Enemy Pie

A RIF GUIDE FOR COMMUNITY COORDINATORS

Themes: Friendship, Acceptance, Jealousy
Grade Level: 1st to 3rd grade
Book Brief: With the help of his fathers secret
recipe, a young boy learns about
friendship.

Author:
Derek Munson
Illustrator:
Tara Calahan King

TIME TO READ!
Before reading: Ask the children if they have friends they didnt really like at first.
Have they ever judged others without getting to know them? Why? Was it out of
jealousy? What were other reasons?

RELATED ACTIVITIES
FRIENDSHIP PIE (AGES 4-12)

THE GOOD SHIP FRIENDSHIP (AGES 5-12)

Make a group pie celebrating all the things that

make someone a good friend. Give each child a small
piece of paper and have them write or draw their
favorite thing about their best friend. (For a longer
activity, have them write a story.) Put all the pieces of
paper into an aluminum pie pan and cover with a
brown paper crust.

Materials: Styrofoam, markers or paint, plastic coffee

straws, scissors, tape, paper

FRIENDSHIP BRACELETS (AGES 4-12)

Materials: 3 different colors of string or thin rope,
tape, beads (optional)
1. Cut 3 pieces of different colored string, about the
same length. Tie a knot in one end.
2. Tape the tied end down to hold it steady and braid
or twist the string together. Add beads if you want.

1. Cut Styrofoam into small triangles and let children

decorate them with markers or paint.
2. Cut a small triangle of paper and tape it to a
coffee straw to make a sail.
3. Attach sail to boat
by pushing the straw
into the Styrofoam.
If theres water
nearby, take the kids
outside to test their
ships. If not, float
the ships in a pan
or tub of water.

3. When the bracelet is long enough, knot the end

and tie it around the childs wrist.
4. Let kids make bracelets with or for a friend to
celebrate friendship.

ADDITIONAL RESOURCES
OTHER BOOKS ABOUT FRIENDSHIP
One of Us, Peggy Moss (2010), Wings, Christopher Myers (2000),
Bein with You This Way, W. Nikola-Lisa (1997).

TECHNOLOGY LINK FOR KIDS www.rif.org/kids

Enemy Pie
A RIF GUIDE FOR EDUCATORS
Themes: Friendship, Acceptance, Jealousy
Grade Level: 1st to 3rd grade
Book Brief: With the help of his fathers secret
recipe, a young boy learns about
friendship.

Author:
Derek Munson
Illustrator:
Tara Calahan King
Content Connections:
Math

TIME TO READ!
BEFORE WE READ, LETS LOOK AT...
The Cover: Have students make predictions about
the text based on the front cover illustration. Whats
in the pie? Why would you put worms in a pie? What
does For My Best Enemy mean? Has anyone heard
that expression?
The Pictures: For younger students, take a brief
picture walk. Based on the pictures, do the two boys
in the story look like enemies? Does the pie in the
story look like the pie on the front cover? Have
students guess how they think the story will end
based on the illustrations.

Prior Knowledge: Ask students if they have any

friends they didnt like at first. Why didnt they? Were
they jealous? Did these other children look or act
weird? How can you decide not to like someone
before you really get to know that person?
Vocabulary: enemy, jealousy, recipe, poisonous
Purpose for Reading: Students can synthesize by
setting the following purpose: As we read today, I
want you to think about how and why the main
character changes his mind from the beginning of
the story to the end.

WHILE WE READ
MONITORING COMPREHENSION
N Why doesnt the boy like

Jeremy Ross? Does he have a

good reason?
N What do you think is in the
dads secret recipe for
enemy pie?

N Why does the dad say his son has to spend a day

with Jeremy?

N Why does the boy let Jeremy into his treehouse?

N Is Jeremy Ross really as bad as the boy thought

he was? How do you know?

N Whats the real secret of enemy pie? Why didnt
the dad put anything gross in it?

LETS THINK ABOUT

Our Purpose: Revisit the purpose: How did the main character change his mind? Why do you think he changed
it? Encourage students to think about and give you evidence from the text that can help support their ideas.
Extending Our Thinking: Ask students to think about their own friends. What makes someone a good friend?
Jeremy Ross can throw a boomerang, but is that what makes him a good friend? Ask students their favorite
things about their best friends. Do your students think they themselves are good friends? Have each student
identify a good friendship quality they see in themselves.

