A celebratory tale embracing culture, identity, and of course food.
A family of Korean descent creates memories centered on a birthday tradition.
Birthday girl Maia, clad in her purple bunny pajamas, runs down to greet her mother. Her excitement grows when she learns that Umma is cooking something special: miyeok guk, or birthday soup. The dialogue-heavy narrative expounds on the dish’s origins. Packed with nutrients, this seaweed soup is typically served to new mothers; Korean people traditionally eat the dish on their birthdays to honor their mothers. As Maia’s father, grandmother, and older brother chime in with their own memories and reactions, everyone pitches in to help cook. Kim’s deft use of bright blended colors and textures creates joyful scenes of Maia preparing the ingredients with her family. Portrayed with oversize round heads, they cut endearing figures in the cartoonish art. After reveling in the legacy and flavors of the soup, Maia decides to serve it to her friends at her party. Several aspects of Maia’s Korean heritage are represented: Her grandmother wears a hanbok, her relatives bring silk envelopes containing birthday money, and japchae and kimchi are served alongside pizza and tacos—and, of course, miyeok guk. Maia and her parents smile as her friends appreciate the soup—the perfect party! Maia’s friends are racially diverse. The book wraps up with two recipes for miyeok guk, including one from the author’s husband, restaurateur and TV personality David Chang.
A celebratory tale embracing culture, identity, and of course food. (glossary, author’s note) (Picture book. 5-8)Pub Date: Sept. 10, 2024
ISBN: 9780593621615
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Viking
Review Posted Online: May 31, 2024
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 1, 2024
A nicely inventive little morality “tail” for newly independent readers.
Two little rats decide to show the world how tough they are, with unpredictable results.
Louie and Ralphie Ratso want to be just like their single dad, Big Lou: tough! They know that “tough” means doing mean things to other animals, like stealing Chad Badgerton’s hat. Chad Badgerton is a big badger, so taking that hat from him proves that Louie and Ralphie are just as tough as they want to be. However, it turns out that Louie and Ralphie have just done a good deed instead of a bad one: Chad Badgerton had taken that hat from little Tiny Crawley, a mouse, so when Tiny reclaims it, they are celebrated for goodness rather than toughness. Sadly, every attempt Louie and Ralphie make at doing mean things somehow turns nice. What’s a little boy rat supposed to do to be tough? Plus, they worry about what their dad will say when he finds out how good they’ve been. But wait! Maybe their dad has some other ideas? LaReau keeps the action high and completely appropriate for readers embarking on chapter books. Each of the first six chapters features a new, failed attempt by Louie and Ralphie to be mean, and the final, seventh chapter resolves everything nicely. The humor springs from their foiled efforts and their reactions to their failures. Myers’ sprightly grayscale drawings capture action and characters and add humorous details, such as the Ratsos’ “unwelcome” mat.
A nicely inventive little morality “tail” for newly independent readers. (Fiction. 5-8)Pub Date: Aug. 2, 2016
ISBN: 978-0-7636-7636-0
Page Count: 64
Publisher: Candlewick
Review Posted Online: May 3, 2016
Kirkus Reviews Issue: May 15, 2016
Only for dedicated fans of the series.
When a kid gets the part of the ninja master in the school play, it finally seems to be the right time to tackle the closet monster.
“I spot my monster right away. / He’s practicing his ROAR. / He almost scares me half to death, / but I won’t be scared anymore!” The monster is a large, fluffy poison-green beast with blue hands and feet and face and a fluffy blue-and-green–striped tail. The kid employs a “bag of tricks” to try to catch the monster: in it are a giant wind-up shark, two cans of silly string, and an elaborate cage-and-robot trap. This last works, but with an unexpected result: the monster looks sad. Turns out he was only scaring the boy to wake him up so they could be friends. The monster greets the boy in the usual monster way: he “rips a massive FART!!” that smells like strawberries and lime, and then they go to the monster’s house to meet his parents and play. The final two spreads show the duo getting ready for bed, which is a rather anticlimactic end to what has otherwise been a rambunctious tale. Elkerton’s bright illustrations have a TV-cartoon aesthetic, and his playful beast is never scary. The narrator is depicted with black eyes and hair and pale skin. Wallace’s limping verses are uninspired at best, and the scansion and meter are frequently off.
Only for dedicated fans of the series. (Picture book. 5-8)Pub Date: Sept. 1, 2017
ISBN: 978-1-4926-4894-9
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Sourcebooks Jabberwocky
Review Posted Online: July 14, 2017
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 1, 2017
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