From the award-winning author of SO B. IT, a story about family, friendship, and...pie!When Alice's Aunt Polly passes away, she takes with her the ...
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Feb 20, 2012
Karen
rated it: 
Weeks, Sarah. Pie.
Alice’s Aunt Polly is the very best pie maker in her small town, and has even won multiple Blueberry Awards from her pies, but she gives them away instead of making a huge amount of money. She is very supportive of Alice, so when she dies suddenly, Alice is crushed. The people of the town react in their own ways at the loss, many of them trying (and failing) to bake similar pies. Alice’s mother is bitter that Polly had such a loyal following and such talent, and More...
Jan 19, 2012
Marjorie
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I can tell this is going to blur together in my head with Joan Bauer's Close to Famous. More quirky, funny, middle-grade Southern foodie girl lit! If I can think of a third one, it's a trend story!
Josie liked Pie but didn't love it because "you're not given enough information to figure out for yourself who the bad guy is" is until All is Revealed. True dat. I wasn't bothered, though. My issue was that I found the whole thing to be too sweet and mushy. (I'm DESPERATELY trying More...
Josie liked Pie but didn't love it because "you're not given enough information to figure out for yourself who the bad guy is" is until All is Revealed. True dat. I wasn't bothered, though. My issue was that I found the whole thing to be too sweet and mushy. (I'm DESPERATELY trying More...
Dec 30, 2011
David
rated it:
Pie by Sarah Weeks features a main course of pie, with portions of family, friendship and mystery served up.
Polly Portman's expertise as a pie maker puts her small town of Ipswitch, PA on the map after she wins the national Bluberry Award for her pie year afrer year. Polly gives away her delicious pies, featuring her secret piecrust recipe, and receives ingredients in return, which she bakes into more pies. When Polly passes away, she leaves her piecrust recipe to Lardo, and leaves L More...
Polly Portman's expertise as a pie maker puts her small town of Ipswitch, PA on the map after she wins the national Bluberry Award for her pie year afrer year. Polly gives away her delicious pies, featuring her secret piecrust recipe, and receives ingredients in return, which she bakes into more pies. When Polly passes away, she leaves her piecrust recipe to Lardo, and leaves L More...
Dec 19, 2011
Mary
rated it:
Pie was a good, quick read. Alice's aunt Polly was the Pie Queen of Ipswitch, PA. She had won numerous Blueberry Medals, for the best pie of the year. She even owned her own pie store but she never charged her customers a cent. Polly had a pet cat named Lardo, that was mean to everybody except her. She never told anyone her piecrust recipe either. She unexpectedly passed away and left the recipe to Lardo. The town is now in an uproar because a lot of the town's buisness was based around P
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Dec 02, 2011
Bethany
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Alice Anderson's aunt has died, and the entire town is mourning the loss. Aunt Polly, owner of PIE, America's premier pie shop and winner of five Blueberry Awards from the American Pie Association, was not only the engine of the entire town's economy, with buses full of tourists coming in to sample her wares, but also the sweetest, kindest lady you'd ever know. And now that she's gone, Alice has lost her favorite person in the world, her best friend, and the maker of her very favorite peach pi
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Nov 05, 2011
Richie
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25 April 2011 PIE by Sarah Weeks, Scholastic Press, October 2011, 192p., ISBN: 978-0-545-27011-3
"Well, you must tell me, baby
How your head feels under somethin' like that
Under your brand-new leopard-skin pill-box hat."
-- Bob Dylan
What is your favorite flavor of pie?
I don't bake pies these days. Instead, I'm frequently baking simple fruit crisps: lots of fruit filling in a pie plate covered with a topping made of half whole-wh More...
"Well, you must tell me, baby
How your head feels under somethin' like that
Under your brand-new leopard-skin pill-box hat."
-- Bob Dylan
What is your favorite flavor of pie?
I don't bake pies these days. Instead, I'm frequently baking simple fruit crisps: lots of fruit filling in a pie plate covered with a topping made of half whole-wh More...
Oct 13, 2011
Lolene
rated it:
I loved this book. I got it in my latest Scholastic order at school--and dug right in.
