HOT POT NIGHT!

Neighbors pool ingredients for a spontaneous potluck meal.

As the day ends in this urban building, residents in four separate apartments ask: “What’s for dinner?” An olive-skinned child suggests hot pot, and the action kicks into high gear. The olive-skinned, brown-haired host produces an electric tabletop cooker as a brown-skinned pair shows up with the broth, followed by a fair-skinned, white-haired woman who brings meat and a brown-skinned, brown-haired man with vegetables he has grown. Together, everyone cheerfully preps the meal; even the dog is excited about this communal activity. The animated spreads have a cartoony energy while the short, energetic sentences invite reading out loud. The illustrations offer little depth or dimension, however, and the assorted ingredients (vegetables, tofu, lotus root, seafood, etc.) scattered across the front and back endpapers resemble artificial food models stocking a toy kitchen. Although the main story names no specific racial or ethnic details, readers knowledgeable about Chinese culture will recognize the quintessential roundness of hot pot—as a vessel shape, as a way to eat, and as a symbol of harmonious reunions. The meal leaves the diners wanting more, and the story concludes with the promise of future hot-pot nights. (This book was reviewed digitally with 9.5-by-19-inch double-page spreads viewed at actual size.)

Flat, unsubtle artwork dilutes a potent concept and weakens the taste for this picture book promoting community and sharing.