My-Oh-My-Oh-My It's an Ugly Pie

In Lisa Wheeler's Ugly Pie, Ol' Bear wakes up one morning with an itchin' for some pie - some Ugly Pie.

Traveling from house to house in his country community he sniffs out Grampa Grizzle's pleasin' pumpkin pie, Ma Hickory's righteous rhubarb pie, and sweet Cicely's heavenly honey pie, but nothing to satisfy his hankerin' for an Ugly Pie.

Along the way, he's given the ugliest thing that each bear has in their kitchen - gooey sweet molasses, wrinkled red raisins, sour green apples, and bumpy brown walnuts. Returning home...

Ol' Bear commences to a-choppin' and a-mixin' and a-stirrin' and a -fixing and a-rollin' and a-makin' an Ugly Pie just fit for bakin'!

He's good enough to share the pie with his neighbors, and the recipe with us. You can find it at on the last page of the book, or a version of it here, from Montessori Mama.

I have mentioned before how much I like children's books with recipes at the back, but this recipe with its list of ugly ingredients, shortening instead of butter in the crust (much easier for little hands to mix in), and instructions such as...

Pat that ball of ugly dough down like you mean business. Then roll it with a rolling pin...it doesn't matter if it looks nice and round and pretty. This is Ugly Pie!

or...

Take the crumbly flour mixture you set aside earlier (the remainder of dough for the top crust). Sprinkle over the top of the pie (this instruction was changed by Montessori Mama).

...makes this hands down my favorite pie recipe for children. Once the apples are peeled and cut, the children can pretty well take it from there.

It is an ugly, but tasty pie, too. Just have some ice cream ready to serve along with it - it's very sweet.

As a bonus, Wheeler's homespun, hillbilly text provides an excellent opportunity for discussing double negatives.

It's great to be a homeschooler.