This was one of my favorite reads for the Helen Ruffin Reading Bowl. I was also lucky enough to get an eARC from NetGalley and Henry Holt and Co. in exchange for my honest review.

Jingwen’s story will ring true for so many children, particularly those who move to a new country with little to no knowledge of the new language and culture that surrounds them. Remy Lai does an incredible job of writing about the mix of emotions that come from a big move like that - sorrow, frustration, nostalgia, and eventually joy.

Pie in the Sky is also an excellent “bridge” book for children who are ready to look outside of graphic novels, but aren’t quite sure where to look next. This will be a staple in my classroom library for years to come.

This was such a heartwarming, fun read that I finished a while ago but never got around to reviewing. Graphic novels are such a treat to read when done well, and this one definitely checks all the boxes I am looking for in a graphic novel. Sibling love and rivalry, the hurt of losing a loved one, the pain of moving into a new place, being the odd one out, excellent graphics, and a storyline that is heartwarming and fun and all that in one!

Disclaimer: I received a digital ARC for this book from NetGalley , and these are my honest opinions.

I received an arc of this title from NetGalley for an honest review. I found this book to be really touching and also funny and moments and it had me craving pie like crazy.

I’ve been wanting to talk about this book since last year and haven’t 🙈 I also wanted to make one of the delicious cakes from this book (especially the 🌈 cake!) but didn’t, so here’s a mini-pie. But I will make that cake as soon as I can, and I won’t go any longer without talking about this oh-so-charming middle grade story.
Pie In The Sky by @rrremylai has it all. Told part in prose, part graphic novel, the story follows two brothers, Jingwen and Yanghao as they move to a new country after a recent death in their family.
They don’t speak English so they’re expected to rely on each other to learn the ropes, but little brothers are so annoying! (My boys felt that storyline for sure 😜) To get through the hard days, the boys make cakes 🍰 and learn to love each other, themselves, their new lives, and how to grieve their father.
When I say this story has it all it’s because of the prose, the comics, the heart-feels, the humor, and the cooking. We’ve read this so many times, it’s quickly become a favorite.

The style of this book mixes the charm and whimsy of beloved series like Diary of A Wimpy Kid with the thoughtful commentary on the immigrant experience from books like American Born Chinese. A winner for me.

The book a kid me would’ve loved but the adult me appreciates. Artwork adds to story, loved the bits about being aliens/martians. Bittersweet the parts mentioned about dad and the amount of guilt felt over death (I was ugly crying on the 10th birthday revelation) and the mention of those seashells we carry but don’t want to burden our family members with is spot on. Mad props for this first effort: I, too, grew up with a dictionary and still have the tattered thing under the coffee table at the parents house (Julie Andrew was featured under “guitar” and I loved The Sound of Music.

Jingwen, his brother Yanghao and mother have just moved to Australia. The plan has always been to move but things were put on hold when dad died in a car accident. Now mom has decided to move them anyway. They leave behind grandma and grandpa and the family bakery. Mom starts working in a local bakery and the boys start school. Yanghao picks up English fairly quickly and starts to make friends. Jingwen is very different. He doesn't understand what anyone is saying and feels like he is on a different planet. He makes very little effort to learn English or to get along in school. The only thing that makes him feel better is baking the cakes he baked with his father. Dad planned on opening a bakery called Pie in the Sky and selling fancy cakes. Jingwen thinks that if he can bake all 12 of the cakes his father baked things will get better. The only problem is that mom has forbidden them to bake. So Jingwen and Yanghao have to hide the fact that they are baking cakes every day after school. Of course no secret can be kept for long.

There are not that many books about kids moving to a new country and trying to assimilate. Pie in the Sky does a great job of showing how difficult it is to fit into another culture. I am not sure how accurate the school situation is as I would assume most schools would not just throw a non-English speaker into regular classes and assume they would be ok. I think the fact that this is an illustrated novel (like Diary of a Wimpy Kid) will make it appeal to readers more. I did find Yanghao almost over the top annoying for a little brother; it was borderline stereotypical.

