Also available in Spanish




CELENIA CHÉVERE was born in New York City. She is the 1999 recipient of the Latina Excellence Award from HISPANIC magazine and the founding principal of a new elementary school in New York City. This is Celenia’s second book for young readers. She currently lives in North Bergen, New Jersey, with her cat, Ringo.


PATRICIA M. HERBERT was born in Brooklyn, New York, and is of Puerto Rican descent. She currently works as a Reading Recovery® teacher in the Bronx. This is her first book for beginning readers, and she was inspired to write it by her love of cooking. Patricia and her husband live in Teaneck, New Jersey.




DONNA PERRONE received her fine arts degree from the School of Visual Arts in New York City. She has illustrated several books for children, and she especially enjoys working on stories with multicultural themes. A native of Queens, New York, Donna now lives in Manhattan with her cat, Cleo.

Download the MEAT PIES Guided Reading Lesson Plan by clicking here

Guided Reading Guided reading levels were assigned by certified Reading Recovery® teachers and literacy experts using the guidelines identified in Guided Reading and Matching Books to Readers by Irene C. Fountas and Gay Su Pinnell (Heinemann).

Intervention Intervention levels were assigned by certified Reading Recovery® teachers and literacy experts and are intended for use in early intervention and one-on-one tutorial programs, including Reading Recovery® programs. These levels are not officially authorized by Reading Recovery®. Reading Recovery® is a registered servicemark of The Ohio State University.

DRA (Developmental Reading Assessment) The DRA levels were determined using information in the Developmental Reading Assessment Resource Guide by Joetta Beaver (Celebration Press).

All level placements may vary and are subject to revision. Teachers may adjust the assigned levels in accordance with their own evaluations.