A charming time-travel story with delectable descriptions of food.
Maya and her maternal grandmother use food to travel to the past.
For most of seventh grader Maya’s life, it’s been just her and her exhausted mom living in their quiet house in Southern California. But then, several months ago, Halmunee, who has dementia, came to live with them. Halmunee is an incredible cook, and she encourages Maya to help her make Korean dishes. One day, while they are eating patbingsu, Halmunee transports them to the Seoul of Maya’s mother’s childhood, where Maya sees younger versions of her mom and grandparents enjoying the sweet Korean shaved ice treat. Halmunee explains that she has the power to return to moments in the past through food memories. Together they cook and eat their ways through moments in Halmunee’s past. Maya longs for a stronger connection to Korea and her family’s history, and she uncovers more secrets—until an unexpected realization makes her question everything. Full of twists, this middle-grade story is a heartwarming mix of food and family. Maya struggles with fixating on the past, ignoring her friends and schoolwork in the present, something those grappling with letting go of mistakes or regrets will understand. Exactly how time travel works is unclear even for the characters, however, making it difficult and confusing for readers as well. Halmunee’s memories are an homage to Korean food and culture, and there are recipes interspersed for readers to try.
A charming time-travel story with delectable descriptions of food. (Fantasy. 8-12)Pub Date: April 11, 2023
ISBN: 978-1-68369-318-5
Page Count: 272
Publisher: Quirk Books
Review Posted Online: Jan. 11, 2023
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 1, 2023
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
The three way chats, in which they are joined by other animals, about web spinning, themselves, other humans—are as often...
A successful juvenile by the beloved New Yorker writer portrays a farm episode with an imaginative twist that makes a poignant, humorous story of a pig, a spider and a little girl.
Young Fern Arable pleads for the life of runt piglet Wilbur and gets her father to sell him to a neighbor, Mr. Zuckerman. Daily, Fern visits the Zuckermans to sit and muse with Wilbur and with the clever pen spider Charlotte, who befriends him when he is lonely and downcast. At the news of Wilbur's forthcoming slaughter, campaigning Charlotte, to the astonishment of people for miles around, spins words in her web. "Some Pig" comes first. Then "Terrific"—then "Radiant". The last word, when Wilbur is about to win a show prize and Charlotte is about to die from building her egg sac, is "Humble". And as the wonderful Charlotte does die, the sadness is tempered by the promise of more spiders next spring.
The three way chats, in which they are joined by other animals, about web spinning, themselves, other humans—are as often informative as amusing, and the whole tenor of appealing wit and pathos will make fine entertainment for reading aloud, too.Pub Date: Oct. 15, 1952
ISBN: 978-0-06-026385-0
Page Count: 192
Publisher: Harper/HarperCollins
Review Posted Online: Sept. 14, 2011
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Oct. 1, 1952
PERSPECTIVES
SEEN & HEARD
Telgemeier’s bold colors, superior visual storytelling, and unusual subject matter will keep readers emotionally engaged and...
Catrina narrates the story of her mixed-race (Latino/white) family’s move from Southern California to Bahía de la Luna on the Northern California coast.
Dad has a new job, but it’s little sister Maya’s lungs that motivate the move: she has had cystic fibrosis since birth—a degenerative breathing condition. Despite her health, Maya loves adventure, even if her lungs suffer for it and even when Cat must follow to keep her safe. When Carlos, a tall, brown, and handsome teen Ghost Tour guide introduces the sisters to the Bahía ghosts—most of whom were Spanish-speaking Mexicans when alive—they fascinate Maya and she them, but the terrified Cat wants only to get herself and Maya back to safety. When the ghost adventure leads to Maya’s hospitalization, Cat blames both herself and Carlos, which makes seeing him at school difficult. As Cat awakens to the meaning of Halloween and Day of the Dead in this strange new home, she comes to understand the importance of the ghosts both to herself and to Maya. Telgemeier neatly balances enough issues that a lesser artist would split them into separate stories and delivers as much delight textually as visually. The backmatter includes snippets from Telgemeier’s sketchbook and a photo of her in Día makeup.
Telgemeier’s bold colors, superior visual storytelling, and unusual subject matter will keep readers emotionally engaged and unable to put down this compelling tale. (Graphic fiction. 8-12)Pub Date: Sept. 13, 2016
ISBN: 978-0-545-54061-2
Page Count: 256
Publisher: Scholastic
Review Posted Online: July 1, 2016
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 15, 2016
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