asian culture Archives - Reading Middle Grade

Book Reviews, Picture book · April 30, 2021

Picture Book Friday: Dumplings for Lili

Nai Nai is making her favorite dumplings for Lili. Lili walks readers through each step, until the final one when Nai Nai realizes that she’s run out of cabbage! She sends Lili up to the 6th floor to see if the Polish grandma (Babcia) has any cabbage. This is where the story gets even more interesting.

It turns out that Babcia does have cabbage, but she’s also missing an ingredient for the pierogies she’s making. Lili’s one errand becomes several as she shuttles between a Jamaican grandma (Granma), a Pakistani grandma (Teta), an Italian grandma (Nonna), and a Latina grandma (Abuela) — all in Nai Nai’s building picking up and dropping off ingredients. Will Nai Nai finally make her dumplings?

Book Reviews, Picture book · March 19, 2021

Picture Book Friday: Bindu’s Bindis

Bindu’s Bindis are her favorite accessories — and she has a lot of them! Her Nani (grandmother) sends her a new pack every week and Bindu loves changing them to match her mood, outfits, or the occasion. Bindu loves her culture and the heritage the bindis represent, but most of all, they make her feel connected to her Nani. But when Nani comes to visit and the family is confronted with xenophobic protests outside the airport, Bindu wants to hide her bindis and the parts of her culture that make her feel “other.”

Book Reviews, Middle-Grade Book Reviews · January 20, 2021

Review | Krista Kim-Bap

Krista is an almost-12-year-old living in Vancouver, Canada. Her best friend since kindergarten is a redheaded boy named Jason. Jason enjoys Korean food, even kimchi, which has a strong smell. Although both of her parents are Korean, Krista’s mom does not cook a lot of Korean food. Her paternal grandmother though, always makes and brings them Korean food. Sadly, however, it seems that Grandma prefers Krista’s teen sister Tori to her. Tori is interested in fashion and makeup, and isn’t the biggest fan of Korean food. Krista on the other hand, prefers her worn jeans and sneakers, which Grandma does not like.

Book Reviews, Middle-Grade Book Reviews · January 18, 2021

Review | The Comeback

E.L. Shen’s The Comeback follows 12-year-old figure skater, Maxine Chen. Maxine loves figure skating and is pretty good at it too. Her parents are extra supportive and make financial sacrifices so that Maxine can pursue her passion. Still, they’re balanced and never pressure her to do anything she doesn’t. They also always ensure that she prioritizes school work and is not too hard on herself.

Maxine is a confident skater and feels sure that she’s got at least third place in the bag during her contest, but things start to get complicated when a new skater named Holly shows up. Holly is better trained and more experienced on the ice and Maxine begins to feel jealousy and other negative emotions. Maxine is also struggling with a bully at school who makes racial jokes about Maxine, such as about her monolid.

Book Reviews, Picture book · January 8, 2021

Picture Book Friday: Ten Little Dumplings

Larissa Fan’s Ten Little Dumplings is based on a true account of the life of a family member. It follows a family with 10 sons in the village of Fengfu. In Taiwanese culture, male children are prized over females, and so as Fan writes, the family is viewed as special. They’re “special because they had ten sons. To have one son was considered lucky. To have ten was great luck indeed.” As we see the 10 boys grow through life, a beautiful surprise awaits readers in the middle of the story.

Book Reviews, Picture book · January 1, 2021

Picture Book Friday: Luna’s Yum Yum Dim Sum

In Luna’s Yum Yum Dim Sum, Luna and her family go out for dim sum on her birthday. When the mouthwatering meal arrives, the kids have six buns which they can share equally, but in her excitement, Luna drops one pork bun, leaving the three kids only five buns to share. As they negotiate using the Lunar calendar, common sense, and math skills, they find a surprising solution to their dilemma.