Phenomenal. Can't wait to share with my students, for so many reasons! Jingwen is such a relatable character - he's the new kid, he's a brother, he's the kid who has said things he regrets. He's dealing with personal tragedy, and he's also trying to learn English. Loved the way his thoughts/sentences transition between what he's thinking and how it translates . . . I feel like it's really going to bring the point home to kids that new friends who don't speak English are kids JUST LIKE THEM, only they can't always communicate what they're thinking the way they want to. This book is by turns funny, sad, exciting, and thought provoking. The comic-style art interspersed throughout will please fans of graphic novels, and adds nicely to the story. One of my favorite early reads of the last school year. So excited to finally have it on our shelves!

This book is about two Chinese brothers that move to Australian with their mother and the consequences of that move. When they first get there Jingwen feels like an alien. He can't speak the language (or understand it) and is forced to watch out for his kid brother a lot of the time. To pass the time while they are at home they break one of their mother's rules - no using the oven when she is not at home - to bake cakes. They have to hide the cakes from their mom in creative ways to hide the fact that they are breaking her rules.

This is a fantastic middle grade book that I think would be a great read along between parents and thir children. It has a lot of good lessons in it and also talks about how children can feel isolated after a big move. I loved the graphic novel type illustrations that accompanied the story as well. I would highly recommend this book to anyone.

It’s scary enough to move to different country, but when everyone else around you sounds like aliens from a different planet, and your brother is a “booger,” it’s just terrifying. Jengwen and his family move to Australia, he is stressed about leaving behind his friends and grandparents. Mostly he is heartbroken to make this trip without his dad, who wanted to come to Australia to open a bakery.
This book is about growing pains, pain of loss, and coping through it all. A beautifully crafted book that shows the frustration of learning a language, coping with immigration, and how the goodness of people can heal wounds.

Pie in the Sky looks like a silly story on the outside with its cartoonish cover, and it does have some humorous moments, but it’s also packed with so much character, poignancy, and deliciousness on the inside! It took me a bit to get used to the drawing style, but I gradually fell in love with Jingwen and Yanghao as they navigated a new country, new language, and new life without their father. Jingwen’s struggles to pick up English as he also carries the weight of his father’s death was so well done - it felt authentic, and the illustrations really added to the feelings of loneliness and anxiety. I also loved all of the cake talk - I’m not a baker by any means, and I don’t even have a huge sweet tooth, but man did I crave cake as I read this! The rainbow cake recipe at the end was a nice touch.

This is such an excellent story about immigration and learning a new language. I loved the depiction of English as a Martian language and Australians as Martians. It's such a wonderful illustration of what it feels like to be in a country where everything is strange to you. The mixed text and comic images flips back and forth seamlessly and tells us more than we could know with just one format. The story is also a wonderful example of the toll grief can have on a child and the sort of confusion they can go through about who is at fault and what the proper way to live is after a parent has passed.

I found this story funny, moving, silly and sad.

This book was so beautifully written. The analogies were incredible; the words combined with pictures were so well done. I laughed out loud and cringed in pain. I can’t wait to share this one with my students!

I'm loving this one! It's great for fans of the Diary of a Wimpy Kid tradition (but a lot sweeter/more wholesome). I'm also a sucker for obnoxious younger siblings, so this one's a real win for me. The portrayal of Australians as aliens is a really clever and effective tool for showing kids what it's like to move to a country where you look different and don't speak the language. I haven't finished it yet, but so far so good!

This book made me want to eat cake! Yingwen (11) feels like he is on an alien planet when he and his little brother immigrate to Australia with their mother. He grows weary of attempting to speak and understand English. It is such a tedious process and he feels like he is SLOW. Because of his fond memories of making cakes with his family before the move, cookbooks are a source of comfort. Yingwen hatches a plan (which requires constant revisions) in which he and his little brother will bake all the cakes that were to be on the menu at a bakery their father had dreamed of opening named Pie in the Sky. The two boys manage to bake twelve cakes in all, mostly in secret. In order to erase all evidence of their baking, they also polish off each cake in one sitting most of the time. This is a heartwarming story although I grew weary of the word "booger" and did not always love the graphics. Overall, the combination works well and shows a family overcoming loss and adversity with hope for the future.

