The cupboards are empty, as is the fridge. Thus begins the adventure of a hungry brother and sister as they try to figure out what’s for lunch. But there’s nothing ordinary about the feast the siblings of Letter Lunch are cooking up. From letter-picking in their backyard to browsing through the alphabet at the local market, from an expedition through the woods and up a mountain to sharing their finds with friends, the two chefs and letter foragers set out to create a feast of consonants that’s seasoned with both vowels.
Picture Book
Hannah’s Night
When everyone is asleep, Hannah wakes up and discovers the quiet, exciting night-time world. When Hannah wakes suddenly in the night, she discovers a whole new world of adventure. With nobody awake to tell her off, she can do just as she pleases. The book combines simple language with beautifully textured images, capturing the innocence and wonder of young children at play.
See the review at WOW Review, Volume VII, Issue 3
Gus, the Dinosaur Bus
Even though the school children think Gus the dinosaur bus is a great way to get to school, his size is causing some problems for the principle and the town. He causes traffic jams, gets tangled in telephone lines, knocks down traffic lights, and creates potholes with his big stomping feet. The principal fires Gus from school bus duty. However, Gus makes a swimming pool with his tears and finds a new life as the school’s playground, with a swing on his tail and his long neck serving as a slide.
Illustrations: watercolor, childlike pencil drawings
Mooncakes
Mooncakes is the lyrical story of a young girl who shares the special celebration of the Chinese Moon Festival with her parents. As they eat mooncakes, drink tea and watch the night sky together, Mama and Baba tell ancient tales of a magical tree that can never be cut down, the Jade Rabbit who came to live on the moon and one brave woman’s journey to eternal life.
Kenta And The Big Wave
When tsunami strikes Kenta’s small village in Japan, he ran to school far up the hill, where the waves couldn’t reach. Climbing to safer ground, Kenta watches helplessly as his prized soccer ball goes bouncing down a hill and gets swept away by the waves. When the tsunami recede, his family returned to their home, they found village ruined and could not find their belongings. Out on the ocean, Kenta’s soccer ball floated across the ocean. Finally the ball reached the other side of the world, where a boy picked the ball up and sent it back to Kenta, even though he could not read the word on the ball.
Jasper’s Story
Jasper is a moon bear who was held in a cage by bear farmers in rural China. The farmers extracted the bile from Jasper’s body and sold it to be used in traditional medicines. Despite how badly he was treated, Jasper was able to slowly recover, forgive, and trust humans. With each new bear who arrives in the sanctuary, Jasper becomes a friend, letting them know that they are in a place where healing will begin.
The Race for the Chinese Zodiac
With gorgeous illustrations based on Chinese painting techniques, a lively retelling of the legendary animals’ race that led to the twelve signs on the Chinese Zodiac.
linocuts
The Tiny King
The tiny king lives in a big castle guarded by lots of big soldiers. Every day the tiny king eats dinner at his big table (he can never finish all the food), rides a big white horse (though he is thrown off every time), and takes a bath in his big bath (which is never much fun). And every night he sleeps in his big bed all alone. The tiny king is so sad and so lonely that he never sleeps very well. One day he meets a big princess and asks her to be his queen. Not long after, they are blessed with lots of children. Now the castle no longer felt so big. The children ran around, laughing and playing all day long. Everything is just the right size, bath time is a real riot, and the tiny king sleeps soundly at last.
Bright, bold cutouts and a whimsical use of collage created a witty, heartwarming story.
Three Years And Eight Months
Recounts the Japanese occupation of Hong Kong from 1942-1945 as Choi, a ten-year-old Chinese American boy, secretly joins the resistance and saves thousands of American, British and Canadian forces. Includes historical notes and photographs
This Is The Rope
A rope passed down through the generations frames an African American family’s story as they journey north during the time of the Great Migration.
See the review at WOW Review, Volume VI, Issue 4