Cloudy With A Chance Of Meatballs

Cloudy With a Chance of Meatballs : 

read.

It’s no wonder that Cloudy With a Chance of Meatballs by Judi Barrett is a bestseller.  It’s a story about a Grandpa who tells his kids a tale about a town where it rains food from the sky.  I recommend Cloudy With a Chance of Meatballs for 4- to 8-year-olds, as well as for older kids. It’s a wonderful book to read aloud. You’ll find it sparks kids’ imaginations, and they will come up with all kinds of food-related happenings after enjoying the book. The book also serves as an excellent starting point for a creative writing unit for tweens (ages 8-12) and young teens, as well as an excellent addition to a creative writing and/or visual art unit for tweens and teens on storytelling through a combination of words and pictures. 

cook.

After reading the book, I suggest cooking lunch/dinner together with foods from the book OR foods that your kids would love to have rain from the sky : )   If you go with the book illustrations, here is your suggested menu:

MENU:

*Mashed Potato Clouds

*Meatball Raindrops

*Broccoli Trees

You can make this as fancy (everything from scratch) or easy (think pre-made frozen) as you want.   I typically find the middle road most of the time.   In case you are the same way here is an excellent recipe for meatballs.  

MEATBALL RAINDROP RECIPE:

Kids LOVE making meatballs (especially if they are sensory seekers like mine!).

Ingredients:

*2 small shallots, peeled. 

*1 garlic clove, peeled.  (or the freeze dried/jarred kind I use!) 

*2 tsp. Italian seasoning

*1 ½ tsp. Worcestershire sauce

*1/4 tsp. salt

*3/4 lb ground meat (chicken, turkey, beef, bison)

Preheat oven to 350 F; line a baking sheet with parchment paper (I use this all the time when cooking with kids, makes clean up a BREEZE)

Put the shallots and garlic into a food processor (or blender if you don’t have one.)  Add the Italian seasoning, Worcestershire, and salt to the mixture.  Turn on your processor until everything is in tiny pieces (yes, your child can do this with supervision).   Empty the contents into a large bowl.  Add the ground meat.   Using their hands, allow your child to mix everything until it’s the same color.  Together roll the meatball mixture into ¾ inch balls and place on baking sheet.  You should have approximately 50.  Bake meatballs for 10 minutes.  

PRESENTATION:

Presentation adds so much to this recipe.   Place the potatoes like clouds on the plates (yes it’s okay to let your kids use their {clean} hands!)  Then, act like the meatballs are raining down from the clouds onto the trees (broccoli).   Voila!  A fun, healthy dinner.   

grow.  

After you and your kids enjoy the book and recipe together, extend the fun by making a story sack. Sherri Osborn, the About.com Guide to Family Crafts, provides all the information you need to make your own Cloudy With a Chance of Meatballs Story Sack, including directions for a spaghetti and meatball hat, a paper apron, a food collage and much more.