Secret Pizza Party

"Poor Raccoon. All he wants in life is some pizza." And who can blame him? Pizza is its own breed of perfect: "So beautiful, you could hang it on the wall of a museum," (Salmieri mounts a slice between a Picasso and a Matisse). "So convenient, you could eat it in the bathtub." The narrator--who is undoubtedly related to the same skewed logician who explained the dragon-taco connection in Dragons Love Tacos--decides that what Raccoon needs is a secret pizza party: "So folks don't show up to bonk you with brooms" (something that happens to him with alarming regularity) and because "When you make something secret, you make it special." There's just one catch: Raccoon has to get the pizza, and he's a wanted pizza thief. Although not up to the silly sublimity of their previous efforts--the pacing is a bit slack, and the ending slapdash--Rubin and Salmieri still score plenty of comic points with their deadpan riffs, offbeat asides, and singleminded hero who can't catch a gooey, cheesy break. Ages 3-5. Agent: Rebecca Sherman, Writers House. (Sept.)

Copyright 2013 Publishers Weekly, LLC Used with permission.

Gr 1-4--Raccoon, paws and nose pressed plaintively to the glass, stares longingly into a pizza parlor. His nemesis, the Pizza Man, chases him off with a broom, and an unseen narrator rhapsodizes, "Ah, pizza... So beautiful, you could hang it on the wall of a museum. So convenient you could eat it in the bathtub." Raccoon reappears looking forlorn, and the narrator suggests a pizza party at Raccoon's house-a secret pizza party because, "When you make something secret, you make it special. Regular handshake: Boring. Secret handshake: Booyah!" Wearing stilts and a trench coat, Raccoon absconds with a stolen pizza only to discover an enormous SECRET PIZZA PARTY happening nearby. Unfortunately, he is unable to play it cool and blows his disguise as he rolls around in a pizza-induced frenzy. He flees from the broom-wielding mob (led by the Pizza Man), but his armload of pizza and giant grin prove that he has no regrets. Because the narrator converses directly with Raccoon, listeners are aligned with him and identify with the roguish creature. The skillful gouache-and-ink compositions are full of sly details and visual humor. It's hard not to giggle at scenes like the lanky pizza man with angry eyebrows and a handlebar mustache rolling out dough while glaring at a "Wanted" poster featuring the raccoon. With a casually diverse cast of characters, Secret Pizza Party is a sure hit for primary-grade kids, who will appreciate the subtle humor and absurdity.--Anna Haase Krueger, Ramsey County Library, White Bear Lake, MN

Copyright 2013 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.