REVIEW: Pie Is for Sharing by Stephanie Parsley Ledyard, illus. by Jason Chin

A Banana Split Pie to go with Pie Is for Sharing. And, yes, its melting after being the Austin heat for all of two seconds.

I’m back from a bit of a hiatus. Life got crazy pants! Totally banana bottoms. But, on course now, and I’m hoping to do more reviews of some of my favorite picture books. To kick off the summer right, I had to review Pie Is for Sharing. Hello? Pie is in the title, people. It’s perfect!

And as that title says, Pie Is for Sharing. Sharing. Oh, it’s not an easy concept to convey, but author Stephanie Parsley Ledyard tackles it with the ease of a hot summer day by the lake. Stephanie approaches the topic of sharing from an all-day July 4th celebration with family and friends. As the day progresses and the pie is sliced, sometimes sharing is easy … and sometimes it’s hard. Sometimes the things shared are tangible. Sometimes they are concepts, ideas. Her words are simple yet very complex in meaning and make you think. I especially connected to the idea of sharing time. I thought about it in terms of sharing time with others, and then my head kersploded as I thought about the fact that all of us on our lovely Earth are sharing the concept of time, even though we may not think of sharing time that way. Stephanie brings the day alive and brought me to a time and place of many of my family’s Fourth of July celebrations. She leaves thoughtful space for the illustrator to play and create scenes around her lovely word choices.

And let’s talk illustrations. As the book starts, I’m already having fun with the kids seeking out all of the July 4th Americana in Jason Chin’s artwork. There’s the Statue of Liberty on the front of a magazine, a sneak peak of the American flag on a calendar hanging on the wall, sparklers, etc. It’s like an Easter egg hunt to find the red, white, and blue. Then, I’m connected to the greatness of what America is with the powerful representation of community and the diverse representation of characters. This is what America is. And what a beautiful way to celebrate July 4th, sharing pie, the sky, fireworks, each other!

Anyway, there is so much to love about this book. It’s like a pie filled to the gills with the yummiest of berries and supported by the flakiest, butteriest crust around. And don’t forget the ice cream. Never forget the ice cream.

Speaking of ice cream, I gave Pie Is for Sharing to my ten-year-old son to read and asked him, “If this book were a pie, what kind of pie would it be?” He didn’t think twice. He flipped to the “July” section of one of his favorite cookbooks, First Prize Pies by Allison Kave, and picked the Banana Split Ice Cream Pie. ICE CREAM!! I think he nailed it. Such a July 4th worthy pie! And because Pie Is for Sharing, we shared the task of making it, and, therefore, eating it.

Here’s the recipe. Think sugar cones crumbled into a crust, chocolate and vanilla ice cream, yummy bananas, and lots and lots of hot fudge sauce. Don’t skimp on the hot fudge sauce. It’s a SUPER SIMPLE recipe, and you can tweak and adjust as you desire. The pie’s the limit! Book Appetit!