Pie (Scholastic Gold) Paperback – April 30, 2013

I loved this book from the beginning. I read a review about it on a blog and decided to read it for myself. I teach fourth grade and am looking for my next read aloud. I'm excited to read this in the Spring with my students and see what extensions we can come up with to go along with it. Perhaps a Mother's Day Pie Cookbook?

My daughter 12 years old LOVES this book and tells me it is one of her favorites. I understand why, having read it myself yesterday. I liken the writing of the book to real pies -some have a bittersweet taste at first. However, as the blend of textures, flavors, aromas, goes over the palate, the first "taste/chapter" is a combination so mysterious, so intriguing; it is hard to put down. Before you know it--you can't get enough.An adult woman named Alice narrates the story from the perspective of her 12-year-old girlhood memory. It begins at a time shortly after her beloved Aunt Polly, unexpectedly dies. Aunt Polly was a lovely, kindhearted, eccentric woman, who lived simply. She also possessed a unique blend of strong ethics along with an award winning talent for pie making.The sudden loss of the town's pie maker extraordinaire affects the town on many levels. Adding to this is the revelation of her cryptic will, which leaves everyone in multiple states of grief, confusion, suspicion, and among a few...competition.Poor little Alice felt the pain of her Aunt's loss most of all. Time spent with Aunt Polly was treasured. Alice could confide in her Aunt, and Polly's attention always made Alice feel good.What makes this story so delightful is the element of satisfaction that stays with the reader. (Much like that full feeling you get after eating a great slice of pie.) The author, like the pie maker, takes joy in using her talents to provide some intellectual dessert and intrigue to the lives of others. Sprinkled among the chapters are some nice pie recipes. Best of all, the brain food stays on your mind, not on your hips.

My kids, ages 6-12, and I enjoyed this book as part of our book club. It is set in the 1950s so some things were a bit unfamiliar to them, but they really did enjoy the story and the mystery aspect of it. The ending was a bit disappointing in how Alice's life worked out and the math of some of the characters ages didn't seem to add up, but it was a minor detraction from an otherwise delightful book. This book makes for a wonderful theme for a book club party with lots of tasty pie.

I read this book to my 8 and 10 year old sons. They loved the suspense and didn't ever want me to stop reading it. We finished it in less than a week of before bed reading time - we just couldn't put it down!The pie recipes are a huge bonus. We're planning on making a couple of the recipes from the book together soon.Four stars because some parts were a little scary for the kids...a body in a coffin, someone breaking into a little kid's bedroom at night...it all fits well into the story, but until you get to the end, some of those things were quite scary for them. Maybe I shouldn't have read the book at bedtime?

Okay, this is a young teen novel of sorts, even though the setting takes you back to Leave It to Beaver and Andy Griffith days. But with a home pie shop and a cat named Lardo, one can't help but be entranced by this story. Yes, there's a small mystery involved, Nancy Drew style; and the characters are about as vivid as watching an old Rogers & Hammerstein musical. But despite being a quick read, you'll breathe a contented sigh of pleasure at the end, glad that you ventured out of your comfort zone and read something this simple and yet something so delightful. All in all, worth picking up when you're feeling ready for a quick read.

Alice's aunt Polly is the Pie Queen of Ipswitch, and when she dies, everyone in Ipswitch is upset. Not only was Polly such a nice person that she gave her pies away rather than selling them, but people were really hooked on her pies. Pie even amped up the town's economy. Polly's shop, Pie, had become a real tourist attraction in Ipswitch. After all, Polly was a 13-time winner of the national pie contest, the Blueberry. (Someone else entered her pies because she didn't care about honors and contests.)Alice is especially sad because she was very close to her aunt. To her surprise, her aunt leaves her a legacy, her grouchy cat, Lardo. And she has left her award-winning pie crust recipe to Lardo!Now half the town is baking pies, trying to win the Blueberry themselves. Including Alice's mother, who has envied Polly for years and resented the fact that Polly didn't use her gifts to make a lot of money.Alice's father doesn't bake; he sneezes. He's allergic to cats, so the addition of Lardo to his household is a little tough.As for Alice, she has no interest in making pies. Her own talent is for songwriting. Now she is trying to get along with Lardo, not the world's sweetest feline. When Lardo disappears from her room, Alice worries that he has been catnapped.Also, what is magazine reporter Sylvia DeSoto really up to? Let alone Mayor Needleman's wife, or Alice's principal, Miss Gurke?With a town full of secrets and failed pie crust, Alice and Aunt Polly's shop assistant Charlie set out to play Nancy Drew and one of the Hardy Boys, respectively. Sure, Charlie is good at fixing Alice's uncooperative bicycle chain, but he makes a pretty good friend, too.Alice is inclined to be self doubting, worrying about all the things she's said and done wrong. It will be clear to readers that what Polly most wanted to leave her niece was not a pie crust recipe; it was simple, everyday happiness."But happiness seemed as far from Alice's reach as the disappearing pies in her dream. She lay in bed wondering if things would ever change, and that's when she remembered something her aunt Polly had once told her...." Polly quoted Henry David Thoreau, who said, "If you want things to be different, you have to start by changing yourself."Of course, Alice, being a self-doubter, takes this memory the wrong way and decides she should change everything about herself. Stuff like her singing, her imagination, and her hunches. Readers will be quick to realize that Alice's new goal is not a wise one. Sure enough, a few pages and a peach pie later, Alice gets it right. Other characters also grow and change, replacing old perspectives with new ones.This is a fairly slim book, a cheerful, unintimidating story of adventure and friendship--and pie.

Grandson loves this book. Purchased two copies, one for home and one for Grandma’s house. We’ve read it over and over. A favorite!

Everything about this book revolves around the best pie maker in the world.She dies in the first paragraph, leaving all her recipes to her cat, Lardo.The cat is left to her niece and it is her adventures and discoveries that make this book such a great read.Every chapter is prefaced with a pie recipe and everyone has a favourite pie.A great book, a rivetting read for my nine year old daughter and a superb ending to boot.The only downside is that, being an American publication, the recipes are in need of a little translation. If you go to the trouble, some are truly delicious, just like this book.

Really weird book that reads backwards, so rather than scrolling down/forwards, you have to do the opposite.Duh! to me, but I didn't clock what the Sneak Peek bit meant, and after reading 2 chapters intersperced with pie recipes, I ended up annoyed at the waste of my time. I thought that given the picture of the cat on the cover, there might be some mention of the cat, but no, it's about a family disagreement, and a lady who opens a pie shop as a young girl, and gives them all away for free until the day she dies...hmmm

The best 2 things in the worlds, pies and cats. My childhood is complete, thank you

This book is an excellent novel that is great for grade 2-4 (especially read aloud).Sarah Weeks threads the storyline through each chapter in such a that makes it really hard to put down.As a librarian I definetly recommend it for ages 7-10!!

A gift for our grandchild who had it on her Christmas list. She is also looking forward to the recipes in it.