by Aya Khalil Illustrated by Rashin Kheiriyeh 4 stars A delightfully sweet story filled with love, tradition, ingenuity, and genericity. Zain is excited to share his family’s ka’ak with his classmates. Together with his mother and grandmother, he prepares the treats, learning about their history and adding his own spin to tradition. The illustrations are…
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Illustrated by Francesca Galmozzi 3 stars Matilda and her grandmother are preparing for the Passover seder. But this year there’s an exciting change. Matilda gets to help with the matzah ball soup. She adds her creativity to her grandmother’s recipe and together they experiment to make an out of this world creation. A cute representation…
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by Danielle Greendeer, Anthony Perry, and Alexis Bunten Illustrated by Garry Meeches Sr. 5 stars A beautiful telling of the story of Keepunumuk, the time of harvest. It focuses on the relationship between humans and the natural world, specifically the Three Sisters as well as the animals. The book opens with a brief intro about…
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Illustrated by Emily Balsley 5 stars A delectable read about finding the right cake to tell your story. Phil loves baking with his parents, but after their divorce, things are different. His favorite recipe doesn’t feel right anymore. After talking it out with his friend, inspiration strikes, and Phil creates something entirely new, a blending…
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Illustrated by Sara Palacios 4 stars A delightful picture book that serves as a love letter to plátanos and Dominican culture. In the story, the main character shows the diversity of plátanos, both in what dishes they can be used in and how they add to different situations. Whether to soothe disappointment, to share community,…
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by Michelle Sterling Illustrated by Dung Ho 3 stars A deliciously sweet story for a sweet new year. Every year, Ren hopes she can finally help make pineapple cakes for Lunar New Year. Will this be her year? A delightful story with wonderfully warm illustrations. Nice scenes of togetherness and moments of sharing and teaching….
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Illustrated by Sebastià Serra 4 stars A humorous retelling of The Talking Pot with a Robin-Hood-style twist that emphasizes sharing without others. Ming’s mother sends him to market to trade eggs for rice to make a Spring Festival meal to share with their neighbors. But when Ming meets a man offering a rusty wok, he strikes an…
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4 stars An interesting look at the initial outbreak of Covid in Wuhan through the eyes of a thirteen-year-old. Mei loves cooking, improving her skill through an online cooking game. But when the pandemic spreads, Mei faces being separated from her family, a city-wide shutdown, food shortages, neighbors turning on each other, and those around…
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3 stars A nice intro with various tips for reducing food waste. This book covers quite a bit of ground in a short amount of time. Includes ideas on cooking with and regrowing from food scraps. Also includes some basic information on storage, meal planning, composting, and guidelines for judging freshness. Note, this is more…
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4 stars A sweet, adorable tale about cooking, finding your passions, gaining confidence, and always having friends by your side. Such a cute story. Melendez provides a fresh, fun look at life after college complete with the struggles of finding a job, dealing with overbearing parents, new crushes, and fights with friends. Plenty of romantic…
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