Ice princess Lina must navigate family and school in this early chapter read. One can only wish that “world pizza” could solve our planet’s problems. The unusual pizza ingredients named in the text are strewn across the inside covers-pickles, marshmallows, cherries, and chocolate chips-but (perhaps thankfully) no recipes are included. The gentle text, however unrealistic, does have a very positive outlook. And everyone was happy” in the universe that visually expands out of her sons’ deep blue quilt. The wishful mama never realizes the world has changed, although her family is “cozy in the warmth of their peaceful dreams. Other illustrations show familiar scenes of parades and playgrounds with diverse groups of people. The digital illustrations have a painterly feeling, but unfortunately, the usual stereotypes show up: a pirate in an eye patch, an Arctic Native in a fur-trimmed parka, and unnamed Africans in grass skirts.

Bullies become friendly, pirates stop fighting, and “angry neighbors with tall fences and locked doors” explore the world outside. Unbeknownst to the family, pizzas of many different flavors start dropping all over the world, and behavior changes. Suddenly a delicious pizza drops from the sky. When a white mom in an interracial family wishes on a star for world peace and then sneezes, the words sound like “world pizza,” or at least that’s what her sons think. Many people wish fervently for world peace, and the mom in this picture book is no different.

World pizza cece meng