Every Night Is Pizza Night by J. Kenji López-Alt

Every Night Is Pizza Night Reviews

• 
  La Coccinelle

  Pipo loves pizza. She thinks it's the best thing in the world. When presented with the idea that it might not be, she decides to collect some data to try to support her conclusion. Along the way, she encounters various foods such as bibimbap, tagine, and dumplings, and enjoys them all. But are they as good as pizza?
  
  The idea here is cute, but I couldn't wholeheartedly enjoy this one. Pipo's obsession with pizza is tiresome (and I don't understand why her parents continually capitulate). Her attitude is also off-putting, as at one point she tells a dumpling purveyor to "back off" when he warns her about the dumplings being really juicy. (Rude little brat.) The turn-around of attitude at the end is a bit confusing. Does she or doesn't she admit that other foods can be "the best"? I'm still not sure.
  
  The other issue I had with this one is the way the text is laid out on the pages. It's not always clear what order you're supposed to read the groups of words. I guess you take the cue from the illustrations, but even so, it's clumsy in spots.
  
  There's a recipe for pizza at the end, which is kind of nice. And the book definitely does introduce some foods that Western pizza-obsessed kids might not have heard of. But its weaknesses meant that I couldn't enjoy this one as much as I would've liked. (Although, I do now have a hankering for some dumplings!)
• 
  Alice

  3.5 stars - this book explores the possibility that there might be something other than pizza that is an excellent meal.
• 
  Kaitlin

  Good kid's book, a way to show picky eaters that there is more to the world.
  
  I hope if?/when? I have kids they aren't picky eaters, but if Adam Ragusea's kids are picky eaters then there is truly no way to account for whats going to happen. I guess kid's have their own minds.
  
  I have always wanted to do that french thing where if the kids aren't eating what the adults are eating then they can starve.
• 
  Kirsti

  When did J. Kenji López-Alt look into my dreams? Every night should be pizza night! OK, there are other great foods too. I enjoyed the energetic, colorful art. The book ends with a recipe for pizza.
• 
  Jessica

  I don't usually review my son's books here, but this is one of my favorites. Pipo doesn't understand why *everyone* doesn't want to eat pizza every night. Finally, she decides to do some research, by eating her neighbor's favorites -- for science!
  
  I like this because it doesn't talk down to kids, and Pipo doesn't end up changing her mind that pizza is the best -- she just becomes open to the idea that there are lots of "bests" that are worth eating. Also the art is delightful -- vibrant and fun!
  
  I shake my head a little at the reviews that critique the fact that Pipo's family lets her eat pizza every night -- this is a kids' book, meant to appeal to children. What 6 year old wouldn't be delighted by the idea of eating their favorite every night? The idea that Pipo CAN eat pizza every night, but still decides to get out there and try other things is part of the message, I think.
• 
  Jennifer

  A book about a child's love of pizza and learning. Using scientific methods, a child visits different members of her neighborhood to see if pizza is the best food. She learns about other tastes and cultures in the process. This book is imaginative, fun, and inclusive.
• 
  watermelonreads

  loved the diversity here and how we're introduced to different foods. reading this was like a feast for the eyes. wonderfully and creatively illustrated!
• 
  Brigitte Thomas

  I loved this book so much. It was lovely.
• 
  Peacegal

  A pizza-obsessed little girl (whose family is sick and tired of her daily identical meals) learns a valuable lesson about trying new foods when she visits friends and they introduce a variety of cultural favorites to her. This book introduces the idea of giving new foods a chance, and that when it comes to foods, we can have many "favorites." The illustrations are vibrant and filled with culture.
  
  Veg*n parents note: Although the message about trying a variety of foods, many which feature veggies prominently, is a good thing, I just couldn't fully get behind this one. With each new meal sampled, we get swirling imagery of the flavors--which include images of animals who are apparently just thrilled to be eaten. (Think a chicken bursting out of a pie, or a pig with a big, contented grin on her face.) While few veg*ns would argue with being straightforward about the fact that animal ingredients are, well, animals, presenting these beings as thrilled with their fate as a person rhapsodizes about how great their flesh tastes gets a big "nope" from me.
• 
  Andrea Northam

  A cute story about a girl who thinks pizza is the only best food only to find out that there are a lot of other awesome foods that she needs to try before making that claim. Probably a good book for picky eaters or for non-picky eaters who really like to learn about foods from different cultures (albeit superficially). At times (especially in the first few pages) there is so much happening, it is hard to know what part the author wanted me to read first; nevertheless, it's a worthy read.
• 
  Amanda Brooke

  Nominated for the Washington state children's choice picture book award 2022. I just read this book about 20 times outloud to my students K through 5. It was a great way to introduce persuasive writing to the youngest. I gave them a paper with the sentence starter, "Every night is___" we listed ideas and then they drew their meal. I love how the book features elements of the scientific method, inclusive characters and images, humor.
• 
  JoyAnn

  My 6 year old enjoyed this read with me. I appreciated how many different types of food they showed and the cultural representation as well. I also appreciate her enthusiasm for pizza and data; mmmm pizza ha. Well done to inclusively appeal to picky eaters and encourage kids to try new things while still loving their favorites.
• 
  Amy

  A fun book about a girl obsessed with her pizza until she finally decides, in the name of scientific research and study, to find out if there are other foods as good as pizza. I love that she visits neighbors from a variety of diverse backgrounds and learns about new foods and why they are important to different people. And in the end, she learns it's OK to have more than one favorite kind of food. The book is too text dense to use for a story time but it has a cute story line and message.
• 
  Morgan Brabender

  Every Night is Pizza Night is a colorful, clever, and cute book that not only entertains, but teaches educational lessons too. The illustrations are spunky and fun, which perfectly matches the content.
  
