MINH AND THE MAGIC GRAINS OF RICE

In this Vietnamese import, an ungrateful boy is transported to a magical land where human-size grains of rice teach him the importance of this staple food.

One evening, Minh refuses to eat his rice and even accidentally knocks a bowl of the food to the ground during a tantrum. Afterward, he sees three grains of rice stand up and dust themselves off. “We don’t deserve this. Let’s go!” one of them says. Minh follows them into the bushes. On the other side, he discovers a wondrous landscape: a sunny day with clouds and mountains, fantastical trees, and human-size rice grains fully clothed in traditional Vietnamese outfits. One of the grains recounts the legend of the Creator and the Pearly Grain, then tells Minh that to return home, he must find the Pearly Grain by sowing a rice crop. Minh spends time helping both rice and human characters sow, tend, harvest, and dry the crop, learning much in the process. Finally, the Pearly Grain appears from a sack of glowing rice grains, and Minh crawls back through the hedges to arrive home, hungry and grateful for his bowl of rice. Some of the dialogue is awkward, and the lesson feels a bit heavy-handed at times. Still, the information is sound, and the digitally rendered cartoon art is engaging, relying on colorful yet muted tones and incorporating fantastical landscapes and kawaii characters.

Solid info and cute characters help this primer on rice go down easy.