Secret Pizza Party

Pizza-lovers of all ages will empathize with "Poor Raccoon. All he wants in life is some pizza." But Raccoon is outside looking in. The first-person narrator suggests a secret pizza party, partly so that Raccoon won't be chased off with a broom, and partly because "When you make something secret, you make it special" (e.g. handshakes, staircases). Of course, even at the secret pizza party, where all the guests are masked, Raccoon can't play it cool - their enthusiasm bursts through. Uh-oh...

A goofy read-aloud. I'll take this book over the creators' more famous collaboration, Dragons Love Tacos, any day!

Adam Rubin is a hilarious author. Instead of narrating stories from the main characters point of view, the readers basically get to narrate the story by Rubin’s writings. I liked this story a lot because it is not like a typical book. I have read many funny stories but this one has its own humorous plot. The plot of the story is hysterical and entertaining. The main character is a raccoon who loves pizza. Right away, this would catch the attention of young readers because of its literature character’s traits. Everyone knows that raccoons' do not eat pizza. However, Rubin wanted to add something different to this story. The message of the book is no matter how much you want something, stealing is not the answer because in the end, show more all thieves get caught! show less

The pictures make this book; the text isn't great, but the pictures of the pizza-loving raccoon make the text work.

A raccoon loves pizza but is shooed away from ever getting any. So he embarks on a plan for a secret pizza party, which mostly consists of him going in disguise to steal a pizza and eat it on the sly before anyone catches on.

This is a very humorous book that elementary-age children are sure to get a kick out of reading. My minor hesitation in recommending it would be that raccoon is committing theft, so some adults may not want to encourage that. However, on the whole, this book is silly enough for that not to be seen in such a serious light. The illustrations complement the text nicely.

What I enjoyed most about this book is the way that the illustrations add to the story- they create a pretty hilarious element that wouldn't otherwise be there. I would use this book in the classroom to show the way that illustrations add to a story. My students could then apply some of the concepts that we would discuss to stories that they create.

Kids love this book, it is funny and the illustrations are capturing. This book is the second book of the authors who wrote Dragons Love Tacos, another big hit with the kids. This book is about a raccoon who just loves pizza but can't get any because, well he is a raccoon. No one wants a raccoon in their restaurant. Eventually the raccoon decides to have a super secret pizza party, a party where he will be very quiet and very sneaky so he can eat lots and lots of pizza. He was succeeding until he noticed an even bigger secret pizza party going on in the street with people. Although he tried very hard to be discreet in going to it and eating some pizza, his love for pizza took over. He found himself lying on the table of pizza, eating it show more all, while everyone stared. This would be a fun silly book to read on a day that the class is having a pizza party. It could also be used in telling students about sharing (not with raccoons though). show less

I really enjoyed this book, mostly because of the style in which it was written. The author used lots of describing words, like "pepperoni-ness, sweet tomato-ness, gooey cheese-ness". I also liked the way the author had a narrator narrate the book, and then talk as if he or she was having a conversation with the raccoon. For example, while describing the pizza the narrator goes, "Sorry, Raccoon. I didn't mean to rub it in." The book was written in a style that sounded more like a conversation between the narrator and the reader, rather than the telling of a plot. The illustrations enhanced the book with its detail and accuracy for the text. For example, the narrator tells the raccoon that he needs to dress up like a human to order the show more pizza. The illustrator drew a raccoon wearing a hat, glasses, and pea-coat picking up a pizza from a restaurant, which is something that children would find silly. The author takes you on a thrilling adventure with his words, leaving the reader to cheer on the raccoon in hopes that he gets his beloved pizza. The only thing I didn't like about this book was its lack of educational content. I think I would use this book as more of a free-choice reading, or "brain break" for my students, however I did think it was cute. show less