Pie by Sarah Weeks

It sounds like a cliche but Pie is quite simply a delicious book.  I gobbled it up so quickly and, not surprisingly, it has made me feel the need to go out and eat a large slice of pie.

Aunt Polly is a brilliant pie maker.  So talented she has won the Blueberry Pie Medal thirteen times and the whole town has benefited from her talents.  People come from far and wide to 'buy' these delicious pies.  No money is involved though, because Polly likes to give the pies away.

"Why on earth would I charge people money for something that brings me so much pleasure?"

Since they cannot pay with money people leave produce for Polly in the form of pie ingredients but sadly as the book begins Polly has died.  Her loving niece Alice is utterly lost.  She herself has no real interest in making pies even though she has watched and helped her aunt for years.  Alice is lost without her special aunt and so is everyone in the town because Polly has mysteriously left the details of her pie crust recipe to her cat Lardo.  When the pie shop is ransacked and Lardo is catnapped Alice and her new friend Charlie employ their detective skills to get to the truth.

If you want to know everything about this book and read a bonus pie recipe review look at this blog - it is amazing.  Here is a set of discussion questions.

This book does contain fourteen pie recipes.  Some of them sound a little odd like Green Tomato pie and Peanut butter and Raspberry Cream pie but I do like the sound of the Buttermilk pie and the Peach pie.

This book reminded me of Bliss which I recently reviewed.  We also have Regular Guy by Sarah Weeks in our school library and I now discover there are more books in this series.

How to steal a dog by Barbara O'Connor

This book, How to steal a dog, has a terrific cover which is why I picked it up today.  I read this whole book in one sitting and I have to say this is a wonderful story.  It is not a new book - first published in 2007 but it will be new into our school library next term.

Georgina, her mum and brother Toby have been evicted from their apartment and are now forced to live in their car.  Georgina is a resourceful girl and so when she sees a missing dog poster that offers a $500 reward she hits on a brilliant plan.  If she could steal a dog from a wealthy owner perhaps she could claim the reward and then the family would have enough money to move back into an apartment.

To this end Georgina makes lists of all the tasks involved in completing her plan :

April 5th ...

Step 1: Find a dog ...

These are the rules for finding a dog :

1. The dog must not bark too much.

2. The dog must not bite.

3. The dog must be by itself sometimes.

4. The dog must be loved a lot and not just some old dog that no one cares about

5. The owner of the dog must look like somebody who will pay a lot of money to get their dog back."

She finds the perfect little dog called Willy.  He seems to meet all her criteria but there also seem to be so many more things Georgina needs to think about - how to find a rope for the dog, where to hide him, then there is the issue of food and water.  Then Georgina meets Carmella Whitmore and she discovers some uncomfortable truths about appearances.  Carmella does have the same name as the road where she lives and her house is large but Carmella is poor.  Little Willy is her special friend. She is inconsolable without him.  Sadly it seems Georgina has created a problem that she cannot solve.

I highly recommend How to Steal a Dog and you might like to keep an eye out for the movie which will surprise and delight you.  It was made in Korea and I recently watched it while flying from Singapore. The cover below shows a slightly different title but the movie I watched did match the book.  Hopefully it will reach us here in Australia some time soon.  You might also like to dip into the author web site.

If you enjoy How to steal a dog you might also like to read Too Small to Fail by Morris Gleitzman, Hold Fast by Blue Balliett and for more mature readers take a look at The Homecoming by Cynthia Voigt.

Here is a quote from the review by Kirkus.

As crazy as this sounds, O’Connor weaves a suspenseful and achingly realistic story, fleshing out characters that live and breathe anxiety, fortitude and a right vs. wrong consciousness. Colorful, supporting roles of a wise, kind vagrant and a lonely, overweight dog owner round out this story of childhood helplessness, ingenuity and desolation.

How to get your kid to be a fanatical reader - CNN.com

How to get your kid to be a fanatic reader - CNN.com

This article is very interesting.  We work hard in our school to provide fabulous books for all students ...boys and girls.  This article addresses the role of parents.  Modelling, setting goals, reading with and to children and providing great books are all essential ingredients along with parent attitude showing you value reading!

View from the 32nd floor by Emma Cameron

Every so often I read a book that I just love and this is one of those times.  View from the 32rd Floor had an unpromising cover but please don't let that put you off.  This is a wonderful book very reminiscent of the writing of Odo Hirsch.  This book has a strong sense of compassion and community and a cast of interesting characters led by one special boy called ...

The hero of this book is a boy called William - well that is his real name but he has a book  - The big book of Names so each day he selects a new name and his joyous family and friends do not question this - each day William announces his new name and for that whole day everyone is happy to use it.

Here are some examples :
Gregory (vigilant watchman) Faust (lucky)
Demetrius (lover of Earth) Altair (flying eagle)
Forbes (traveller) Peregrine (a falcon)
Aulis (helpful) Oswin (divine friend)

William lives in a high rise apartment opposite another high rise apartment building.  He likes to use his binoculars to check on his neighbors - not because he is a spy or a busybody - he is just interested in people and their habits.  As the book opens a new family have moved in and William notices the girl walks like a pony.  He hopes this girl, who is called Rebecca, might become his friend.  He also notices one elderly neighbor is not eating properly and another never opens her curtains.

