Pie in the sky
(Book)

Book Cover
Average Rating
Author
Lai, Remy
Published
New York : Henry Holt and Company, 2019.
Appears on these lists
Asian and Pasifika Voices: Books for Elementary
Food For Thought: Elementary and Middle Grade
TAB 2020 : Dorothy Hamm
Status
Checked Out
Where is it?

Copies

LocationCall NumberStatusDue Date
Central - Kids FictionJF LAIChecked OutMay 18, 2025
Central - Kids FictionJF LAIChecked OutJune 13, 2025
Cherrydale - Kids FictionJF LAIChecked OutJune 14, 2025
Shirlington - Kids FictionJF LAILong Overdue (Lost)October 15, 2024

Description

A poignant, laugh-out-loud illustrated middle-grade novel about an eleven-year-old boy's immigration experience, his annoying little brother, and their cake-baking hijinks! Perfect for fans of Raina Telgemeier and Gene Luen Yang!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 Horn Book Best Book of the Year! A Kirkus Best Book of the Year! 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.In her hilarious, moving middle-grade debut, Remy Lai delivers a scrumptious combination of vibrant graphic art and pitch-perfect writing that will appeal to fans of Shannon Hale and LeUyen Pham's Real Friends, Kelly Yang's Front Desk, and Jerry Craft's New Kid.A Junior Library Guild selection! "Seamlessly mixes together equal parts of humor, loss, identity, discovery, and love to create a delicious concoction of a story. . . illustrated beautifully with Lai's insightful drawings." —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 * “Perfect for fans of Gene Luen Yang and Victoria Jamieson.” —Shelf Awareness, starred review This title has common core connections.

More Details

Format
Book
Edition
First edition.
Physical Desc
380 pages : color illustrations ; 20 cm
Street Date
1905
Language
English
ISBN
9781250314093, 1250314097, 9781250314109, 1250314100

Notes

Description
"Sometimes life isn't a piece of cake... 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." -- Amazon
Target Audience
8-11 years
Target Audience
Grades 4-6

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Author Notes

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These books have the theme "immigrant experiences"; the subjects "belonging," "immigrants," and "east asian people"; and include the identity "asian."
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Budding foodies will be drawn to both of these character-driven, heartwarming novels featuring young chefs who must hide their culinary exploits from their parents. -- NoveList Contributor
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While Pie in the Sky is a graphic novel hybrid and Everything Sad is Untrue is biographical fiction both share moving, familiar themes of the immigration experience and have characters who felt alienated and found elaborate coping mechanisms. -- Sierra McKenzie
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In these heartwarming tales, Jingwen (Pie in the Sky) and Mia (Front Desk) both experience the challenges of moving to a new country, trying to fit in, and making friends. -- Sarah Polace
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Three keys - Yang, Kelly
In these own voices stories, Chinese immigrant children struggle to thrive in their new home amidst racism and family hardship. Three Keys is a historical novel set in America; Pie in the Sky is a graphic novel hybrid set in Australia. -- Rebecca Redinger

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Published Reviews

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Citations

APA Citation, 7th Edition (style guide)

Lai, R. (2019). Pie in the sky (First edition.). Henry Holt and Company.

Chicago / Turabian - Author Date Citation, 17th Edition (style guide)

Lai, Remy. 2019. Pie in the Sky. New York: Henry Holt and Company.

Chicago / Turabian - Humanities (Notes and Bibliography) Citation, 17th Edition (style guide)

Lai, Remy. Pie in the Sky New York: Henry Holt and Company, 2019.

Harvard Citation (style guide)

Lai, R. (2019). Pie in the sky. First edn. New York: Henry Holt and Company.

MLA Citation, 9th Edition (style guide)

Lai, Remy. Pie in the Sky First edition., Henry Holt and Company, 2019.

Note! Citations contain only title, author, edition, publisher, and year published. Citations should be used as a guideline and should be double checked for accuracy. Citation formats are based on standards as of August 2021.

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