pies

Review: Pie by Sarah Weeks

| Tasha

pie

Pie by Sarah Weeks

When Alice’s Aunt Polly dies, the entire community of Ipswitch feels the loss.  Polly, the Pie Queen, left behind quite a void, one that had been filled by her pie shop and her incredible gift for baking pies.  Every resident had a favorite and with her death, they knew they would never taste them again.  But for Alice it is much worse, she has lost one of her dearest friends as well as the shop where she spent much of her time.  Her Aunt Polly left the recipe for her award-winning pie crust to Lardo, her ornery cat, and she left Lardo to Alice.  No one is really sure how someone can leave a recipe to a cat.  As the days pass, strange things start happening, but only Alice seems to notice.  She knows there is someone out there trying to get their hands on the recipe.  With her new friend, Charlie, Alice is determined to solve the mystery.

Weeks has written a book as light as meringue but that has plenty of depth as well.  The story is great fun to read.  It has the tang of a mystery combined with the sweetness of pie.   The pie recipes shared at the beginning of each chapter will have you drooling and determined to see if you could maybe be the next Blueberry Award winner.

Notice how that rhymes with Newbery Award winner?  Weeks has a lot of fun with her brief description of how the Blueberry Award is announced.  It closely resembles the Newbery Award process and had me giggling.  It’s a great insider joke to have in a children’s book.

Alice is a strong character, struggling with the loss of her aunt.  She is determined, creative and imaginative, singing little songs to herself all the time.   These are the things her aunt supported in her, but that her own mother doesn’t understand.  The family dynamic is an important piece of the entire book and is written with great honesty.

A delicious, fun read, this book of pie and mystery is a treat whether read with alamode or alone.  It’s an ideal book for classroom sharing as well, after all who doesn’t like pie?  Appropriate for ages 9-12.

Reviewed from ARC received from Scholastic Press.

Also reviewed by:

Review: Apple Pie ABC by Alison Murray

| Tasha

apple pie abc

Apple Pie ABC by Alison Murray

A small black-and-white dog desperately wants a piece of apple pie in this alphabetical story.  It all starts with a girl making A for apple pie and a happily sleeping dog.  But as soon as the pie is in the oven with B for bake it, the dog is very interested in the pie.  Then the pie must C for cool it and D for dish it out.  Though the girl gets to eat some pie, the dog must make due with just a crumb.  But after that one delicious crumb, he just can’t stop thinking about eating pie!   This cheery picture book mixes the alphabet with an alphabetical storyline more robust than in other books that try this technique.  Readers will love the many ways the dog tries to get pie and then the very satisfying and delicious conclusion.

Murray has created a book that really works the alphabet into the story.  Even without the alphabet as part of the book, this story and the writing would stand on its own.  That’s something that can rarely be said about an alphabet picture book.  The writing is kept very simple and solid.

Murray’s illustrations are a treat in this book.  They have a natural, old-fashioned quality to them that makes the book warm and inviting.  Add the apple pie element, and you have a book that feels like a classic picture book yet still has a modern perspective too.

A delight of a picture book that will satisfy yet leave young readers eager for seconds.  Appropriate for ages 2-4.

Reviewed from library copy.

Also reviewed by

Easy as Pie

| Tasha

Easy as Pie by Cari Best, illustrated by Melissa Sweet

Jacob’s favorite TV show is Baking with Chef Monty, so when Jacob sets out to bake his first pie, he knows all of Chef Monty’s rules by heart.  He knows that: a happy baker makes a happy pie.  He finds all of his ingredients in the kitchen and sets to work.  When his sister Charlotte comes to get him ready to go out for dinner and celebrate their parents’ anniversary, Jacob makes sure he keeps working because one of the rules is: Concentrate on what you’re doing – no matter what.  He rolls out the dough, fixing his mistakes like Chef Monty advises.  He flutes the edges of the pie and pricks holes in the top crust, slightly larger than Chef Monty would have recommended.  Soon the pie is in the oven, though his family is getting tired of waiting for Jacob to be ready to go.  But there is one solution to that!  Dessert first!

So many children’s books about cooking have the child making a horrible mess, combining strange and unappetizing ingredients together, all resulting in an inedible creation.  This turns that formula on its head with a child who is confident and capable, creating a pie that makes the parents’ anniversary even more special. 

Best’s writing is a pleasure to read aloud with the sprinkling of Chef Monty quotes throughout, great asides of noises, and plenty of action.  Sweet’s art is light-hearted and funny, filled with peach-colored splashes and funny touches like the titles of the books on the shelves.  The writing and text go together like ice cream and warm pie.

A great read aloud for any classroom starting a cooking project or any story time where food will be featured.  Guaranteed to be a favorite around Thanksgiving too.  Appropriate for ages 4-7.

Reviewed from copy received from Farrar, Straus and Giroux.