The Great Pasta Escape - Perfect Picture Book Friday @PPBF & AMAZING 4 book giveaway
Beware! Pastas are on the loose and playing at an island near you! With amazing harmony, Miranda Paul and Javier Joaquin cook up the most delicious story of sentient pasta, which get caught in a few sticky situations.
The Great Pasta Escape
Author: Miranda Paul
Illustrator: Javier Joaquin
Publisher: little bee books (2017)
Ages: 4-8
Fiction
Themes:
Humor, cooperation, different perspectives, and problem solving.
Synopsis (from Amazon):
Join a ragtag group of pasta as they complete the greatest escape of their lives in this hilarious new book by Miranda Paul! Since the beginning of their lives (which was earlier that morning), the pasta at the factory followed the rules. They stuck to their own kind. They stayed still in their packaging. And they never spoke to humans. That is, until they discover what it really means to be pasta: they will eventually be eaten by humans! Fettuccine is scared, Ramen is outraged, and Mac is just trying to keep the peace among all the pasta. Will they be able to work together to use their noodles and concoct a great escape?
Opening Lines:
Since the beginning of their lives (which was earlier that morning), the pasta at the factory followed the rules.
They stuck to their own kind.
They stayed still in their packaging.
And they never spoke to humans.
Pasta that obeyed, they believed, got sent to a super place.
Why I like this book:
I was hooked once I saw the cover. Who wouldn't want to read about pasta fleeing across a red & white checkered table cloth? But the boot-clad, cowboy hat wearing, wagon wheel pasta and the be-speckled, know-it-all bow tie cinched the deal. I had to find out WHAT was going on.
When the dreaming, segregated pasta discover they are bound for dinner tables, not paradise, they struggle to create a plan that doesn't leave some of them in hot water. Unfortunately, chaos and pasta-monium erupts.
It takes a very ethereal pasta and an author to convince them to "use their noodles" and save the day.
The illustrations and succinct text blend to create some amazing personalities. More than I ever expected in my pasta, including a belligerent ramen, Zen macaroni, and an intellectual bow tie. Javier's creation of cartoon-like facial expressions and individualized clothing, amplifies the fun of Miranda's noodle puns. All in all, a punny, romp through a noodle factory which encourages acceptance and cooperation. Be sure to peek at the "menu" in the back.
Resources:
- make pasta crafts ~ such as cards, collages, necklaces, "gingerbread houses," or decorate bird houses (http://www.craftionary.net/unique-pasta-crafts/);
- pasta math ~ use various shapes for sorting (shapes, colors, etc.), weigh pasta, and try kitchen math measuring and cooking pasta (as well as expanding or reducing a recipe);
- check out other activities (for other books, too) on Beth Anderson's "Parent/Teacher Resources" (https://bethandersonwriter.com/parentteacher-resources/).
Be sure to comment here and/or on Monday's interview of Miranda Paul to be entered into the drawing to win one of Miranda's books - The Great Pasta Escape (2 of these), Blobfish Throws a Party, or Trainbots . *If there is a particular book you want to be in the running for, please note that in your comment.*
This post is part of a series by authors and KidLit bloggers called Perfect Picture Book Fridays. For more picture book suggestions see Susanna Leonard Hill's Perfect Picture Books.
