“Hoping to escape her evil, doughy foster father, Emma Drinkwater sneaks into Kokonino County, the human-free home of the New Muses. She quickly finds herself embroiled in the Great Pie War launched by Kokopelli, flute-playing Muse of Tunes and Tricks, against Urania, the high-minded Muse of Astronomy. The stakes are high..."

You can download an illustrated chapter from Larry's Web site,
or read it without pictures on Cricket Magazine Group's official Web site.
Another chapter, revealing some of the Muses' deepest secrets, was published in the April 2005 issue of Muse.

Read Larry's Q&A session with Fan Pagers.

If you've read it, please let us know what you think. Larry is already planning his next book, and the information will help him. (He checks this page regularly.) You don't have to be deep; all Larry really needs to know is (1) did you enjoy the story? and (2) did you think it was funny? We'll post your comments for all to see.

From Emily R., Illinois:

The minute I got Attack of the Smart Pies, I was really excited. I ripped open the box and grabbed out the book. While being yelled at by my mom to clean up the mess I had left, and ran upstairs to start reading! It was really fun to read. This is a good thing, because it means that the writing was good, it was fast-moving, and I liked the characters. Its fun to read because of the verbs and adjectives. Even though it is based on a comic strip, the characters are vivid and well-rounded. Usually, characters become out-of-character near the middle in order to move the book along. That never happened in this book, which made it all the more satisfying.

Another thing I liked was the illustrations. They made it possible for me to have a picture of what the book was describing while also letting me think about it for myself. This was one of the best parts.

One thing that truly showed Larry Gonicks brilliance is that all of the muses were perfectly in character. I love each and every one of them, and it was gratifying that just because they were in a book didn't mean they acted any differently. Emma, however, was not my favorite Character. One reason is that I love Koko forever, and the other is that the author didn't make her appealing. He might have done this on purpose, or I may have missed something incredibly endearing. But I didn't need to like Emma very much to care about the situation she was in. The dramatized evility (and stupidity) of her stepfather is funny, yet believable.

With expert writing, lovely illustrations and an intriguing plot, Larry Gonick has pulled out another winner! So, go read this book. Its good, and I bet your teacher will let it count for a project.

From Hannah T., North Carolina:

Attack of the Smart Pies is filled to the brim with humor, science, a good deal of excitement, and, of course, doughnuts. What more could a reader want? A Muse reader, to be specific; sure to hold the attention of the teen/pre-teen crowd of the Flamablamablous magazine, Smart Pies is a cleverly-written, funny story. Old readers will not want to miss the new adventures of their favorite Muses, looking and sounding as though they've jumped straight off the magazine. ("'Rah!' cheered Kokopelli, dancing around the room as if he had tarantulas in his underwear"—who hasn't imagined the spiky-haired guy doing so?)  And new fans will easily be drawn in to the crazy world of Kokonino country, where fabulous inventions propel monster-pies through the air with sticky accuracy. (Deadly accuracy? I think not. But, man, these things are gooey.) The mysteries of Emma and her secret code, of Urania's astronomy party, and of Feather's quest to find his doughnuts will keep the readers turning pages faster than a speeding . . . need I say it? . . . Smart pie!

Hannah adds: Hope this is what you're looking for—I loved the book, and though I couldn't find anywhere to say it in this piece, absolutely adored the "Never mind, I've had fourteen cups [of coffee] already!" line from Kokopelli. Pie on, Mr. Gonick!

From "Duncan Quagmire":

Hello fellow Earthlings. This is your captain speaking to you. Actually it’s not. It’s just lil’ old me—Duncan_Quagmire.

Many of you reading this have probably been waiting for this book for a long time. I know I have. But the big question is was it worth the wait?

In a word: yes.

I suppose you’ll probably want to know more than that, though. How about a short plot summary?

The book focuses on a young human girl named Emma. Emma has a problem. Her adopted father, Darius Drinkwater, has been treating her poorly. So when she follows Feather, the Muse of Plants, into Kokonino County—a place where no humans are allowed—she expects him and the rest of the Muses to help her. That is after all, their job. But once she meets the rest of the Muses, she discovers that they need her help more than she needs theirs. And so Emma is caught in the middle of the Great Pie War. But whose side will she join—Urania’s or Koko’s? (Insert dramatic music here.)

