Disclosure:Tuttle Publishing
gave me a copy of these books free of charge. All opinions in my review
are
my own and I did not receive any other compensation. As in all my
reviews I am providing links for your ease, but receive no compensation.
Today I get to review a wonderful book that is being released later this summer. The book is called Mei-Mei's Lucky Birthday Noodles written by Shan-Shan Chen. The book has beautiful illustrations by Heidi Goodman. I find all the books from Tuttle Publishing so beautifully put together in the stories, illustrations and quality. It is rare that I call books beautiful, but these books really are.
This wonderful story is about Mei-Mei and her birthday. Her day starts by her going into her parents' bedroom to wake them up. They immediately wish her a happy birthday. They both talk about how her birthday is an extra special day since it was the day they were able to bring her home from China. As parents who adopted this young girl this day meant so much to them and you can feel their love for her through the story. Mei-Mei asks her mother about making her lucky birthday noodles. Her parents have been trying to keep some of her Chinese traditions so Mei-Mei will know them. One is making lucky birthday noodles. Mei-Mei and her mother get to work chopping and cooking. There are mushrooms, green onions, carrots and bok choy to chop. The beef has to be sliced. Then the wok is pulled out to start the cooking.
Mei-Mei asks questions about many things having to do with the noodles and her mother is able to tell her some of the Chinese cultural beliefs. As a result the reader learns them as well. This story is a wonderful book for someone wanting to learn about the Chinese culture as well as a book for any child who is adopted. The book ends with a recipe to make the lucky birthday noodles. We of course had to try the recipe. I made it for dinner the other night. Hazel was too busy enjoying her wading pool to help. (Our air conditioner was broken, so she needed to cool off anyway.) It was an easy recipe and both Steve and I loved it. Hazel thought it had too many vegetables and I think she really meant too much bok choy, which she does not like. She however loved the beef that was in it.
And yes, Hazel and I ate the noodles with chopsticks to make it truly a Chinese experience. This amazing book is being released on August 26th. You can pre-order it at Tuttle, Amazon, and Barnes and Noble. For more Chinese books, crafts, etc. check out:
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