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
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
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
A celebration of progressive Judaism and an inclusive primer on Jews making a difference in the world.
This wide-ranging collection of short biographies highlights 36 Jewish figures from around the globe and across centuries.
Explicitly pushing back against homogenous depictions of Jewish people, the authors demonstrate the ethnic, racial, and gender diversity of Jews. Each spread includes a brief biography paired with a stylized portrait reminiscent of those in Elena Favilli and Francesca Cavallo’s Good Night Stories for Rebel Girls (2016). A pull quote or sidebar accompanies each subject; sidebars include “Highlighting Jewish Paralympic Athletes,” “Jewish Stringed Music,” and “Ethiopian Jews in Israel.” Kleinrock and Pritchard’s roster of subjects makes a compelling case for the vastness and variety of Jewish experience—from a contemporary Ethiopian American teen to a 16th-century Portuguese philanthropist—while still allowing them to acknowledge better-known figures. The entry on Raquel Montoya-Lewis, an associate justice of the Washington Supreme Court and an enrolled member of the Pueblo Isleta Indian tribe, discusses her mission to reimagine criminal justice for Indigenous people; the sidebar name-checks Ruth Bader Ginsburg and Elena Kagan. The bios are organized around themes of Jewish principles such as Pikuach Nefesh (translated from the Hebrew as “to save a life”) and Adam Yachid (translated as the “unique value of every person”); each section includes an introduction to an organization that centers diverse Jewish experiences.
A celebration of progressive Judaism and an inclusive primer on Jews making a difference in the world. (resources) (Nonfiction. 8-12)Pub Date: Sept. 24, 2024
ISBN: 9780063285712
Page Count: 128
Publisher: Harper/HarperCollins
Review Posted Online: June 15, 2024
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 15, 2024
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
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