Opening by asking readers, “Have you ever wanted to go in a different direction,” the unnamed narrator describes having such a feeling and then witnessing the appearance of a new road “almost as if it were magic.” “Where do you lead?” the narrator asks.

6-8)įrom an artist, poet, and Instagram celebrity, a pep talk for all who question where a new road might lead. Invite readers to order up a bowl of Betsy Everitt’s Mean Soup (1992) instead, or a slice of Margie Palatini’s Piggie Pie (1995). And is Jeremy really so hostile? He displays so little individual character that it’s hard to get a read on him he just seems to be going with the flow. Meanwhile, Dad’s fixed, knowing smile invites viewers to share the conceit-even though his naïve son never does catch on. Instead, King shows the boys in a series of conventional, static scenes, throwing water balloons at girls and other fun activities. Though the narrator speculates about the pie’s ingredients, the promisingly gross worm-and-weed dishes on the cover never materialize in the illustrations inside, nor are any of Jeremy’s supposed offenses depicted. Feeling slighted by new neighbor Jeremy, the aggrieved young narrator accepts his father’s offer to make an “enemy pie.” Dad insists on doing the baking, but tells the lad that the recipe also requires spending a day playing with the enemy-after which, predictably, the two lads sit down as newly minted friends for pie à la mode.

Bland pictures and superficial presentation sink this problem-solver.

Derek munson