Overall, the Attack of the Smart Pies was a great book. Maybe a bit short, but still good nonetheless. If you like Muse, you’ll like this book. Even if you’ve never read Muse, you may still like Attack of the Smart Pies—you should still be able to understand everything, as the book is fairly self-contained.

My biggest complaint is that three Muses—Pwt, Craaw, and Bo—don’t do very much. Craaw translates for Aeiou, but doesn’t do much else. Bo only does something important pretty late in the book. And Pwt does basically nothing but stand there (though the book does call Pwt a “he”).

I do have to say, though, that before I read Smart Pies I never really liked Feather—he was my least favorite Muse—but now I definitely like him a whole lot better.

So, though the book could have been better if it used Pwt, Craaw, and Bo more (and possibly if it included a moose), Attack of the Smart Pies is a great book that you will definitely want to read. I just can’t wait to read Kokopelli’s next adventure!

From Juliette R., Illinois:

I thought this book was pretty cool. Think Terry Pratchett meets Larry Gonick who bump into the Muses. It was amazing. How does he do it? It was quite clever of dear Mr. Gonick to see the story through the eyes of Feather. Feather is lovable but confused more often than not, and this showed in the book.

The characters are diverse, well-rounded and believable. Kokopelli, is well, Kokopelli, and Urania is so herself it's amazing. I will note, though, that Mimi is rather confusing. Perhaps this is because she has an "interesting" new character twist to her personality. I was shocked by the Eminem CD, but to each his own and several to Larry Gonick.

Fun, a joy to read, and extremely good. Kudos, compliments and the like to Larry Gonick.

Oh, yes. Saturn DOES look like a doughnut.

From Abigail G., California:

I absolutely loved this book, it was really great to have an entire book about these interesting characters. I mean, really, 1 measley page a month is hardly enough. As soon as I had finished reading this i started it again, however, my little sisterfound out that I was re-reading it & snatched it away. I had to rescue it off the top of her book-shelf this morning to write this; she still hasn't quite finished it, I think. Anyway, back to the book:

During the entire story the characters were very 3-dimensional {as much as 2-D cartoons can possibly be}, but at the same time true to character. This was nice because, occasionally, when an author writes an entire book about cartoon characters, the characters change to fit the story. In this case, the story evolved to fit the characters, and the end result was, of course, phantabulous. Of course, this isn't to say that the Muses didn't reveal some secrets. During the story i found out some interesting, and rather surprising things about them.

As usual Gonick's quirky illustrations were perfect for the story, giving us glimpses of Kokonino county. Also, seeing the events with Feather as the main character gave us an unbiased, if slightly confused, look at the dramatic {and not-so-dramatic} parts of the story.

As Juliette says: "how does he do it ?" I'm not sure how he does it, but i sure hope he'll do it again; a sequel to this would be absolutely flamablamblous.

From Emma G., North Carolina:

Attack of the Smart Pies is sure to please any Muse fan. While the Kokopelli & Company comics from the magazine offer a brief glimpse into the lives of the Muses, Larry Gonick’s new book takes readers further into Kokonino County than they’ve ever been before. The story’s told from the perspective of Feather, and follows the hapless Muse of Plants through sticky plots of both Humans and Muses on his never-ending quest for Krusty Glop doughnuts. He’s joined by Emma Drinkwater, a young girl trying to escape her unpleasant foster father. Emma is a natural-born prankster, so she gets along predictably well with Kokopelli. As the pies get smarter and the doughnuts remain ever beyond Feather’s reach, it’s unclear exactly whose side Emma is on—Urania’s or Kokopelli’s?

This book keeps readers on their feet the whole way through. With colorful characters, zany plot twists, entertaining illustrations, and—of course—delicious doughnuts, Attack of the Smart Pies has been the funnest book I’ve read this year.

From Grant O., Ohio:

Ultimate Supreme Executive Chairman Grant O. speaking from Ohio. I am a huge fan of the Muses and Kokopelli in particular. Attack of the Smart Pies is a cracking good read. You are able to find that all of the Muses are in perfect character, and the way it is written includes some smashing witticisms. Kokopelli is at his diabolical best and Feather is, how shall I say, thick as ever. Darien Drinkwater is just silly enough to not be scary. I was able to do a book critique on it for English class, and everyone just loved the line about "tarantulas in his (Kokopelli's) underwear." Attack of the Smart Pies is a must read for both avid readers (that's me) and reluctant readers alike.