Module 14 - Once I Ate a Pie

This poetry book for young readers, showcases 17 dogs and their unique personalities through fun text and illustrations.

MacLachlan, P. and MacLachlan, E. (2006). Once I ate a pie. Joanna Cotler Books, New York, NY.

Impressions: The paintings of dogs are charming and the poems fit the breed of dog perfectly! Being a dog-lover myself, I enjoyed this book. The text of the poems can help children understand what the poem means, with words such as "big" written in big text, and "running" written spread out across the page.

Review:
Nancy Krial (Kunztown University Book Review, Spring 2007)
This book contains free verse poems about fourteen different dogs which are all different breeds. Each page is highlighted with a beautiful illustration and an engaging poem told from the dog's point of view. The fonts and type size change to reflect the poet's words. This book gets its title from the poem about a pug called Mr. Beefy who relays that he is not thin but he is beautiful and once he ate a pie! The illustrations alone are reason enough to buy this book but the verse holds up its end as well. Open the pages and meet Darla, Maude, Abby, Wupsi, etc. each page makes you laugh at the mischief and movement of these canines. I recommend this book strongly as a read aloud for the very young and as a must have for elementary libraries! Category: Animal Story-Poetry.. 2006, Harper Collins Publishers, $12.95. Ages 5 to 9.
(Retrieved from Children's Literature Reviews, Children's Literature Comprehensive Database)

Ideas for classroom or library use:
This would be an excellent book to use as part of a poetry unit. The children can read the poems out loud in a reader's theater setting. This book could also be used for an animal unit, such as learning about different types of dog breeds or animals.