Story Time with Sara: Pizza for Breakfast by Maryann Kovalski

Pizza for Breakfast 
written by Maryann Kovalski
published by Morrow Junior Books, 1991

Did I enjoy this book: Pizza for Breakfast is a silly and magical book with a wonderful lesson for children of all ages, and everyone in this house LOVED IT!

The story is a retelling of the generic fairy tale in which our protagonists, falling on hard times, are offered wishes, and despite wishing for bigger and better things, they discover they are no happier than they were to begin with, so they go back to the way things were and make the best of it, living happily ever after.

Despite the premise being such a classic (and not particularly my favorite), the vehicle for this story was fun and catchy. I loved that Frank and Zelda (which is an awesome name!) owned a pizza shop. Who doesn’t love pizza? Further, the little man with the magic wishes was a fun addition to the story. My son enjoyed seeing where he popped up when he came back to visit and had fun pointing him out on the pages.

Obviously, the best part of the story was when the mob lined up outside the store demanding pizza for breakfast. However, this story did cause me to have to talk my 3-year-old off a ledge the next morning when I refused to let him eat pizza for dinner (“But Daddy let me that one time . . .”).  So, reader beware!

The illustrations are beautiful and fit the classic story with a twist theme perfectly.

Would I recommend it: Sure. It was a fun read, and despite the fact that I have read it several dozen times in the last couple days, I don’t hate it yet–which is saying something! Go ahead and pick up a copy. I think you will have fun going on a pizza-making adventure with Frank and Zelda. I know we did!