Humble Pie

Title: Humble Pie
Author: Jennifer Donnelly
Illustrator: Stephen Gammell
Publisher: A Richard Jackson Book http://www.cis.drexel.edu/arbuthnot/index_files/page0001.htm
Publication Date: 2002
Genre: Fable
Audience: Gr. 305
Overview: Humble Pie is a story about a young spoiled boy who is unknowingly forced to change his selfish and rude ways. The story explains that his grandmother is the only person who believes that this young boy, Theo, needs to change his behavior, thus she decides to teach him a lesson. As Theo leaves his home, upset that he was not able to eat the dessert of his choice, and heads to his grandmother's house who is in the midst of baking a giant pie. Out of pure selfishness, Theo climbs to the top of the pie and continues to each for more and more of the pic and accidentally falls in, as his grandmother closes the crust over top of him. Throughout his quest to be released from the inside of the pie, he observes that there are people around him that are starving for food, which strikes an emotional reaction from him. Ultimately, Theo gets released from the pie because it feeds a whole land of people and changed his foolish ways for good, which shocks his parents and friends.
Activity: This would be a great book to teach children not to act spoiled or selfish because it teaches a lesson. It would be fun for a teacher to read this story to the class and have them all participate in baking their own "humble pie" which can be made with special ingredients and eaten by the students after wards.
Reviewer's Name: Moira Schafle