Pi in the sky

Title:

Pi in the sky

Author:

Mass, Wendy, 1967-

ISBN:

9780316089166

Personal Author:

Mass, Wendy, 1967-

Edition:

First edition.

Publication Information:

New York : Little, Brown and Company, 2013.

Physical Description:

244 pages : illustrations ; 21 cm

Abstract:

Joss, the seventh son of the Supreme Overlord of the Universe, must team up with a human girl to re-create Earth, when the planet is accidentally erased from existence.

Subject Term:

Science fiction -- Juvenile literature.

Geographic Term:

Universe -- Juvenile fiction.

Earth (Planet) -- Juvenile fiction.

Genre:

Juvenile fiction.

Document ID:

SD_ILS:2111498

Holds: Copies:

Available:*

Library	Collection	Collection	Call Number	Status
Searching... Avenal Branch Library (Kings Co.)	Searching... Unknown	Child - Fiction	J MASS	Searching... Unknown
Searching... Betty Rodriguez Library (Fresno Co.)	Searching... Unknown	Children's Fiction Area	MASS WE Pi	Searching... Unknown
Searching... Corcoran Branch Library (Kings Co.)	Searching... Unknown	Child - Fiction	J MASS	Searching... Unknown
Searching... Fresno Central Library (Fresno Co.)	Searching... Unknown	Children's Fiction Area	MASS WE Pi	Searching... Unknown
Searching... Gillis Branch Library (Fresno Co.)	Searching... Unknown	Children's Fiction Area	MASS WE Pi	Searching... Unknown
Searching... Hanford Branch Library (Kings Co.)	Searching... Unknown	Child - Fiction	J MASS	Searching... Unknown
Searching... Lemoore Branch Library (Kings Co.)	Searching... Unknown	Child - Fiction	J MASS	Searching... Unknown
Searching... Ridgecrest Branch Library (Kern Co.)	Searching... Unknown	Children's Fiction	J FIC MAS	Searching... Unknown
Searching... Riverdale Branch Library (Fresno Co.)	Searching... Unknown	Children's Fiction Area	MASS WE Pi	Searching... Unknown
Searching... Selma Branch Library (Fresno Co.)	Searching... Unknown	Children's Fiction Area	MASS WE Pi	Searching... Unknown
Searching... Sunnyside Branch Library (Fresno Co.)	Searching... Unknown	Children's Fiction Area	MASS WE Pi	Searching... Unknown
Searching... Tehachapi Branch Library (Kern Co.)	Searching... Unknown	Children's Fiction	J FIC MAS	Searching... Unknown
Searching... Tulare Public Library	Searching... Unknown	Juvenile Fiction	Mass	Searching... Unknown
Searching... Visalia Library (Tulare Co.)	Searching... Unknown	Children's Fiction	J MASS WENDY	Searching... Unknown

Joss is the seventh son of the Supreme Overlord of the Universe. His older brothers help his dad rule the cosmos, but all Joss gets to do is deliver pies. That's right: pies. Of course, these pies actually hold the secrets of the universe between their buttery crusts, but they're still pies.
Joss is happy to let his older brothers shine. He has plenty to keep his hands full: attempting to improve his bowling score; listening to his best friend, Kal, try (and fail) to play the drums; and exploring his ever-changing home, The Realms. But when Earth suddenly disappears, Joss is tasked with the seemingly impossible job of bringing it back. With the help of Annika, an outspoken girl from Earth, he embarks on the adventure of a lifetime...and learns that the universe is an even stranger place than he'd imagined.
From the New York Times bestselling author of The Candymakers comes a world-hopping tale that leads the reader deep into the heart of the mysteries of time and space. Plus, there's pie.

Author Notes

Wendy Mass was born in Livingston, New Jersey on January 17, 1967. She received a B. A. in English from Tufts University. She worked as a book editor at numerous publishing houses in New York City and Connecticut and co-created a teenage literary magazine called Writes of Passage. She has written several nonfiction books for teenagers including Stonehenge, Readings on Night, John Cabot: Early Explorer, and Ray Bradbury: Master of Science Fiction and Fantasy. Her fiction books include Leap Day, Jeremy Fink and the Meaning of Life, Heaven Looks a Lot Like the Mall, Every Soul a Star, 11 Birthdays, Finally, and The Candymakers. A Mango-Shaped Space won the American Library Association Schneider Family Book Award in 2004. She wrote the storyline for an episode of the television show Monk, entitled "Mr. Monk Goes to the Theatre," which aired during the show's second season.