Here's the blurb from the back cover: "When Alice's aunt Polly, The Pie Queen of Ipswitch, passes away, she takes with her the secret to her world-famous pie crust recipe. Or does she? In her will, Polly leaves the recipe to her extraordinarily fat, remarkably disagreeable cat, Lardo...and then leaves Lardo in the care of Alice. Suddenly, the whole town is wondering how you leave a recipe to a More...
Here's the blurb from the back cover: "When Alice's aunt Polly, The Pie Queen of Ipswitch, passes away, she takes with her the secret to her world-famous pie crust recipe. Or does she? In her will, Polly leaves the recipe to her extraordinarily fat, remarkably disagreeable cat, Lardo...and then leaves Lardo in the care of Alice. Suddenly, the whole town is wondering how you leave a recipe to a More...
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Oct 08, 2011
Barbara
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Alice's beloved aunt Polly Portman is her hometown's claim to fame. The generous natured woman has a white thumb when it comes to baking pies, and just about everyone in the town of Ipswitch, Pennsylvania, has their favorite one. Everyone wonders what her baking secrets are and how to make the delicate crusts for her pies. In fact, she has won 13 Blueberry Medals for the pies. When she dies unexpectedly, she leaves her recipe to her cat Lardo and her cat to Alice. This strange turn of events cau
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Aug 14, 2011
Claire
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Polly and Ruthie are sisters. At a young, young age Polly's talent for making pie is evident- as the author notes, "even her mud pies were a cut above the others in the sandbox." Ruthie could sing like an angel. But. For whatever reason Ruthie decided to focus her energy on being jealous of Polly instead of developing her singing. She is a bitter wife, a bitter mother, and a bitter, jealous sister. Really too bad. Especially bad for Alice her daughter and her husband who bear the brunt
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Nov 14, 2011
Gwen the Librarian
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Alice's Aunt Polly is famous for her pies, not just in their little town, but all over America. She has won the coveted Blueberry Award (wink, wink) thirteen years in a row. When Aunt Polly dies, everyone in town mourns their beloved friend and the loss of their favorite pie, but they also begin scheming and baking, trying to figure out the secret to her success. Poor Alice is left with her distant and distracted mother and no friends - she had spent her entire childhood with her beloved Aunt
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Dec 15, 2011
Wendy
rated it: 
Way too arch and cute for me, and I would have felt the same as a child, I think. Alice is sort of bumbling, there's no discernable reason for this book to be set in the 1950s, I didn't get the point of the epilogue (and why is that set in 1995?), and it just isn't that hard to make pretty good pie. It's all sort of cartoony, the villains, all the townspeople making inedible pie, the logistically nonsensical Blueberry award, the idea that a girl and her mother would get rich from writing and per
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Nov 04, 2011
Samantha
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Polly Portman is famous for her award-winning pies, but she has never revealed the secret to her scrumptious pie crust. Now that she's passed on everyone in town is trying to figure out the mystery, especially because it appears tha Polly has bequeathed the recipe to her ornery cat! This story is set in a small town in the 1950s and the author excels at giving readers the feeling that they are there and definitely makes them hungry for a pie or two! The cast of characters are realistic and even
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Feb 14, 2012
Brandy
rated it:
Originally posted here.
Warning: If you read Pie by Sarah Weeks you had better either eat first or have pie on hand. You should probably have a pie on hand either way. This is book will make you want to eat one or three.h
Pie is a Middle Grade historical fiction set in a small Pennsylvania town in the 1950's. The plot of the book covers just a couple of days in the life of Alice but through several flashbacks we get a complete picture of her, the small town that is her home, a More...
Warning: If you read Pie by Sarah Weeks you had better either eat first or have pie on hand. You should probably have a pie on hand either way. This is book will make you want to eat one or three.h
Pie is a Middle Grade historical fiction set in a small Pennsylvania town in the 1950's. The plot of the book covers just a couple of days in the life of Alice but through several flashbacks we get a complete picture of her, the small town that is her home, a More...
