Narrator Remy Hii balances humor and sorrow in this heartfelt story of new immigrants. Shortly after the death of their father, a baker, 11-year-old Jingwen and his little brother, Yanghao, emigrate from China to Australia, where they bake oodles of fanciful cakes to feel closer to the homeland they left behind. Hii accurately captures Jingwen's frustrations with grief, making friends, and learning English on "Mars." As Yanghao, Hii has the perfect squeal of a sugar-hyped but still lovable 9-year-old boy. Conversations in English that are indiscernible to Jingwen are effectively conveyed as high-pitched garble. Though listeners might miss the expressiveness of the original chapter book/graphic novel, this #ownvoices audio offers moments of self-discovery and sweetness. E.A.N. © AudioFile 2020, Portland, Maine
Pie in the Sky
Pie in the Sky
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Overview
Recipient of FIVE starred reviews!
"Pie in the Sky is like enjoying a decadent cake . . . heartwarming and rib-tickling." -Terri Libenson, bestselling author of Invisible Emmie
When Jingwen moves to a new country, he feels like he's landed on Mars. School is torture, making friends is impossible since he doesn't speak English, and he's often stuck looking after his (extremely irritating) little brother, Yanghao.
To distract himself from the loneliness, Jingwen daydreams about making all the cakes on the menu of Pie in the Sky, the bakery his father had planned to open before he unexpectedly passed away. The only problem is his mother has laid down one major rule: the brothers are not to use the oven while she's at work. As Jingwen and Yanghao bake elaborate cakes, they'll have to cook up elaborate excuses to keep the cake making a secret from Mama.
Remy Lai's hilarious, moving middle-grade debut, with its pitch-perfect writing, makes for a scrumptious audiobook adaptation. It will appeal to fans of Shannon Hale and LeUyen Pham's Real Friends, Kelly Yang's Front Desk, and Jerry Craft's New Kid.
* "The humor [is] akin to that of Jeff Kinney's popular 'Wimpy Kid' series . . . the perfect mixture of funny and emotionally resonant." --School Library Journal, starred review
Editorial Reviews
…[a] heartfelt, funny and, of course, sweet debut middle-grade novel…My own recent family tree is filled with immigrants…and Pie in the Sky is aimed straight at my heart. But the book doesn't just speak to those of us who are a step or two away from the immigrant experience. Lai also wonderfully captures the awkward experience of being a new kid at a new school…The illustrations are so good that I would have enjoyed it if the book had contained even more art. Lai's delightful artwork blends seamlessly with the text.
03/18/2019
Lai centers her incisive illustrated novel debut on Jingwen, who moves from his unspecified home country to Australia with his mother and younger brother Yanghao after his father’s death. The boy mourns the loss of his father and feels like an alien among his fifth-grade classmates as he struggles to learn English, which sounds like “Martian words” (blue-tinged illustrations show others, then the boys, as space aliens in their daily life). Summoning memories of baking with Papa, Jingwen imagines the cakes they’d anticipated selling at Pie in the Sky, the bakery they planned to open upon moving. Jingwen vows to make the 12 cakes, believing this will preserve his memories of Papa—and that “cakes make everything better.” But his baking obsession leads to the betrayal of his hardworking mother’s trust, landing him and Yanghao in hot water. Though repetition of facts and dialogue (including the brothers’ penchant for calling each another “Booger”) at times thwarts the narrative flow, its pace accelerates in the final chapters as Lai adds a few surprise ingredients to concoct a deeply satisfying ending for this heartwarming immigrant story about sibling bonds, honesty, and surmounting obstacles. Ages 8–12. (May)
Winner of the Sid Fleischman Award for Humor!
A Parents Magazine Best Kids Book of the Year!
A New York Public Library Best Book of the Year!
An NPR Best Book of the Year!
A Chicago Public Library Best Book of the Year!
A BookRiot Best Book of the Year!
A Horn Book Best Book of the Year!
A Kirkus Best Book of the Year!
Five STARRED reviews!
A Junior Library Guild selection!
An Indie Next pick!
