Enemy Pie

Enemy Pie

by Derek Munson, illustrated by Tara Calahan King

Ages 6-9

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In Enemy Pie a young boy is worried his summer will be ruined by his number one enemy until his dad tells him the secret of "enemy pie".  The pie will get rid of enemies, but first you have to spend one whole day with them and be nice for it to work.  By the end of the day the number one enemy is a new friend. 

This book absolutely captures the experience of having a childhood enemy, the one kid you have a grudge against.  The narrator was not invited to his enemy's trampoline party and his enemy just moved in by his best friend.  The narrator is jealous and afraid that his enemy will steal his best friend.  I remember feeling the exact same way in elementary school.  Somone did not invite you to their birthday party, a kid made fun of your show and tell and at that age it's reason for them to become your number one enemy. In the story, as in life, it appears to the reader that the animosity was probably a misunderstanding to begin with.  When the two kids actually spend the day together they realize how much they have in common and become good friends.  The story is told in first person and narrator is never given a name which increases the intimacy of the first hand perspective.  The illustrations are done in colored pencil and pastels in a simple, cartoonish style.  The simplified illustrations allow for the reader to fill in the details with personal settings and experiences.  I think most kids could relate to playing outside all day and never having enough time to play before dinner.

While this book appears to be about enemies it is really about making new friends which is a shared experience among children.  The story shows that if you do not get to know someone and give them a chnace, someone who could have been a best friend might become an enemy.  The narrator has to spend a day with his enemy and we see his nervous ancicipation when he asks him to play and his enemies confusion at his invitation.  The narrator may have been too scared to make friends with the boy and so he became his enemy instead.  I would use this books to spark conversations about personal experiances with enemies and friends.  I would have the students think about an enemy of theirs.  Why were they enemies, what happened?  I would have them try to think of it from the enemies perspective, could there have been a misunderstanding like in the book?  Then I would have them think of a time when they made a new friend.  Was it scarey, why?  What did they do together?  We could discuss what people should do when they make new friends and what would make them more comfortable.  This discussion would be a good way for students to get a better understinding of their classmates and how other children view friendship. 

Visit this address for a creative writing project designed by the author Derek Munson http://www.enemypie.com/enemy_pie_creative_writing.pdf