As heartwarming and satisfying as a bowl of noodle soup.
A rags-to-riches true story about a legendary entrepreneur renowned for his noodle soup.
The narrative begins in 1918, as Ma Mon Luk (1896-1961) sorrowfully bids farewell to his sweetheart, Ng Shih, whose parents have deemed him too poor to marry. “The rich and the poor, like oil and water, [don't] mix.” Determined to prove Ng Shih’s parents wrong, he leaves Canton, China, for the Philippines to make a name for himself. While wandering the bustling streets of Manila’s Chinatown, he’s inspired to make his own version of his hometown favorite, chicken noodle soup. “Clink, clank, clink!” Day after day, he carries his jangling wares with a bamboo pole, selling noodles to rich and poor alike. His hard work and perseverance pay off, and his soup, known as mami—“‘Ma' after his name and ‘mi’ for noodles”—becomes famous. Over time, his success allows him to give back to the community and reconnect with his love. He opens a restaurant “where rich and poor people, unlike oil and water, [mix].” The lightly textured illustrations gracefully support the emotional resonance of the tale, contrasting bright, warm colors against a muted palette to heighten moments of success, longing, and nostalgia. Chio-Lauri’s use of short sentences, onomatopoeia, and repetition breaks up larger sections of text and will keep readers engaged in this compelling success story about the Mami King.
As heartwarming and satisfying as a bowl of noodle soup. (glossary; author’s and illustrator’s notes; more information on Ma and his mami, the people of the Philippines and the oldest Chinatown, and the carrying stick and the kitchen shears; bibliography; mami recipe) (Picture-book biography. 7-12)Pub Date: April 2, 2024
ISBN: 9781728492353
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Millbrook/Lerner
Review Posted Online: April 5, 2024
Kirkus Reviews Issue: May 1, 2024
For every dreaming girl (and boy) with a pencil in hand (or keyboard) and a story to share.
A multiaward–winning author recalls her childhood and the joy of becoming a writer.
Writing in free verse, Woodson starts with her 1963 birth in Ohio during the civil rights movement, when America is “a country caught / / between Black and White.” But while evoking names such as Malcolm, Martin, James, Rosa and Ruby, her story is also one of family: her father’s people in Ohio and her mother’s people in South Carolina. Moving south to live with her maternal grandmother, she is in a world of sweet peas and collards, getting her hair straightened and avoiding segregated stores with her grandmother. As the writer inside slowly grows, she listens to family stories and fills her days and evenings as a Jehovah’s Witness, activities that continue after a move to Brooklyn to reunite with her mother. The gift of a composition notebook, the experience of reading John Steptoe’s Stevieand Langston Hughes’ poetry, and seeing letters turn into words and words into thoughts all reinforce her conviction that “[W]ords are my brilliance.” Woodson cherishes her memories and shares them with a graceful lyricism; her lovingly wrought vignettes of country and city streets will linger long after the page is turned.
For every dreaming girl (and boy) with a pencil in hand (or keyboard) and a story to share. (Memoir/poetry. 8-12)Pub Date: Aug. 28, 2014
ISBN: 978-0-399-25251-8
Page Count: 336
Publisher: Nancy Paulsen Books
Review Posted Online: June 24, 2014
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 15, 2014
Though a bit loose around the edges, a charmer nevertheless.
Tales of a fourth grade ne’er-do-well.
It seems that young Jordan is stuck in a never-ending string of bad luck. Sure, no one’s perfect (except maybe goody-two-shoes William Feranek), but Jordan can’t seem to keep his attention focused on the task at hand. Try as he may, things always go a bit sideways, much to his educators’ chagrin. But Jordan promises himself that fourth grade will be different. As the year unfolds, it does prove to be different, but in a way Jordan couldn’t possibly have predicted. This humorous memoir perfectly captures the square-peg-in-a-round-hole feeling many kids feel and effectively heightens that feeling with comic situations and a splendid villain. Jordan’s teacher, Mrs. Fisher, makes an excellent foil, and the book’s 1970s setting allows for her cruelty to go beyond anything most contemporary readers could expect. Unfortunately, the story begins to run out of steam once Mrs. Fisher exits. Recollections spiral, losing their focus and leading to a more “then this happened” and less cause-and-effect structure. The anecdotes are all amusing and Jordan is an endearing protagonist, but the book comes dangerously close to wearing out its welcome with sheer repetitiveness. Thankfully, it ends on a high note, one pleasant and hopeful enough that readers will overlook some of the shabbier qualities. Jordan is White and Jewish while there is some diversity among his classmates; Mrs. Fisher is White.
Though a bit loose around the edges, a charmer nevertheless. (Memoir. 8-12)Pub Date: Feb. 2, 2021
ISBN: 978-1-338-64723-5
Page Count: 208
Publisher: Scholastic
Review Posted Online: Nov. 17, 2020
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Dec. 1, 2020
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