"Pie in the Sky is like enjoying a decadent cake. . . heartwarming and rib-tickling." —Terri Libenson, bestselling author of Invisible Emmie
* “Perfect for fans of Gene Luen Yang and Victoria Jamieson.” —Shelf Awareness, starred review
* "Like salted caramel, a perfect balance of flavors, this deftly drawn story is a heartfelt treat." —Kirkus Reviews, starred review
"Remy Lai seamlessly mixes together equal parts of humor, loss, identity, discovery, and love to create a delicious concoction of a story. . . illustrated beautifully." —Veera Hiranandani, Newbery Honor-winning author of The Night Diary
* "The humor [is] akin to that of Jeff Kinney’s popular “Wimpy Kid” series . . . the perfect mixture of funny and emotionally resonant." —School Library Journal, starred review
"Uproarious humor and a burgeoning friendship add to the ingredients in this stunning debut. . . a book to be savored – and the illustrations are the icing on the cake." —NPR
"If this is what Remy Lai’s got going on straight out of the gate, I can’t wait to see what she comes up with next." —Fuse #8
* "Lai imbues this [story] with an undeniable sweetness." —Bulletin of the Center for Children's Books, starred review
* "A delectable page-turner. . . Heartbreakingly honest; in equal parts funny and poignant." —Horn Book, starred review
★ 06/01/2019
Gr 3–6–Having recently immigrated to Australia, 11-year-old Jingwen feels like he's been dropped onto a strange planet full of gibberish-spouting aliens. He knows life would be easier if he learned more English like his annoyingly chipper, too-loud, too-energetic little brother Yanghao. But guilt over his father's accidental death festers. Worried that assimilating into Australian culture means he's forsaking his father's memory, Jingwen latches on to the idea that if he can make all the cakes his father planned to feature on the menu of his dream bakery, Pie in the Sky, then everything will be okay. Even if that means disobeying his mother's rules while she's working the night shift at a local bakery. Written from Jingwen's perspective, the text is augmented with humorous, often exaggerated black and blue spot and sequential paneled illustrations that offer a visual window into Jingwen's experiences and emotions. Frequent flashbacks to Jingwen's younger years in his (unnamed) country of origin contribute to strong character and relationship development and to the satisfying conclusion. Whether Jingwen and Yanghao are teasing, supporting, or bickering with each other, their relationship rings true. The humor, akin to that of Jeff Kinney's popular "Wimpy Kid" series, occasionally veers into the delightfully gross, such as when Yanghao barfs from one too many slices of cake. VERDICT A first purchase for all libraries, this #OwnVoices hybrid chapter book/graphic novel is the perfect mixture of funny and emotionally resonant.—Amy Seto Forrester, Denver Public Library
Narrator Remy Hii balances humor and sorrow in this heartfelt story of new immigrants. Shortly after the death of their father, a baker, 11-year-old Jingwen and his little brother, Yanghao, emigrate from China to Australia, where they bake oodles of fanciful cakes to feel closer to the homeland they left behind. Hii accurately captures Jingwen's frustrations with grief, making friends, and learning English on "Mars." As Yanghao, Hii has the perfect squeal of a sugar-hyped but still lovable 9-year-old boy. Conversations in English that are indiscernible to Jingwen are effectively conveyed as high-pitched garble. Though listeners might miss the expressiveness of the original chapter book/graphic novel, this #ownvoices audio offers moments of self-discovery and sweetness. E.A.N. © AudioFile 2020, Portland, Maine
★ 2019-03-17
Two brothers navigate a new country, a new language, and grief through cake.
In this graphic/prose hybrid novel, 12-year-old Jingwen, his little brother, Yanghao, and their mother immigrate to Australia. The family is Chinese, though their home country is never specified. The boys start at the Northbridge Primary School not knowing any English, which has Jingwen feeling they have just arrived on Mars. Quickly he realizes it is he and Yanghao who must appear to be the Martians to everyone else, comically literalized with pictures of a four-eyed, antennae'd Jingwen. While Yanghao quickly picks up English, Jingwen resists, struggling in lessons and to make friends. Piece by piece readers learn it was Jingwen's father's dream to open a cake shop called Pie in the Sky in Australia before he suddenly passed away. After finding the family's cookbook, the boys decide to secretly bake all the Pie in the Sky cakes. Jingwen especially takes it to heart, pouring his grief and frustrations into every frosted layer, believing that it "will fix everything." Herself an immigrant to Australia from Singapore, Lai unfolds the story like a memory, giving brief flashbacks interspersed throughout the daily musings and nuanced relationships among family members. Jingwen's emotional journey is grounded in honest reality; it ebbs and flows naturally with strategic spots of humor to lighten the overall tone.
Like salted caramel, a perfect balance of flavors, this deftly drawn story is a heartfelt treat. (Graphic/fiction hybrid. 10-13)
Product Details
| BN ID: | 2940173523648 |
|---|---|
| Publisher: | Penguin Random House |
| Publication date: | 12/17/2019 |
| Edition description: | Unabridged |
| Age Range: | 8 - 11 Years |
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