12-Year-Old Time Traveler Discovers Best Pizza In America

Seattle author and photographer Michael Class has used digital composite photography to place his twelve year-old son, Anthony, in the cockpit of the Spirit of St. Louis with Charles Lindbergh, in the laboratory with Thomas Edison, on the baseball diamond with Lou Gehrig, and on the moon with Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin.

"I wanted to capture the interest of today's kids," says Class, "by turning American history into a grand time travel adventure.” The museum-quality book, Anthony and the Magic Picture Frame, is recommended for Grades 6-12. The Web site, www.MagicPictureFrame.com, displays some of the book's amazing photographs.

In Chapter 3 of the book, Anthony time-travels to 1907 and meets his Italian immigrant great-grandfather at Ellis Island: Together, they explore turn-of-the-century New York City. At one point in the story, Anthony and his teenage great-grandfather lunch on fresh-baked pizza, while sitting on the curb of a cobblestone street in the Little Italy section of New York.

Anthony says: "The pizza was the best I have ever tasted. It was not at all like the pizza in my own time, which is mostly a saucy mess of cheese and toppings, piled sky-high on doughy, tasteless bread. No, the pizza back then was much simpler, and yet, far better! I'll never forget the wonderful flavors of fresh tomatoes, fragrant basil, pungent garlic, golden olive oil, and bubbling-hot buffalo mozzarella cheese. Put all that on charcoal-oven crisped bread and it's like heaven in your mouth! The pizza alone was worth the trip through ninety-seven years!"

"Anthony is describing Pizza Margherita, prepared in the classic Neapolitan style," explains Class. "In 1889, Queen Margherita of Italy asked Raffaele Esposito, the owner of a restaurant near the palace in Naples, to cook a pizza dinner for the royal family. Raffaele prepared three pizzas: Pizza alla Mastunicola, a pungent cheese and lard pizza; Pizza alla Marinara, a seafood pizza with anchovies; and Pizza alla Mozzarella, a cheese pizza. On a patriotic impulse, Raffaele placed bright green leaves of basil on top of the cheese pizza to match the colors of the Italian flag - red, white, and green. Raffaele named the new pizza, Pizza Margherita, in honor of the Queen."

In the book, Anthony bought his pizza at Gennaro Lombardi's store on Spring Street in Little Italy. Gennaro Lombardi emigrated from Naples, Italy, in 1895, when he was twenty years old. In 1897, Lombardi opened a grocery store, where he made pizzas for hungry Italian immigrant workers. Lombardi's store was officially established as the first pizzeria in America when it obtained a New York City mercantile license in 1905.

"Lombardi's still turns out some of the best pizza in America," insists Class. "It's still located in the Little Italy section of New York City."

In the 21st century, True Neapolitan Pizza is becoming more widely available in America. In 1984, Antonio Pace, the owner of one of the oldest Pizza restaurants in Naples, Italy, founded the Association for True Neapolitan Pizza. The Association published specifications for True Neapolitan Pizza and began a formal program of training pizza chefs and certifying pizza restaurants in the United States and around the world. Only certified pizza restaurants can display the sign: "Vera Pizza Napoletana," meaning "Certified True Neapolitan Pizza."

"Sometimes I think that the most controversial part of the book is Anthony's discussion of pizza," says Class, only half-joking. "When it comes to pizza, everyone has an opinion!"

People can propose and discuss their favorite pizza restaurants on the author's Web site: www.MagicPictureFrame.blogspot.com. Anthony recommends Lombardi's (New York), and also Totonno's Pizzeria (New York), Johns Pizzeria (New York), and Original Pizzeria Uno (Chicago).

Anthony and the Magic Picture Frame was named Outstanding Book of the Year and Most Original Concept of 2006 by Independent Publisher, Reviewers Choice by Midwest Book Review, and Editor's Pick by Homefires: The Journal of Homeschooling Online. Nationally syndicated talk-show host Michael Medved calls the book "entertaining and educational."

Anthony and the Magic Picture Frame (hardcover, 225 pages, $35) is available at www.MagicPictureFrame.com, by calling toll-free 1-800-247-6553, at select bookstores, and on www.amazon.com.

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Note to editors and book reviewers: Author and son are available for interviews. Photographs and review copies are available.

Contact: Michael Class, 425-890-4894, class@MagicPictureFrame.com