Pete & Pickles by Berkeley Breathed

Reviewed by Lori
Pete & Pickles
Title: Pete & Pickles

Author: Berkeley Breathed

Perma-Bound Catalogue #: 30426

Description: When Pickles the elephant turns his life upside-down, Pete the pig comes to realize that a perfectly predictable, practical, and uncomplicated life is not always preferable.






Curriculum Links: 

  • Art: Artwork and Artists
  • Art: Computer Generated Artwork
  • Character Ed: Empathy
  • Character Ed: Teamwork
  • Reading: Transforming
  • Self-Regulation
  • Social Studies: Our Changing Roles and Responsibilities
  • Social Studies: Feelings
  • Writing: Narrative

Notes: 

Design: The title is what drew me in for this book.  The pig and the elephant look to be having fun on both the front and back cover.  The end papers are plain and bright orange.  A very happy colour.  The text font is clear and easy to read.  

Content and Illustrations: I actually got a little teary with my first reading of this story and every time I read it I seem to see something new.  While the story starts rather morose (Pete is tending the grave of his late wife) it quickly picks up speed with the arrival of Pickles, a gregarious and imaginative circus elephant on the run. Pickles manages to turn Pete's life upside down and as a perfectly practical pig he's not too sure he's happy about it.  But when there is the chance that he may never see Pickles again he realizes how important his new friend really is.  The illustrations in this book were phenomenal.  There was a mix of simple line drawings, full page artwork, and inset boxes.  It was fun to find the pigs in Pete's home - his couch, bedside lamps, and the little snout of his bed.  Pete also has some famous works of art up on his wall and on several different pages he finds himself within those landscapes and scenes. The best part of the book for me was the ending, how pigs and elephants are perfectly suited to help one another.  


Recommended Audience: Kindergarten to High School
  • A fantastic Read Aloud for any grade
  • A good book to include with any art courses as the variety of artwork in the book and the different styles used by Berkley Breathed can be discussed/copied
  • Every school and library should have a copy!

Inquiries and Activities: 
  • How many different works of art can you identify in this book.  Who are the original artists?  Research one of the artists and present them to the class.
  • How many different "pig" items can you find in Pete's house.
  • Visit an Art Gallery or view items in books or online.  Find a piece of art that you like. Create a book page like Pete and Pickles using this piece of art.
  • How is Pete transformed by meeting Pickles?
  • Who are you more like - Pete or Pickles? Why?  Create a T Chart that shows each of their character traits.  


Comments

Post a Comment

Thank you for Reading!

Popular posts from this blog

The Poet's Dog by Patricia MacLachlan

Reviewed by Lori
Image
Title: The Poet's Dog Author: Patricia MacLachlan Perma-Bound Catalogue #: 127678 Description:   An abandoned dog, able to speak only to poets and children, rescues a pair of young children stranded in the forest. Together, they find a way to overcome their losses. Rubric Rating: Level 4 - Love It Why I Read It: Poetry and Dogs... what more can I say.  Notes: This is one of those novels that I absolutely love.  It is written for a younger audience but there are deeper aspects to the story that are very appealing to an adult reader.   The story is encapsulated within 88 pages, and spells out the story of Teddy, the poet's dog, whose master has passed away, and Flora and Nickel, two children he finds lost in a blizzard.   The children are left in a car by their mother as she goes to look for help after getting stuck in the snow.  The children get scared and leave the vehicle and get lost in the woods where they are found by Teddy who brings them home.  Flo
Read more

Brain Jack by Brian Falkner

Reviewed by Lori
Image
Title: Brain Jack Author: Brian Falkner Perma-Bound Catalogue #: 128664 Description:   In a near-future New York City, computer genius Sam Wilson manages to hack into the AT&T network and sets off a chain of events that have a profound effect on human activity throughout the world. Rubric Rating: Level 4 - Love It! Why I Read It: Interesting write up in the catalogue and a growing interest in tech-related reading. Notes: Sam is a seventeen-year-old Hacker, one of the best around.  So good that he is able to hack into the telecomerica head offices and order a couple of "neuro" headsets for himself and his friend Fargas.  The latest technology that allows you to directly access the computer network using only your brain.  But Sam's hacking brings down services for three days - something that will go down in history.  That's when the CDD (the cyber defence division) start watching him.  It's not long before they hack Sam back and he's arrested.
Read more

All the Light We Cannot See by Anthony Doerr

Reviewed by Lori
Image
Title:  All the Light We Cannot See Author: Anthony Doerr Perma-Bound Catalogue #: 98669 Description:  A blind French girl on the run from the German occupation and a German orphan-turned-Resistance tracker struggle with their respective beliefs after a fortuitous meeting on the Brittany coast. Rubric Rating: Level 4 - Love It! Why I Read it: This book has been on my reading list for awhile and it was recommended to me by several people. Lori's Notes: This was a fantastic novel.  It may seem overwhelming in terms of size but the individual chapters are very short and read almost like mini short stories within the book.  The characters alternate between Marie-Laure a blind Parisian girl, and Werner an orphan German boy. Marie-Laure's father, Daniel LeBlanc, works in a Paris Museum as a key master and designs intricate puzzle boxes for his daughter.  Werner lives in a children's home with his sister Jutta and because of his interest in radios is quickly recruit
Read more