Educators will find value in this valiant effort to share a foreign culture with American children.
As Shao Ming hunts for her mother’s beloved wok, she embarks on a mouthwatering journey through her village.
On Zhong Qiu Jie, or the Mid-Autumn Festival, Shao Ming is tasked with delivering her mom’s wok to her uncle’s house. On her way, she stops to watch the parade. Shao Ming is “mesmerized by the huge dragon” and, in her daze, loses track of the wok. Devastated, she scours the neighborhood, inadvertently going on a foodie adventure. First, Shao Ming samples mapo tofu, a spicy Szechuan dish of pork and tofu at a local restaurant. Then, she shares a pot of tea with an elderly man to “calm [her] heart” and lunches on steamed crabs dipped in soy sauce—a Shanghainese specialty. At her last stop, a dim sum restaurant, the chef tells Shao Ming to go home, saying that her mother would “be sadder to have lost you than to have lost the wok.” While the story is an enjoyable vehicle for insight into Chinese culture and cuisine, the stiff prose (apparently literally translated from the original Korean) is not picture-book friendly. Thankfully, lively and colorful illustrations bolster the book, vividly capturing life in a rural Chinese village. Noh doesn’t skimp on minutiae. Everything from stir-fried veggies and dim sum delicacies to painted teapots and popping firecrackers is drawn to delicate detail.
Educators will find value in this valiant effort to share a foreign culture with American children. (cultural, culinary notes) (Picture book. 4-9)Pub Date: May 1, 2017
ISBN: 978-1-939248-23-7
Page Count: 38
Publisher: TanTan
Review Posted Online: March 5, 2017
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 15, 2017
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
Although the love comes shining through, the text often confuses in straining for patterned simplicity.
A collection of parental wishes for a child.
It starts out simply enough: two children run pell-mell across an open field, one holding a high-flying kite with the line “I wish you more ups than downs.” But on subsequent pages, some of the analogous concepts are confusing or ambiguous. The line “I wish you more tippy-toes than deep” accompanies a picture of a boy happily swimming in a pool. His feet are visible, but it's not clear whether he's floating in the deep end or standing in the shallow. Then there's a picture of a boy on a beach, his pockets bulging with driftwood and colorful shells, looking frustrated that his pockets won't hold the rest of his beachcombing treasures, which lie tantalizingly before him on the sand. The line reads: “I wish you more treasures than pockets.” Most children will feel the better wish would be that he had just the right amount of pockets for his treasures. Some of the wordplay, such as “more can than knot” and “more pause than fast-forward,” will tickle older readers with their accompanying, comical illustrations. The beautifully simple pictures are a sweet, kid- and parent-appealing blend of comic-strip style and fine art; the cast of children depicted is commendably multiethnic.
Although the love comes shining through, the text often confuses in straining for patterned simplicity. (Picture book. 5-8)Pub Date: April 1, 2015
ISBN: 978-1-4521-2699-9
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Chronicle Books
Review Posted Online: Feb. 15, 2015
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 1, 2015
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