Read Up: Jojo Eats Dim Sum

 

 

Jojo is so lucky! She gets to have her favorite breakfast every Saturday.  It’s not pancakes she wants; she doesn’t care for cinnamon rolls or sugary cereals, either.  What Jojo loves to eat is dim sum!  I love dim sum, too, and I love the new book Jojo Eats Dim Sum, by James Kye.

The book is oversized: not wide, but extra-tall so it can accommodate large orders of dim sum and tall appetites. The super-sized pages let the reader’s eyes move hungrily around the page, taking in the food and the action--not to mention the delicious art.  Whimsically-drawn cartoon people interact with perfectly-photographed food, sharing space on pages where words grow and shrink as characters in their own right.  Together, author/illustrar Kye and designers Janet & Edwin McKelpin have created a work that’s exciting to look at, whether or not one can read the words on the page.

Jojo Eats Dim Sum packs a lot not just visually (and in the dim sum carts); there’s a lot going on in the story, too.  There’s the trip to the dim sum restaurant, with its particular atmosphere and foods; within that, we get subtle lessons on the Cantonese language, being willing to try new foods, and learning new cultures.  Something not put into words--but made clear to me in the illustrations--is that Jojo’s mother seems to think Father’s habit of reading the newspaper at the restaurant table is very rude.  I agree!

A newspaper, in case you are too young to remember, is what people utilized to ignore one another at meals before the smart phone was invented.

But I digress.

The way the book ends, and the way the its title is presented, lead me to believe that there may be more culinary adventures with Jojo to come.  That’s fine, but this single serving is satisfying all by itself, and I recommend it highly.

 

I want every single thing this lady has in her cart, and I want it right now, mm goi!

 

Read Up! Some tasty tales

 

     Here’s a small serving of books, each with something extra—a recipe!  The stories stand on their own, of course, but the opportunity to bring the book into the kitchen with your family enriches the experience of the story, and demonstrates how reading is useful in many ways.  Additionally, it might even be an incentive for the little ones to try a new food!  As you read your way through the library, you’ll discover many more great stories with a recipe tucked in.

Bee-bim Bop! By Linda Sue Park & Ho Baek Lee

This rhyming book with a catchy repeated line is one of my favorites.  It’s beautifully-illustrated, and features a child who loves to help her family get ready for a meal.  Better yet, it just sounds fun--children at storytime always end up jumping in to chant along with the text!

The Giant Carrot, by Jan Peck & Barry Root

Another fun picture book with plenty of repeated phrases, this story finds a whole family dreaming of how they’ll eat this huge carrot—if only they can manage to get it out of the ground!  I still haven’t tried that recipe for carrot pudding.

The Ugly Vegetables, by Grace Lin

A little girl wishes her mom would plant beautiful flowers like their neighbors. When the ugly vegetables become soup, though, it's the neighbors who want to trade!

Cook-a-Doodle-Doo! by Janet Stevens & Susan Stevens Crummel

Fans of the Little Red Hen will be interested to learn that great-grandson is a baker, as well.  Rooster has a lot of help—but it is not necessarily helpful help.  The story is funny, there are a lot of lessons about kitchens & cooking along the way, and there’s a tasty recipe at the end.

Pizza at Sally’s, by Monica Wellington

Your little pizza lover will learn how the pies are made, as Sally (and her cat) prepare to open her pizza to a very appreciative & hungry neighborhood of children.

Eight Animals Bake a Cake, by Susan Middleton Elya & Lee Chapman

Animal lovers will love this story, which even throws in a bit of Spanish as it depicts eight good friends cooperating for a very sweet result.

And finally, a whole storybook full of classic tales:

Fairy Tale Feasts: A Literacy Cookbook for Young Readers & Eaters, by Jane Yolen, Heidi E.Y. Stemple, & Philippe Béha
Read Jack & the Beanstalk—and then make “Jack’s Magic Party Beans!” The story of Snow White includes Snow’s recipe for baked apples, and there’s a whole picnic basket of recipes to accompany Little Red Riding Hood!

 

Family Time: A "Read-n-Feed" Book List!

