Tiny Pie

by Mark Bailey, Michael Oatman, Edward Hemingway (Illustrator)

Overview

Little Ellie the elephant is the only kid at a grown-up party. No one is paying any attention to poor Ellie, and she can't reach the food! Why must everything be for big people?

Then to Ellie's surprise, she discovers a little chef mouse inside a hole in the wall, and he's filming a cooking show! Ellie can see that his sharp senses are key ingredients for a successful tiny pie. Will this be the perfect snack that's just her size?

As an added treat, Alice Waters has contributed a delicious tiny apple pie recipe perfect for little hands (and big appetites)!

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780762444823
Publisher:	Running Press Book Publishers
Publication date:	05/07/2013
Pages:	32
Product dimensions:	8.80(w) x 11.10(h) x 0.50(d)
Age Range:	3 - 6 Years

About the Author

Mark Bailey is an author and Emmy-nominated screenwriter. His previous books include American Hollow and Hemingway & Bailey's Bartending Guide to Great American Writers. This is Bailey's first book for children. He lives in Los Angeles with his wife and three children.

Michael Oatman is a collage and installation artist living in Troy, NY, where he is a professor of architecture at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute. His artwork has been exhibited widely in the U.S. and abroad. Tiny Pie is Oatman's first book for children and young elephants.

Edward Hemingway is a writer and illustrator with a lifelong love of elephants. His previous children's books include Bump in the Night and Bad Apple: A Tale of Friendship, which was selected for the Society of Illustrators Original Art Show 2012. He lives in Brooklyn, New York.

Read an Excerpt

Tiny Pie

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By Mark Bailey

Running Press Kids

Copyright © 2012 Mark Bailey
All right reserved.
ISBN: 9780762444823

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"Hello out there in TV Land! Welcome to Hole in the Kitchen Wall.
A cooking show for everyone, especially the small.
In this episode we are going to bake, in just under an hour,
A tasty treat, savory and sweet, that starts with unbleached flour.”

"Now I can see you wondering, Is this something I can do?
But if you’re big enough to eat dessert, then you can make it too.”

"So if anyone big ever comes up to you and asks . . .
'What good are your tiny eyes?
What can you see?’”

"Just tell them you see . . .
'Paws with itsy-bitsy claws,
As busy as can be.’”

"And if they ask . . .
'What good are your tiny ears?
What can you hear?’”

"Tell them you hear . . .
'Apples on a chopping block—
But please be careful dear.’”


Continues...

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Excerpted from Tiny Pie by Mark Bailey Copyright © 2012 by Mark Bailey. Excerpted by permission.
All rights reserved. No part of this excerpt may be reproduced or reprinted without permission in writing from the publisher.
Excerpts are provided by Dial-A-Book Inc. solely for the personal use of visitors to this web site.

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Editorial Reviews

First-time children’s book authors Bailey and Oatman mix up a cooking fantasy that starts with a “grown-up party.” Molded salads and petits fours are on the buffet, but young Ellie the elephant is told to “stay out of the way—or else go to bed.” After a clandestine trip to the kitchen, a peep through a mouse hole reveals a tiny television studio filming a cooking show. As the host makes the apple pie of the title, he entertains the audience with nursery-rhyme patter about the five senses and their contribution to cooking: “And if they ask.../ ‘What good are your tiny ears?/ What can you hear?’/ Tell them you hear.../ ‘Apples on a chopping block—/ But please be careful, dear.’ ” The soiree that follows, with Ellie and the dressed-up mice dancing on the countertop, clearly trumps the adult gathering. Hemingway (Bad Apple) supplies retro glamour in plenty, from boxy television sets and chrome kitchen stools to Ellie’s mother’s frilly, polka-dotted apron. Food stories are perennial favorites, and an apple pie recipe itself, from famed restaurateur Alice Waters, is a tasty bonus. Ages 3–6. (May)

Publishers Weekly

School Library Journal 
“This beautifully illustrated picture book is delightful. Readers will linger over the vibrant paintings that fill each page to soak in every detail.”

Chicago Tribune
“"Tiny Pie" is a gorgeous children's book meant for kids ages 3-6, but it's the sort of book adults will smile over, too.”

Contra Costa Times 
“Alice Waters contributed a tiny pie recipe to this charming picture book, but it's the story about a hungry little elephant, written by Michael Oatman and Emmy-nominated screenwriter Mark Bailey, that will truly delight....The book is adorable.”

From the Publisher

PreS-Gr 1—Little Ellie is sad because she is not allowed to be a part of the grown-up party her parents are hosting. When her tummy starts rumbling and no one will pay attention, the young elephant takes matters into her own hands and discovers a whole other world behind the hole in her kitchen wall. She stumbles upon a cooking show hosted by mice and learns to make Tiny Pie. More importantly, however, she learns that even small hands, noses, mouths, and hearts can make a difference. This beautifully illustrated picture book is delightful. Readers will linger over the vibrant paintings that fill each page to soak in every detail, particularly the spread in which the many mice take over Ellie's kitchen, baking, eating, and having a grand party. The tiny creatures speak in rhyme, a fun feature for emergent readers. The appended recipe for Tiny Apple Pies is the icing on the cake.—Amy Shepherd, St. Anne's Episcopal School, Middleton, DE

School Library Journal

Ellie the elephant learns to make a tiny apple pie. Ellie is brushed off during a "grown-up party," but instead of going to bed, she makes an amazing discovery. Inside the little mouse hole is a TV studio where a mouse chef is teaching the audience to make a tiny apple pie. To rhyming couplets, Ellie learns about mixing and rolling out dough, chopping apples and seasoning the pies. It took four people to create this confusing concoction: two writers, one illustrator and chef Alice Waters, whose Edible Schoolyard Project is to receive a portion of the proceeds from sales of this book. Busy, bright illustrations show an array of animals wearing everything from tuxedos to evening dresses to a chef's coat. Children will empathize when Ellie is left out of the adult party because she is too little, but the transition from her view through the mouse hole to what appears to be a dream sequence is far harder to gauge. Also, the story starts at bedtime but ends with mom and dad discovering her snoozing on the floor in front of the mouse hole and then making pie with Ellie. What happened to her sleep or to their party? Another quibble: The pies shown in the kitchen scenes and on the recipe page are two-crust pies, while Waters' recipe is for a never-pictured turnover. The recipe is lengthy and complicated. A muddle. (Picture book. 4-7)

Kirkus Reviews