Attack of the Smart Pies

"Attack of the Smart Pies" (2005) is a novel written by Larry Gonick. It is the first novel written about the characters in the comic strip Kokopelli & Company.

Plot summary

Emma, an orphaned child who has been treating her stepfather Darrin Drinkwater badly, runs away after Darrin threatens to do something nasty to her. She ends up in Kokonino County, where the helpful Muses live. Feather, the Muse of Plants, uses intelligent air to watch Darrin Drinkwater, and Emma watches him take the two pieces of paper her parents had left for her. After much work, Emma is able to write down what is written on the two pieces of paper. The text, however, seems to be some sort of secret code, so Emma goes out in search for someone who can help her crack the code. Unfortunately, she arrived in the middle of the great Pie War between Kokopelli and Urania, two Muses who don't get along very well. She ends up helping Urania because Urania is very good at math. In the end, though, it is Bo, the Muse of factoids, who saves the day by recognizing the "code" as the number to a safe deposit box in a bank. Emma then finds a grown-up cousin to live with, and everybody lives happily ever after except Darrin Drinkwater, who is arrested for various crimes performed throughout the book.