  Diversity & Themes- First of all, I loved the diversity found within the types of food that Pipo tries in the story. She doesn’t stick within her comfort zone of American food or Italian food, but tries foods that most readers probably haven’t heard of (I hadn’t heard of many of them). She models for younger readers that trying new foods can be fun and exciting. Celebrating the diversity of her neighborhood is fun and exciting. This led me to enjoy the story from the beginning.
  
  Educational Value- I’m not an avid children’s book reader, but I’m always excited when I come across a book like this that I could use to hook or engage students before a lesson. Every Night is Pizza Night introduces the idea of collecting data and exploring options before arriving at a conclusion. Data analysis is represented subtly to where the reader doesn’t realize they’re learning while reading a children’s book. I like how Pipo excitedly engages in trying all types of new foods to reconsider her claim that pizza is the best food.
  
  I read this for a Children’s Literature class as part of my graduate program, but I recommend it for parents, teachers of young readers, and math teachers for all ages :)
• 
  Berkshire Athenaeum

  J. Kenji Lopez-Alt is a chef and a food writer, working as a columnist for the New York Times. He has authored this picture book about a young girl who only eats pizza. Her family is tired of pizza and they are trying to get her to be more open-minded about her food choices. She doesn't want to, but how can she know pizza is truly the best if she never has tried anything else? So she embarks on a culinary journey in the name of science trying foods she's never tried to prove once and for all that pizza is the best food there is.
  Why did you like this story? The story presents a heart-warming sense of community, and represents many cultures through cuisine. The illustrations are beautiful and engaging and it is a fun story that continuously made me laugh out loud and smile about trying new things and the comfort we can find in a wonderful meal with friends. There's even a pizza recipe included!
• 
  Bee (BacchusVines)

  First, let's give a big CLAP for Gianna Ruggiero for the amazing, colorful, fun illustrations in Every Night is Pizza Night. I absolutely love seeing Pipo's expressions and their love of pizza. And as the story goes along and they try new food, I love the illustrations of the journey!
  
  And J. Kenji López-Alt's writing is freaking fantastic as well. Every caretaker knows the struggle with picky eaters, and Pipo only knows that pizza is the best. But as they visit their neighbors' and tries the food they offer, for *science*, Pipo discovers there are thousands of different flavors out there waiting to be discovered.
  
  I also love that López-Alt included Pipo's scientific method in discovering if pizza is really the best food. Science is in everything we do, and it's great to see a story about a picky eater trying new things explored with the scientific method.
  
  Also, the dad's food arc is great. Look for it at the beginning and the end. I felt so happy for him.
• 
  Shannon

  This is a useful and cute book. Pipo, our protagonist, is a dictator toward her emotionally-validating millennial parents and makes them all eat pizza every night because IT'S THE BEST. (Lots of jokes about her dad sobbing for grapefruit on the side panel...) Anyway, Pipo discovers that other people don't agree with her pizza monoism and therefore embarks on a quest to try other foods and disprove these pizza-plebes.
  
  Except other food is /awesome/. Great stuff too like tagine, bibimbap, dumplings, chili, and just foodie favorites. Basically this book is a thinly veiled way of manipulating your child into trying new foods.
  
  It's fantastic.
• 
  Gabrielle Stoller

  Oh my goodness! This book is positively delightful! As a woman married to an engineer (who always wants more data), I couldn't relate to a book more. What is really the best food? Is it pizza? Others say no....but how can they be wrong?
  
  I love all of the introductions to food and cultures: dumplings, pozole, red beans and rice, bee-bim-bop. This book encourages children to get out there and try new foods! It is fantastic in that way. BIG time. And in the end, the discovery that is FAMILY that often makes our favorite food the best food. Memories attached to food. All of it plays a part.
• 
  Lauren DelGaizo

  Introduces kids to trying new foods, keeping an open mind, and seeing that there is not only one “best” anything—we are all the best in different ways. Also uses science and data to prove hypotheses. Uses pizza, a reliable favorite, to segue into classics from other cultures. Artwork is unique and colorful and busy—gorgeous and I can’t wait to see more from this illustrator. Well written and funny for both adult and child. My only qualm is that it was a little bit long!
  
  Higher reading level—many words on a page.
• 
  Mrs. M

  Every Night is Pizza Night is such a cute book! It can be read to children who are picky eaters as a way to encourage them to try different foods, or it can be read as a way to talk to your child about your family’s recipes and what makes them special/talk about different foods from different cultures. I thought it was also a cute idea to have a recipe for pizza included at the back of the book so the book can then be paired with a real life activity!
• 
  Lacy | literary_lacy

  This is a cute book that is great for pizza loving kiddos. The only problem with it, is that it was just a little too wordy for my kids. It took us a few days to even get it read, but we finally did it, and I thought it was cute!
  
  There’s even a recipe for Pipo’s pizza at the end, which would be fun to make with your kids, so you can make this book interactive!
  
  Overall, this is a cute book that would be great for school-aged children.
• 
  Mama Bearian

  Pipo LOVES pizza. Pizza is the best - that's a fact, but when it is suggested that maybe pizza is not the best, Pipo must collect more data. She tries various foods shared by her neighbors until she can reach a conclusion. Is pizza really the best? I liked the variety of foods that were featured here, and the colorful illustrations easily kept my attention. A great story for picky eaters!
• 
  Rylee Hale

  Every Night Is Pizza Night is a story about open-mindedness, community, and family! I really liked how there was a bonus pizza recipe for young readers to cook with their parents, I think that is really unique and fun! Every Night Is Pizza Night is just kind of one of those fun stories that celebrates family and those family-like connections! The illustrations were also very enjoyable!