Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs (book)

Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs is an American children's book written by Judi Barrett and illustrated by Ron Barrett. It was first published in 1978 by the Simon & Schuster imprint Atheneum Books, followed by a 1982 trade paperback edition from sister company Aladdin Paperbacks.

A sequel, Pickles to Pittsburgh, was published in 2000 by Atheneum Books; a hardcover edition followed in 2009.

A cookbook special, Grandpa's Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs Cookbook, was released with a variety of fabulous cooking ideas.

A Third Installment in the 'Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs' book series was released as: Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs 3, Planet of the Pies.

Plot

The book details a bedtime story narrated by a grandfather to his grandchildren, chronicling the daily lives of the citizens of an unordinary town called Chewandswallow characterized by its strange daily meteorological pattern that provides the townsfolk with all of their required daily meals by raining food. Although the residents of the town enjoy a lifestyle devoid of any grocery shopping or cookery, the weather unexpectedly and inexplicably takes a turn for the worst, devastating the local community with destructive and uncontrollable storms of either unpleasant or dangerously oversized foods, resulting in unstoppable catastrophes for the townspeople. Their lives endangered by the threats of the storms, they relocate to a different community of average meteorological patterns, safe from the hazards that once were presented by raining meals. However, they are forced to learn how to obtain food the normal way.

The following morning, the man's grandchildren awaken to discover snowfall. After bundling up and hurrying outside to play, the granddaughter, in first-person narration, describes the scent of mashed potatoes detected while romping with her brother, implying that the grandfather's story might not be purely fictitious.

Film Adaptation

Main article: Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs (film)

On September 18, 2009, Sony Pictures Animation released an animated film adaptation of the book, and the DVD was released on January 5, 2010. A new cast of characters were created for plot development, while the synopsis was changed from food falling from skies to being made from a machine created by the young Flint Lockwood, a young inventor who dreams of creating something that will improve everyone's life.