Pie by Sarah Weeks

In a book as refreshing as pie at the end of a meal, Pie by Sarah Weeks (Lexile: 930; Interest Level: Grades 3-6) was a story about dealing with grief, solving a mystery, and the importance of finding your talent and sharing it with the world. Alice's favorite person in the whole world was her Aunt Polly, who was a fantastic pie maker.  She opened a shop with her inheritance money so that she could make pies and give them away.  Polly just loved to make pies.  And they were so good that she won 13 Blueberry Medals (for the best pie in the country) in a row!  When she dies unexpectedly, everyone is out to find her recipe for the perfect pie crust, which it appeared that Polly left to her cat Lardo.  Everyone also started trying to make their own pies, many in an attempt to win the Blueberry medal themselves.  It is up to Alice and her new friend Charlie to figure out who catnapped Lardo, wrecked the pie shop, and was stealing pies from all over town.  Each chapter starts with a recipe for a different kind of pie.  I really enjoyed this story, and I am glad it is on the Indian Paintbrush list for this year. (183 pages)

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