THE BOOK LIST: "Read-n-Feed!"

Here's a moderate serving of a few books you can check out, & then after reading the story, eat the food (recipes included)!

Bee-bim Bop! By Linda Sue Park & Ho Baek Lee
Check out this fun book of repetitive rhyme about a child helping her mom cook a favorite dish to share with their family. Afterward, you can use the recipe at the end of the book to make together & share a special dinner in your own household!

Big Jimmy’s Kum Kau Chinese Takeout by Ted Lewin

Jimmy describes all of the action as his family works hard to make and sell food for their customers--but what is JIMMY'S favorite thing to eat? A delicious twist ends this beautifully realistically-illustrated book.

Cranberry Thanksgiving by Wende & Harry Devlin (and all of the Devlin’s other “Cranberry” titles)

Cook-a-Doodle Doo! by Janet Steven & Susan Stevens Crummel

Fans of the Little Red Hen will be interested to learn that great-grandson is a baker, as well.  Rooster has a lot of help—but it is not necessarily helpful help.  The story is funny, there are a lot of lessons about kitchens & cooking along the way, and there’s a tasty recipe at the end.

 

The Empenadas that Abuela Made by Diane Gonzales Bertrand & Alex Pardo DeLange: A cumulative tale that reads a lot like "The House the Jack Built," but with a delicious, family-oriented twist! Those pumpkin empenadas sound great.

Everybody Bakes Bread, Everybody Cooks Rice, and more “Everybody” books by Norah Dooley


Fairy Tale Feasts: A Literacy Cookbook for Young Readers & Eaters
by Jane Yolen, Heidi E.Y. Stemple, & Philippe Béha
Read Jack & the Beanstalk—and then make “Jack’s Magic Party Beans!” The story of Snow White includes Snow’s recipe for baked apples, and there’s a whole picnic basket of recipes to accompany Little Red Riding Hood!


The Giant Carrot by Jan Peck & Barry Root: An old Russian folktale about a turnip gets turned into an American story about a family who gardens together, dreaming of what they will cook once they are able to grow something. Carrot pudding, anyone?


The Greatest Potatoes by Penelope Stowell & Sharon Watts: a fictionalized but fun account of the invention of the potato chip (it all started with a difficult restaurant patron & a tempramental chef) that culminates in the opportunity for you & the kids to create some fresh homemade junk food--they'll love it!


Green Corn Tamales by Gina Macaluso Rodriguez & Gary Shepard: the "secret ingredient" makes this storybook recipe better than most I've tried from actual cookbooks!


Moonbeams, Dumplings & Dragon Boats: A Treasury of Chinese Holiday Tales, Activities & Recipes
By Nina Simonds, Leslie Swartz & Meilo So
This book compiled by the Children’s Museum of Boston has got just about everything: fun traditional stories, crafts, recipes, backgrounds on several holiday festivals, and even additional resources & a guide to Chinese pronunciation. Like all of my recent finds listed here, it’s great for either home or the classroom.
Pancakes for Supper by Anne Isaacs & Mark Teague: a funny animal story, followed by a recipe for animal pancakes.

The Pizza That We Made by Joan Holub

Pizza at Sally's by Monica Wellington: a simple story ends with a simple pizza recipe

Pumpkin Soup by Helen Cooper


Sun Bread by Elisa Kleven


The Ugly Vegetables by Grace Lin: A little girl wishes her mom would plant beautiful flowers like their neighbors. When the ugly vegetables become soup, though, it's the neighbors who want to trade! Includes ugly vegetable soup recipe.


In addition to these books which actually contain recipes, of course you can read books that feature a meal or party scene, and recreate the menu at home (if you try your own version of Gary Soto’s Too Many Tamales, be sure to keep your diamond rings safely out of the way)—or have a party where everyone brings a dish from a favorite book. What DOES “Who Pudding” look and taste like? Try asking your local children’s librarian for more storybooks with recipes, or family-friendly cookbooks—and remember that cooking is not just frustrating (I meant to write FUN), it’s SCIENCE! Another book you can read and eat your way through is Science Experiments You Can Eat by Vicki Cobb, and it’s tastier than it sounds.