A big thank you to MacMillan Children's and NetGalley for a digital ARC of this new middle grade novel in exchange for an honest review.

The story of an immigrant family, who's lost their father and what feels like their dreams for the future. Jingwen is having trouble learning English in his new school, even though his mother seems to be fitting in well at work and his brother has a new friend and is babbling in English without a second thought. What makes him feel close to his father is baking the elaborate cakes they planned to make in their new bakery in Australia.

I loved this close up look at what it means to be an outsider, about following your dreams, and about giving yourself a chance to be happy again. The mix of prose and graphic novel elements fit this title perfectly and it is one I plan on sharing with a lot of great kids.

Pie in the Sky is the story of a pair of brother who have moved to Australia with their mother... sure, it's thousands of miles away from their home, but to them, it could be another planet. While Jingwen aged 11 is homesick and has a rough time learning English, his nine-year-old brother, Yanghoa has no problem jumping into this new situation and trying the new language. Jingwen's struggles are only compounded by the pain of the loss of his father in a car accident the year before. He worked at the family's cake shop and they used to practice new recipes together on Sundays.

The brothers spend much of their afternoons alone in their apartment together while their mother goes to work from 4:30pm-3:30am. Jingwen is responsible for his brother during this time, and together they come up with a way to stave off boredom by baking all the cakes he and his father used to make. A series of hilarious mishaps ensue as they try to hide their secret baking from their mother. There are serious consequences to their confections though... It may help Jingwen's troubles with making friends at school, and his grief at home.

The narration of the story is broken up with some cartoony drawings that help to liven up this middle-grade book. Lai writes of the boys' experience using some easy-to-understand, yet vivd metaphors (feeling like an alien), which should be great for this age group. Jingwen is faced with realistic conflicts of a 12-year-old boy, serious ones like taking care of his brother, learning a language, and learning the difference between lies, and what the consequences of those lies are. I ripped through this book in one sitting.

Filled with a sweet mix of brotherly fights and family togetherness, but also the grief of a lost parent and a disorienting move, Pie is the Sky is a very good book that I would definitely recommend.

11 year old Jingwen moves to Australia with his mother and annoying younger brother, and it's like he's landed on Mars. His English isn't great, school sucks, his little brother picks up English quickly, the other students think he's slow, and he's wracked with the guilt of memories of his father. But Jingwen has a solution. If he can just bake all of the cakes his father planned for his cake shop, life will get better.

There's just one problem. Jingwen's mother won't allow him to bake.

I requested this ARC from NetGalley because I thought that it was all graphic novel, but it's more of a regular novel with some comic illustrations thrown in here or there. The comics compliment the story and add more context and illustration (plus the way Yanghao is drawn is hilarious), but I kinda wished it had been done as a graphic novel in full instead.

A lot happens in this book, but overall it's about fitting in and learning to face your fears and your grief, making friends, moving into a new place, and a little bit about coping mechanisms and communication. And of course, a lot about mixed messages, particularly when you don't speak the language but don't want to seem dumb or slow.

Just make sure you've eaten something before reading this, because if you have zero willpower like you'll find yourself zipping into the grocery store at 8 am on a Sunday to pick up delicious cheesecake. And get stares from all the grocers, because who buys cheesecake at 8 am on Sunday?

I received this ARC from NetGalley for an honest review.

I received an electronic ARC from MacMillan Children's Publishing Group through NetGalley.
Combines graphic novel aspects with text.
Jingwen and his little brother, Yanghao move to Australia with their mom. He's unhappy and feels like an alien. Both his mom and brother begin to acclimate and learn English while he flounders and struggles in fifth grade. Baking the cakes he used to make with his father help him process all of the emotions swirling since his dad was killed in a car accident. Everything he's kept inside comes out near the end of the book.
Humorous elements along with realistic experiences for someone moving to a new location. Lai offers a balance between the frustration and humorous moments. She shows the transition process as Jingwen begins to learn the nuances of life in this new culture and the more important transition of healing after a life trauma.

I loved this book! I think this is a book all kids should read. They have either been the student lost in a new place or know someone who comes and doesn't speak the language.. What a great perspective.