Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs
– and Other Economic Lessons from
Children’s Literature
by Alleen Nilsen
and Don Nilsen
Children’s literature is a good place to discover
what a culture values because:
1. People who create stories and art for children rely
on common objects with universal appeal.
2. Especially in old folktales and rhymes, the
“wisdom” of the ages has been collected,
condensed, and polished for a new generation.
3. The “classics” of children’s literature are shared by
parents, teachers, and various media so that at the
same time stories and poems reflect a culture,
they also teach the values of the culture.
For example, advertisers, broadcasters,
cartoonists, politicians and bloggers rely on
these exaggerated characters:
•
•
•
•
CHICKEN LITTLE to represent alarmists.
PINOCCHIO to stand in for liars.
THE BIG BAD WOLF to warn us of danger.
THE FROG PRINCE to give hope to
discouraged women of all ages.
• HUMPTY DUMPTY to point out how easy it is
to fall from grace.
There’s something cheerful about a smiling Humpty
Dumpty sitting on a wall, but still he portends disaster.
• We are affected because
our emotions are stretched
in both directions.
• In cartoons, after his fall,
there is usually a
sympathetic crowd trying
to put him back together.
• But a surprising cartoon in
2009 showed him being
shunned by a donkey and
two wizard-like characters
shouting “Salmonella!”
This New Yorker cartoon is more typical.
• It is hinting to a Wall Street
banker that there’s going to
be a stock market crash.
• The “Humpty Dumpty”
nursery rhyme is so famous
that even without the
image, the phrase “All the
King’s men…” is enough to
deliver a warning. Our
ASU library has over 100
items with these words in
their titles.
It’s been 75 years since Dorothy and her friends
danced up the yellow brick road in The Wizard of Oz.
• L. Frank Baum, who wrote the original book, was terribly
poor, which inspired him to think of the yellow brick road
as a metaphor for gold and riches.
• In the 1980s, APS used this image in a full page newspaper
ad to illustrate the message, “We’re on our way to more
efficient fuel alternatives.”
• But in a recent cartoon, The Wicked Witch is saying
“Forget the slippers. I want Tin Man’s oil.”
• In another cartoon, Dorothy has sold the Tin Man to a
recycling center in exchange for bus fare back to Kansas.
Of course “The old woman who lived in a shoe, with
so many children she didn’t know what to do” makes
us think of economic matters.
• Actually, we all live in our
shoes, but just not as
interpreted in the old
nursery rhyme.
• In the 1980s, she was
featured in a cheerful
advertising campaign for
Hawaiian punch, which
was such a bargain she
could afford it for her
whole family.
But cartoons have had different messages fitting with
changes in the real estate market.
• One drawing showed
the shoe all boarded up
with a “FORECLOSURE”
sign on it.
• In another one, a real
estate broker is
standing in front of the
shoe and saying “It
looked kinda dumpy,
but appraised at a
million-two.”
Hansel and Gretel are the ultimate example of
economically deprived orphans.
• In one cartoon, Gretel solemnly quizzes the Witch
on the nutritional value of the food in her enticing
house.
• A TV commercial for an investment company
showed Hansel and Gretel wandering into Wall
Street and dropping bread crumbs to help them find
their way out.
• A more recent one showed an ornate drawing of
the house with a sign reading “THIS STRUCTURE
WILL BE TORN DOWN AND REPLACED BY A NEW 44STORY COOKIE.”
What are the economic lessons in “Jack and the
Beanstalk?”
Grand old stories often
accommodate various ideas.
• Is it a warning against
street hustlers?
• Does it say that risky
investments require
adaptability?
• Or that the wives of ogres
are often kinder than their
husbands?
• Or that Jack was just lucky?
• Or maybe smarter then he
looked?
Popular modern stories are also alluded to for
efficient communication.
The last seven words in this title
have appeared in hundreds—if
not thousands—of print and
online descriptions.
Author Judith Viorst modestly
said it was because the kids
who grew up reading her
book are now running the
world’s media.
• Some people say it’s
because it is a perfect
description of our troubled
world.
• While others say it is
popular because it scans so
well— It’s folk poetry.
And now we come to the humorous book
that inspired this project.
It’s a good beginning for a unit on economics because
food and money are intimately connected in people’s
minds, for example,
• Bread and dough are slang terms for money.
• And so is bringing home the bacon.
• Salt is related to an old word for salaries,
which used to be partially paid in salt. Saying
that someone wasn’t worth his salt, was
saying he wasn’t worth his salary.
• Paper money, i.e. greenbacks, is sometimes
called lettuce.
What do these terms have in common?
FOOD TERM . . . METAPHOR
COOKIE . . . COOKIE ON A COMPUTER
SOUP . . . A SOUPED-UP CAR
STRAWBERRY JAM . . . A TRAFFIC JAM
STEW . . . TO STEW ABOUT A PROBLEM
SALT AND PEPPER . . . A SALT AND PEPPER BEARD
SPAM IN A CAN
. . . SPAM ON A COMPUTER
A DOUGHNUT HOLE . . . THE DOUGHNUT HOLE IN
SOCIAL SECURITY/MEDICARE
One of the charms of the original 1978 book
was its subtlety.
• E.g., the title is not spoken
but simply hinted at in the
background picture that
the TV weatherman is
pointing to.
• Also, notice the doleful dog
and the picture on the TV
screen, that says “SOUP,” a
term that really is used in
relation to weather.
Food really does come from the sky through
sunshine and rain, and it is refreshing to see such a
basic truth exaggerated and treated with humor.
• A good example of Ron
Barrett’s subtle humor
is in this drawing of a
“salt and pepper wind”
that brought in a
“tomato tornado.”
• Only careful readers
notice that the woman
in her chair is reading
“Gone with the Wind.”
Young children will also enjoy Tomie
de Paolo’s book.
• As he is quick to point out,
it is his original story about
a foolish boy who does not
know how to turn off
Strega Nona’s spaghetti
making machine.
• However, the theme is
similar to many versions of
an old folk tale answering
the question of “Why the
Sea Turned to Salt?
Older students will probably be more intrigued
by pondering economic issues related to the
making and marketing of the films.
• Promotional materials about the films provide some
insights into “the magic” as well as the hard work that
was involved in turning a 32-page picture book into a
series of books and films.
• It wouldn’t have been impossible without computer
graphics, plus a lot of imagination and creativity.
• Teachers might also want to get the 2009 book by
Tracey Miller-Zarnecke The Art and Making of Cloudy
with a Chance of Meatballs.
Even the reviewers were inspired to
use food-related terms.
• They talked about the “scrumptious sequel.”
• And how even “foodies” weren’t crying out for a
“second helping” of this animated
“meaterology.”
• They also assured readers that even though it
lacks “lingering nutritional value,” the sequel is
more than “just reheated leftovers” and viewers
will enjoy the humor if their brains haven’t
already been turned to “mush.”