This is a sweet historical fiction story about friendship and family and community. It is 1955 when middle grader Alice's beloved Aunt Polly passes away. Polly was the pie lady of Ipswich and the one who really understood Alice. After her death, Alice inherits her aunt Polly's rotund old cat named Lardo who inherited the secret recipe for Aunt Polly's pie crust. Lardo is named for the kind of shortening Aunt Polly used to make her famous pies. Everyone in town loved her pies and had a favorite. Each chapter begins with the recipe for a pie and a note telling us whose favorite it was.Alice also inherits a lot of trouble. Everyone in town is wondering where Aunt Polly's pie crust recipe is and everyone is trying to make their own versions of Polly's famous pies. After all, Polly won thirteen Blueberry Medals in a row for having the best pie. Now someone else will have a chance to win the medal. Then someone catnaps Lardo and breaks into Polly's pie shop and trashes it. Alice and her new friend Charlie Erdling are on the case and, after a few false starts, discover who is committing the crimes. Along the way Alice, with Charlie's help, learns how to be happy even after her beloved aunt is gone. She also comes to see that to be happy you have to follow your dreams and do what you love like Polly did.The story is filled with a number of interesting characters including the mayor's wife who is more into politics than her husband is and a body-building school principal who wants to be America's first muscle woman to give girls a different role model to follow.I liked the story and am eager to try a couple of recipes for pie too.