(Bowker Author Biography)

Reviews (5)

School Library Journal Review

Gr 5-8-Joss lives in a mysterious place known as the Realms and is the 7th son of the Supreme Overlord of the Universe. He is content to let his older brothers and parents deal with keeping the galaxy in order while he tends to his routine of going to school and hanging with his best bud Kal, and his seemingly mundane job of delivering magic pies. Everything changes when an Earth girl named Annika peers through a telescope, leading to dire consequences for Earth as well as the entire universe. It's up to Joss, with help form Annika, his friends, and his family, to save the day. Mark Turetsky vocalizes a huge cast of characters both alien and human, making each unique through pitch, volume, and tone. His female voices are especially impressive. Mass is a true spinner of yarns, and her novel (Little, Brown, 2013) is full of colorful language that creates immediate visuals, and Turetsky's humorous vocalizations bring it all together. Given the detailed storytelling and the variety of kooky characters, middle school listeners will be engaged.-Shari Fesko, Southfield Public Library, MI (c) Copyright 2013. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.

Publisher's Weekly Review

"Life in The Realms has fallen into a sort of 'been there, done that' kind of routine" for Joss, the seventh and least skilled son of the Supreme Overlord of the Universe. The Realms occupy the dark matter of the universe and keep the whole thing running; Joss's job is to deliver pies for the Powers That Be (PTB), pies that hold "the very fabric of the universe together." When 12-year-old Earth resident Annika accidentally spots a pie baker in the Realms, the PTB rip Earth and its solar system out of the space-time continuum, effectively revoking its existence ("This way it's nice and neat, and we don't have that nagging guilt at killing off a five-billion-year-old planet," says Joss's father proudly). Annika herself somehow appears in the Realms, and she and Joss must recreate the entire solar system from the ground up. Full of fascinating science and clever humor, Mass's (The Candy-makers) story shines as bright as the stars of Joss's universe. A high-stakes extraterrestrial adventure that's as exciting as it is fun. Ages 8-12. Agent: Ginger Knowlton, Curtis Brown. (June) (c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved.

Horn Book Review

When Earth is ripped out of the space-time continuum after earthling Annika discovers The Realms through her telescope, Joss's best friend Kal is ripped away, too. Joss (seventh son of the Supreme Overlord of the Universe) must re-create Earth from scratch to save Kal and send Annika home. This whimsical cosmology fantasy offers astrophysics and chemistry along with its humorous underachiever vibe. (c) Copyright 2013. The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.

Kirkus Review

Astrophysics and cosmology play around with haphazard cheer in an experimental comedy that could be a Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy for kids. Joss is 13 (well, "more like a few billion and thirteen") and lives in The Realms, a huge place "inside what you call dark matter." As seventh son of the Supreme Overlord of the Universe, Joss' job is to deliver pies. He only partially understands why it matters--after his deliveries, "[s]omehow the Powers That Be distribute the pies to the far reaches of the universe, wherever new star systems are forming"--but he understands the rule (like Star Trek's Prime Directive) that The Realms "never interfere with the planets' natural evolution." That said, if any planetary life-form sees The Realms, the penalty is "immediate disintegration of the entire planet." Yet when human Annika Klutzman spots a Realms pie-baker through a telescope, the PTB don't demolish Earth--they rip it "out of the space-time continuum" so it never existed (sort of). Annika herself materializes inexplicably in The Realms, where she and Joss labor to rebuild Earth's solar system. Chapters open with tantalizing quotes from the likes of Stephen Hawking, Neil deGrasse Tyson and, of course, Carl Sagan: "If you wish to make an apple pie from scratch, you must first invent the universe." Science and absurdity frolic together to gleeful effect. (author's note) (Fantasy. 8-12)]] Copyright Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.

Booklist Review

Joss, seventh son of the Supreme Overlord of the Universe, delivers pies that hold the universe together, but compared to his brothers' tasks, his job is menial. Living in The Realms, located inside dark matter, Joss is nearly immortal and complains that nothing ever happens. Then one day an Earth girl, Annika, spies The Realms through a telescope, and suddenly she is in The Realms. Joss' best friend Kal and Kal's parents are trapped in an unstable universe, and the Earth has been removed from the space-time continuum. Only Joss can fix things by rebuilding the entire solar system. Considering the premise, there is surprisingly little action. Joss spends most of his narration explaining things to the reader, and the rest of his time explaining things to Annika or trying to communicate with Kal. Still, science enthusiasts may enjoy the speculation about alternate universes, dark matter, and quantum physics.--Harold, Suzanne Copyright 2010 Booklist