There are some delightful little ideas in this book.  For example each night William's dad sets their CD player with a new song for William to listen to while he eats breakfast.  Another example is the way William says "Always, always."

This book is also brim full of splendid food - and if you have read any part of this blog you will know that I love books that mention food and feasts and picnics and cake!

If you enjoy View from the 32nd Floor - what am I saying WHEN you read View from the 32nd Floor you will love it and then you should look for Hazel Green by Odo Hirsch, What do you think Feezal by Elizabeth Honey and Amelia Dee and the Peacock lamp also by Odo Hirsch.

I am going to make a bold prediction and say this book should be short listed for the 2014 CBCA awards.  If you are looking for a book to read this book should be number one on your list - it is sure to make you SMILE!!

Definitely no ducks by Meg McKinlay illustrated by Leila Rudge

I had my fingers crossed when I started reading Definitely no ducks!  I enjoyed Duck for Day when it was short listed by the CBCA but so often I find sequels just don't weave quite the same magic.

I am so happy to report Definitely no Ducks did not disappoint me. I loved it - even more than Duck for Day.  The children across the school are preparing a special assembly for an important visitor.  Each class has been assigned an continent and Mrs Melvino and her class have been preparing their item all about Antarctica complete with huge papier mache models of penguins, seals and an iceberg.

Abby and Noah, who we met in the first book, are still allowed to look after Max at night and since they love Max, the class duck, so much they are happy to share this privilege.

As the story opens Melanie, a girl in the class, lifts up a bag from under her desk.

"It was a bag - a bright pink bag with a shiny metal zipper. An open zipper; with something poking out of it. Something small and wriggly.  With a little furry face and an even littler neck. A neck with a sparkling silver collar and a tiny pink tag."

Moments later there is a crash in the class storeroom and the children rush in to see all their wonderful models are smashed. Blame falls on Max and then the school Principal Mr Oswald arrives.  He sees the mess and declares "definitely no ducks!"  Everyone tries to think of a solution but Mrs Melvino knows Max cannot stay and so neither can she.  This is a catastrophe. Everyone loves Mrs Melvino and Max.  What can the children do to save their teacher, save their assembly item and save their beloved Max?  The ending will make you smile but it might also surprise you.

Here is a web site for the illustrator.

Keeper by Kathi Appelt

Keeper is like an onion with lots of layers or perhaps a rose with endless petals.  The story is structured like a spiral with lots of repetition and flashbacks.  Each of the one hundred and twenty chapters gives a tiny glimpse of the plot.  Reading this book is, as I said in my last post, quite a challenge. As a reader you need perseverance but if you give this book time the final scenes are brilliant.

Keeper is convinced her mother is a mermaid.  As a small baby she has been left in the care of Signe, a young girl who has previously run away from home.  Other adults in her life are Dogie, a young man damaged by his experiences as a soldier and Mr Beauchamp her elderly neighbor who was once a seafaring man.  She also has the companionship of her her faithful dog called BD (Best Dog), a seagull called Captain, Sinbad, Mr Beachamp's cat and Too, Dogie's dog.

As the story opens Keeper is leaving her tiny community in search of her mother.  Keeper needs advice.  It has been the night of the blue moon but all the special things have been ruined.  Singe's gumbo is spoilt, the crabs have been set free, Singe's special bowl has been smashed, Dogie has not sung his special two word song and Mr Beauchamp's night-blooming cyrus has been knocked out of its pot on the one night of the year when it was due to bloom.

I was curious about this flower so I thought I would include an image of this cactus.

It seems things cannot get any worse for Keeper so she prepares a twenty-six step plan, gathers her special wooden mermaid figures carved by Mr Beauchamp and with her dog BD by her side she rows out toward the open ocean.

Here is the trailer - no words just wonderful images.  Here is an excellent detailed review.

If you read enjoy Keeper you might also look for the Ingo series by Helen Dunmore, Everything on a waffle by Polly Horvath and the Emily Windsnap series by Liz Kessler.

Deftly spinning together mermaid lore, local legend and natural history, this stunning tale proves “every landscape has its magical beings,” and the most unlikely ones can form a perfect family.

Coming up

The pile of books on my reading pile never seems to grow smaller.  I thought I might use this quick post to list the books I will read over the next couple of weeks so you know what is coming up.

We have our library donate-a-book early next term and with over 900 new books ready for our display I have plenty of books to read.

Today I started Keeper by Kathi Appelt which I am enjoying.  The writing style is stretching me.  The reader needs to work hard with this book to fill in the gaps and allow details to emerge slowly.  We have had this book in our school library for quite a while. It keeps getting borrowed but so far no students have come back and talked to me.  I suspect this might be because this book requires some perseverance.

Other books I plan to read soon are :

Definitely no ducks by Meg McKinlay - I did enjoy Duck for a day so I expect this one to be a treat.

Slob by Ellen Potter - the cover intrigues me

Wild Wings by Gill Lewis - Kirkus describes this as a powerful story

Pie by Sarah Weeks - anther intriguing cover and it contains recipes for pie! which if you have ever read my blog you will know greatly appeals to me

Moon over Manifest by Clare Vanderpool - since this is a Newbery winner I have to read it.

View from the 32nd floor by Emma Cameron - I just read the first two pages of this Australian novel and I am hooked

The luck of the Buttons by Anne Ylvisaker

The Summer of May by Cecilia Galante