A fun read that explores Japanese culture and culinary history—just don’t expect a literary tour de force.
A time-traveling red panda gives two American schoolkids a tour of the history of ramen.
In this first installment in the Asian Hall of Fame series, Emma, a girl with brown hair and light brown skin, and Ethan, who appears to be Asian, are on a school field trip when they meet Dao for the first time in a ramen-ya, or ramen restaurant. The talking red panda invites them to discover the history behind this delicious noodle dish, and with a bang on Dao’s gong, all three find themselves in 19th-century Japan, where vendors are selling ramen from pushcarts. After World War II, ramen became even more accessible because an abundance of wheat drove the cost of production down. At a ramen factory, they watch how the noodles are made with salt, eggs, and kansui (alkaline water). Then they travel to the 1950s, when Momofuku Ando invented (and popularized) instant ramen, flash-fried noodles with seasonings already added. Today, 100 billion packages of instant ramen are sold annually, but fresh ramen is rising in popularity again, in the United States and all over the world. Calle’s illustrations are undeniably adorable; cute characters and dynamic scenes elevate the sometimes heavy-handed and confusing text, which too often relies on didactic dialogue to provide the fascinating facts and information.
A fun read that explores Japanese culture and culinary history—just don’t expect a literary tour de force. (glossary) (Picture book. 4-10)Pub Date: Nov. 15, 2017
ISBN: 978-1-59702-134-0
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Immedium
Review Posted Online: Sept. 30, 2017
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Oct. 15, 2017
BOOK REVIEW
Broccoli: No way is James going to eat broccoli. “It’s disgusting,” says James. Well then, James, says his father, let’s consider the alternatives: some wormy dirt, perhaps, some stinky socks, some pre-chewed gum? James reconsiders the broccoli, but—milk? “Blech,” says James. Right, says his father, who needs strong bones? You’ll be great at hide-and-seek, though not so great at baseball and kickball and even tickling the dog’s belly. James takes a mouthful. So it goes through lumpy oatmeal, mushroom lasagna and slimy eggs, with James’ father parrying his son’s every picky thrust. And it is fun, because the father’s retorts are so outlandish: the lasagna-making troll in the basement who will be sent back to the rat circus, there to endure the rodent’s vicious bites; the uneaten oatmeal that will grow and grow and probably devour the dog that the boy won’t be able to tickle any longer since his bones are so rubbery. Schneider’s watercolors catch the mood of gentle ribbing, the looks of bewilderment and surrender and the deadpanned malarkey. It all makes James’ father’s last urging—“I was just going to say that you might like them if you tried them”—wholly fresh and unexpected advice. (Early reader. 5-9)
Pub Date: May 1, 2011
ISBN: 978-0-547-14956-1
Page Count: 48
Publisher: Clarion Books
Review Posted Online: April 4, 2011
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 1, 2011
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
Visually accomplished but marred by stereotypical cultural depictions.
Ellis, known for her illustrations for Colin Meloy’s Wildwood series, here riffs on the concept of “home.”
Shifting among homes mundane and speculative, contemporary and not, Ellis begins and ends with views of her own home and a peek into her studio. She highlights palaces and mansions, but she also takes readers to animal homes and a certain famously folkloric shoe (whose iconic Old Woman manages a passel of multiethnic kids absorbed in daring games). One spread showcases “some folks” who “live on the road”; a band unloads its tour bus in front of a theater marquee. Ellis’ compelling ink and gouache paintings, in a palette of blue-grays, sepia and brick red, depict scenes ranging from mythical, underwater Atlantis to a distant moonscape. Another spread, depicting a garden and large building under connected, transparent domes, invites readers to wonder: “Who in the world lives here? / And why?” (Earth is seen as a distant blue marble.) Some of Ellis’ chosen depictions, oddly juxtaposed and stripped of any historical or cultural context due to the stylized design and spare text, become stereotypical. “Some homes are boats. / Some homes are wigwams.” A sailing ship’s crew seems poised to land near a trio of men clad in breechcloths—otherwise unidentified and unremarked upon.
Visually accomplished but marred by stereotypical cultural depictions. (Picture book. 4-8)Pub Date: Feb. 24, 2015
ISBN: 978-0-7636-6529-6
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Candlewick
Review Posted Online: Nov. 17, 2014
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Dec. 1, 2014
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