Review Detail

May's Too-Big Pizza: Ready-to-Read Level 1

Kids Fiction 184

Big Families Can Be Overwhelming!

April 09, 2026 (Updated: June 15, 2026)

Overall rating

4.0

Plot

4.0

Characters

4.0

Writing Style

4.0

Illustrations/Photos (if applicable)

4.0

May has seven brothers and sisters in her blended family, so all of the activities she does with her siblings are loud and BIG! When May's friend Stella comes over and the children decide to make a pizza, they try to make it BIG, but not too big. They make the dough, add the toppings, and try to make sure that everything works well. May finds this a little overwhelming, and needs some time to herself, but Stella assures her that she is having a lot of fun. When the pizza is done, the two of them will do a smaller, quieter activity together.

Good Points

The repetitive nature of the text ("We need flour, a lot of flour. But not too much!") will help young readers learn word recognition while also giving them plenty of opportunities to sound out words like "pepper" and "vegetable". The illustrations support the text, and have lots of details and fun items in the background to look for. May and her siblings have differing skin tones.

While many children like the idea of a large family, it can be a challenging experience to deal with a large number of people, especially that many cooks in the kitchen!

Readers who are interested in big families or cooking will enjoy this volume, and I'm curious to read more All About May books and learn about her exciting family. Offer this to emerging readers along with Lyons' Ty's Travels, Otheguy's Reina Ramos books, or John and Oswald's The Food Group series.