Children would probably be able to tell from the second page that this story has fantasy elements within it. Wood describes the big utensils and the pictures show Ma and Pa mixing the ingredients in a giant bowl. The pie changes the weather and people begin to act differently. The dreams that people have after eating the pie are great fun to look at. Sweet Dream Pie could be used in the classroom when teaching children how to use descriptive words in their writing. It could also be used as a model for kids to see how detailed pictures can lead to detailed sentences. I think this book could be used in the younger grades as well as upper elementary grades. Older students could write their own ending to the story, an altered ending, or create their own fantasy.