Feb 06, 2012
Kim
rated it:
Grades 3-5--Alice has spent at least a little of every day of her 11 year old life at her Aunt Polly's pie shop. When Aunt Polly passes away unexpectedly, the absence of her sweetness and generosity make it feels like the life has gone out of their little town. But quirky Aunt Polly's will confuses everyone: she leaves her grumpy white cat, Lardo, to Alice, and she leaves her super secret pie crust recipe to Lardo! Suddenly, there's a lot of interest in pie crust recipes, and Alice doesn' t
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Feb 12, 2012
Ann
rated it:
This was a fun, quirky book that made me smile as I read it. As a librarian I found very amusing the coveted pie award called "the Blueberry Award", "an award given since 1922 to celebrate the most distinguished contribution to American pie making". Alice's beloved Aunt Polly always received this award (13 gold medals) and now that Polly has died the town people want her coveted pie crust recipe. But the problem is that Aunt Polly's pie crust recipe appears to have been wi
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Nov 13, 2011
Phoebe
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Alice loves her aunt Polly dearly, and when Aunt Polly unexpectedly passes away she leaves a gaping hole in the community; not only because of her kind and generous nature, but because of her unequaled talent at piemaking. The piecrust recipe, never before divulged, is left in Aunt Polly's will to her beloved Lardo, and her beloved Lardo is left to Alice. Lardo, a cranky white cat, can't possibly be hiding the recipe on his furry person, but someone kidnaps him anyway thinking this is the cas
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Nov 06, 2011
Green Bean
rated it:
One cup sinister, one cup sweet, with a heaping tablespoon of zany! Set in the 1950's Pie is a classic cooking caper with a baker's dozen scrumptious pie recipes tossed in for good measure! Alice's dear Aunt Polly passes away, leaving her pro-bono pie workshop unmanned, and bequeathing her Blueberry Award-winning crust recipe to her fat cat Lardo--which doesn't make a whiff of sense! Now everybody in Ipswitch, PA is angling to inherit Aunt Polly's Pie Queen title and get filthy rich while they'
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Nov 26, 2011
Jenn
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I like things that are not pie but which remind me of pie. Pushing Daisies. Twin Peaks (which I am, coincidentally, re-watching right now). Er, other things I can't think of right now. Will I be adding this to the list? Sure, why not? It's a cute little slice (haha, puns are dumb) of historical/mystery/small-town whatever. I didn't love it and, while others found the "Blueberry Award" and "Mock Blueberry" competition cute, it was a little too insider-y, wink wink, nudge nudge
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Oct 20, 2011
Kaethe
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This was a serendipitous find in my To Read pile. It turned out to be exactly what I needed after Shine. Both books deal with a young woman (16 in Myracle's book, 12 in this one) who is grieving in a small town. Both books address the loss of work in their respective towns. One is YA, and looks seriously at the myriad problems that chronic un- and under-employment create: not just poverty, but educational disadvantages, chemical dependency, depression, fractured families, violence, criminal work
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Sep 29, 2011
Allison
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Young readers will enjoy this book's whodunit mystery combined with themes of healing, friendship, and self-discovery. Language is straightforward and simple, and the 1950s setting provides a charming backdrop for a heartwarming story. The author skillfully captures the crushing loss of a loved one, subtly depicting those small moments in which the sadness overtakes everything else, yet the narrative is never bogged down by Alice's grief.
Characterization takes a bit of a backse More...
Sep 11, 2011
Abby
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When Alice's Aunt Polly, award-winning pie baker, dies suddenly, it throws her entire small community for a loop, but it affects no one more than Alice. Polly was the one true friend that Alice had, the one person who loved her just as she is, and now Alice is floundering without her. To make matters more confusing, everyone is going crazy looking for Aunt Polly's perfect pie crust recipe. In her will, Aunt Polly left it to her cat.
Reading this book definitely made me hungry with its More...
Reading this book definitely made me hungry with its More...
