PICKLES TO PITTSBURGH

From the creators of Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs (1978) comes another bizarre food tale. Kate and Henry receive a postcard from their vacationing Grandpa, and the card prompts a wild dream for Kate: She and her brother fly to the land of Chewandswallow, where colossal foodstuffs rain down from the sky, and where the citizens, accustomed to the bounty, ship food to wherever there is a need for it. When Kate wakes up, it is the day that Grandpa returns home, bearing giant chocolate chip cookies, just like the ones in . . . The tale is amiable, and the line drawings captivating, but the message of generosity is laid on as thick as the peanut butter in one of Chewandswallow's gigantic sandwiches. It takes over the story, leaving it without any momentum of its own. (Picture book. 4-8)