Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs



Last updated Friday, July 30, 2010

Author: Judi and Ron Barrett
Date of Publication: 1978
ISBN: 0689306474
Grade Level: 2nd    (GLCs: Click here for grade level guidelines.)
Date(s) Used: Aug. 2010

Synopsis: The tiny town of Chewandswallow was very much like any other tiny town except for its weather which came three times a day, at breakfast, lunch and dinner. But it never rained rain and it never snowed snow and it never blew just wind. It rained things like soup and juice. It snowed things like mashed potatoes. And sometimes the wind blew in storms of hamburgers. Life for the townspeople was delicious until the weather took a turn for the worse. The food got larger and larger and so did the portions. Chewandswallow was plagues by damaging floods and storms of huge food. The town was a mess and the pople feared for their lives. Something had to be done, and in a hurry.

Discussion topics for before reading:
•  What is your weather prediction for today?
•  What did you eat for breakfast today?

Discussion topics for during/after reading:
•  Vocab: Uneventfully, incident, tall-tale, prediction, pulp.
•  What kind of foods would you like to fall from the sky?
•  Would you eat food that fell from the sky?
•  What kind of clothes would you wear for that kind of weather.
•  Would the weatherman on the news be a chef instead?
•  What type of storms were there? Why were they worse than the regular weather?
•  Why do you think the weather changed?

Craft ideas:
•  Draw and cut out your favorite foods and paste them onto a drawing of the street where they live.

*Note: These craft ideas are just suggestions. You can use them, but you don't have to use them. You can expand upon them, or add your own twist. Remember, though, that the focus of your time should not be on the development and execution of a craft; the focus should be on the read-aloud and the enjoyment of the book!