NOTE TO EDUCATORS
N Extension Activities for Educators also available.
N Vocabulary Scaffolding Sheet also available.

Enemy Pie
A RIF GUIDE FOR PARENTS AND FAMILIES
Themes: Friendship, Acceptance, Jealousy
Grade Level: 1st to 3rd grade
Book Brief: With the help of his fathers secret
recipe, a young boy learns about
friendship.

Author:
Derek Munson
Illustrator:
Tara Calahan King

TIME TO READ!
Before reading, make
connections: Does your
child have any friends who
started out as enemies?
Any friends they didnt like at first but like now?

After reading, ask questions:

N Why doesnt the boy like Jeremy Ross?

N Does he have a good reason?

N Why does the father make his son spend the day

with Jeremy?

While reading, make predictions: As you read, ask

your child to guess what will happen next. How will
the story end? What kinds of gross things is the
father putting in his enemy pie?

N Why does the boy change his mind about Jeremy?

N What do you think the enemy pie was really

made of?

RELATED ACTIVITIES
DIRT PIE

FRIENDSHIP BRACELETS

Ingredients: instant chocolate pudding, milk,

chocolate cookies or graham crackers (crushed),
gummy worms or frogs (optional)

Materials: 3 different colors

of string or thin rope, tape,
beads (optional)

Make instant pudding using the directions on the

package. Pour it into a pie pan or glass bowl.

1. Cut 3 pieces of different

colored string, about
the same length. Tie a
knot in one end.

Put cookie crumbs on top as dirt and decorate

with gummy animals. Use low-fat pudding and
skim milk for a healthful choice.

OUT AND ABOUT

Its easy to say you dont like something if youve
never tried it. The next time youre out, challenge
your child to try something newtaste a new kind
of food, play a new game, talk to a new person,
anything! Talk about the results.

2. Tape the tied end down

to hold it steady and braid or twist the string
together. Add beads if you want.
3. When the bracelet is long enough, knot the end
and tie it around the childs wrist.
4. Let kids make bracelets with or for a friend to
celebrate friendship.

ADDITIONAL RESOURCES
OTHER BOOKS ABOUT FRIENDSHIP
One of Us, Peggy Moss (2010), Wings, Christopher Myers (2000),
Bein with You This Way, W. Nikola-Lisa (1997).

TECHNOLOGY LINK FOR KIDS www.rif.org/kids

Enemy Pie
A RIF VOCABULARY SCAFFOLD

enemy:
someone
you really
dont like

recipe:
something that
tells you how
to cook food

disgusting:
really gross,
nasty, yucky

ingredients:
things you
need to cook
something

poisonous:
bad for you to
eat, drink or
sometimes
touch

trampoline:
something
you jump on

squint:
to close your
eyes halfway,
either to help you
see or because
the light is
too bright

boomerang:
a curved stick you
throw that comes
back to you

buzzer:
a bell that rings
to let you know
how much time
has passed; it
says bzzz and
not ding ding

delicious:
yummy, good
tasting

Enemy Pie
RIF EXTENSION ACTIVITIES FOR EDUCATORS
(ENEMY) PIE CHART
Explore fractions by making a class pie chart.
Ask students what their favorite kind of pie
(or dessert) is and put the answers on the
board. Then, do the math to create a pie chart.
N

Start with the number in the class. There

are 24 of us. We make that number the
denominator and write it like this: /24.
Move on to favorites: How many like
strawberry pie? Six? Okay. That number is
the numerator. So 624 or 14 of our class pie
is strawberry.

Students can also be put into small groups and

asked to create their own
group pie chart.

Chocolate
Apple
Peach
Blueberry
Pumpkin

FRIENDSHIP BOOK
Give every student a sheet of paper and ask
them to draw a picture of or write a story about
a favorite adventure with their best friend.
Put the stories into
a notebook or bind
them together with
ribbon or yarn to
make a class book.

SECRET RECIPE
Show or give students examples of simple
recipes for different kinds of pies. Put them in
pairs or groups and have them work to create
their own secret recipe for the
most delicious pie ever. They
can put whatever they want in
the pie, but it should follow
recipe format. Be sure they
include fractions and
imperatives!
(You could also
do this as a
whole-group
activity.)

GIVING THANKS
In the story, the boys father helps him make a
new friend. How have your students parents
helped them? Have your students write a letter
to their parents (or
another guardian/adult)
thanking them for a
time they helped their
children do or learn
something. Model
how to write a
friendly letter for
the class.