UGLY PIE

Craving some ugly pie, brown Ol’ Bear traipses across the countryside, visiting friends. At each stop a toothsome treat awaits, but rhubarb, honey and pumpkin pies won’t satisfy this pot-bellied protagonist. Happily, his neighbors offer some perfectly ugly ingredients—wrinkled raisins, sour apples and bumpy walnuts—to the good-natured bear, with which he bakes a glorious, compost-heap of a pie to share. Done in watercolor, acrylic and collage, Solomon’s illustrations offer a good compositional mix, but her strength is in the multiple-image spreads of Ol’ Bear ambling along. The cheerful palette and the artist’s use of varying opacities of paint layers to create both color and texture work together to enhance the brightness and warmth of this forest neighborhood. There’s nothing mechanical about this world; everything is organic and homemade. The type changes that denote singing or emphasize key phrases also complement Wheeler’s homespun story about finding value in items thought of as waste. Complete with its own ugly pie recipe, this yummy read-aloud will have readers itching to visit loved ones, play outside and make their own delectable dessert. (Picture book. 3-6)