Nov 15, 2011
Rachel
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Alice spent every Saturday at her Aunt Polly's famous pie shop helping Polly with simple tasks, so when Polly dies unexpectedly Alice is devastated. The town responds with uproar when they learn that Polly left her award-winning (and secret) pie crust recipe to her beloved, but mean-spirited cat, Lardo. Alice's mother and many of the neighbors suddenly get the baking bug, trying to replicate Polly's recipe, but someone uses more nefarious means to discover the recipe. It's up to Alice to find ou
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Jul 03, 2011
Tracy B. (personal account)
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I've never read Sarah Weeks before, but this may be one of the most adorable books I've ever read. I must immediately go out and read her other books. When Alice's beloved Aunt Polly dies, she leaves her famous but secret pie crust recipe to Lardo, the cat, and Lardo the cat to Alice. Suddenly, the entire town is baking pies (and badly), determined to win the contest that Polly has won for the past thirteen years. But someone goes too far, and when Lardo disappears, Alice has to figure out just
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Dec 23, 2011
Mary
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This book revolves around a young girl, Alice, in the 1950's who is mourning the loss of her Aunt Polly. Everyone in town loves Aunt Polly's pies and after she dies, the quest to a) find her pie crust recipe and b) be the next winner of the Blueberry prize for pie-baking begins in earnest. Someone in particular is stopping at nothing to find the recipe. Alice and her friend, Charlie, do some good old-fashioned sleuthing to uncover the mystery. This was a fun, quick read that was reminiscent o
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Dec 06, 2011
Jen
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This book immediately reminded me of Everything on a Waffle by Polly Horvath because of the recipes. I love the recipes! I don't think I've ever made a real pie before but now I really want to try!
I loved the mystery and the friendship between Alice and Charlie but I really did not care for the "40 Years Later" part. I think that should have been completely left out. I would have much rather decided on my own how the characters continue their lives. (Which is strange becaus More...
I loved the mystery and the friendship between Alice and Charlie but I really did not care for the "40 Years Later" part. I think that should have been completely left out. I would have much rather decided on my own how the characters continue their lives. (Which is strange becaus More...
Feb 19, 2012
Deidre
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Pie is a story of mystery, grief, and misunderstanding. Alice loses her Aunt Polly, her aunt's gift of pie-baking, and the only person that she feels loves and understands her unconditionally. As she works through her beloved aunt's death, she comes to understand her self, her gifts, and her mother much better.
One of my students read this book and recommended it to me. She didn't mention which part she enjoyed most, but I loved the part where Alice and her mother realize that they ha More...
One of my students read this book and recommended it to me. She didn't mention which part she enjoyed most, but I loved the part where Alice and her mother realize that they ha More...
Dec 25, 2011
Cornmaven
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I liked this story because of its simplicity. Weeks sets it in a "Leave It To Beaver"-like idyllic mid-century town, so references brought back a lot of fond memories. But I wondered as I read if that wouldn't fall a little flat with modern kids. Maybe, maybe not. The twist at the end is obvious but funny, sort of like Ralph Kramden receivng "my fortune" from the rich old lady in her will. The recipes included look scrumptious. Maybe a young girl would like to try one o
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Aug 08, 2011
Roxanne Hsu
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This is a short and charming caper story with some not-quite-so-believable reconciliations -- especially the incredibly fast and easy resolution of the mother-daughter relationship which was so extremely strained. I did enjoy the notion of aunt Polly being such a generous soul and that her legacy was felt and practiced throughout the town by those who truly loved her. I think many young readers will find great satisfaction in reading this story but those who came to PIE because they loved So B.
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Nov 21, 2011
Christiane
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What a sweet old-fashioned story! Some kids may be bored by the slow pace and old-timey (1950’s) setting, but fans of Richard Peck's A Year Down Yonder and similar titles will enjoy this as well. It would make a great read-aloud for families and its message of decency, friendship, and love of family make a perfect holiday read (with no religious or holiday trappings). The reader (Kate Rudd)does a wonderful job with all the characters. The only drawback of listening to it was that I didn't get
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Nov 08, 2011
Sarah
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I can't remember why I decided to read this, but I'm sure glad I did. What a great little story! Alice's beloved Aunt Polly, who baked pies and gave them away, has just passed away leaving Alice with her cat Lardo and a big hole in her life. Aunt Polly was also the winner of 13 Blueberry Medals and now it seems everyone in Ipswitch is trying to become a master pie baker and win the award.
I enjoyed stepping back in time to the mid-fifties with Alice as she tried to solve the mystery More...
I enjoyed stepping back in time to the mid-fifties with Alice as she tried to solve the mystery More...
