Once I Ate a Pie

Once I Ate a Pie

By Patricia MacLachlan and Emily MacLachlan Charest

Illustrated by Kay Schneider

HarperCollins Publisher, 2006

29 pages 

Poetry

Once I Ate a Pie is a specialized poetry book written about different types of dogs. The poems are quite humorous and are told from the dogs point of view. The choice of the words combined with the illustrations make you feel as though the dog is talking directly to you.  The pome Louis uses onomotopoeia. The poems take on many different forms all perfect for the individual dog.  "Tillie and Maude" is a comparison poem. Three appears to be a form of cinquain. Some poems are free verse and some are very structured.

Schneider does an excellent job with her illustrations making the dogs jump right off the page and into your heart. The flyleaf and frontis piece are a great introduction to the book. Her medium appears to be acrylic paint and she commonly uses a double spread without any gutter. The text in the book is very informal and matches perfectly with the poems and illustrations.             

     This book would be an excellent resource when doing a unit study on dogs or pets. There are some great vocabulary words throughout the book that could be used to teach young students vocabulary and context. But most of all this book is an excellent resource for different types and forms of poems from free verse to more structured poems. Though I do not know if it has won any awards, it would be an excellent piece in any classroom library.