Book Review: Pete's a Pizza

I'd like to share a favorite book with you. It belongs to a genre of children's literature I call Parent/Child Play books. That is, it models a kind of playing that parents can continue to do with their children long after the book is finished.

In Pete's a Pizza, Pete is sad because he can't play outside. His father decides to cheer him up by pretending to make him into a pizza. He starts by kneading Pete like dough and then adds toppings and bakes him in the oven (couch). There are some moments when Pete really gets into the pretending too (e.g. he refuses to talk because he's "just some dough and stuff")
When I read this book to M her eyes sparkle- especially on the lines that let her in on the little secrets (the flour was really baby powder). It's just the sort of imaginary play she is often trying to draw her father and me into (she likes it when her daddy lifts her high in the air against a wall and says he is hanging a picture). I think the elaborateness of the pretending in this book is like a dream-come-true to her.

I have not yet made M into a pizza. I'm waiting for a day when she is a little sad. I think the pizza-making is sure to cheer her up!