Everyone Loves Lunchtime but Zia

December 15, 2022
Zia loves her family's Cantonese dishes at home, but school is a different story. When her classmates make fun of the sweet, sour, crispy, and slippery lunches Zia brings from home, she asks her parents to pack her sandwiches instead. But they suggest a special menu for the week, where each lunch will have a special meaning and cultural significance. On Monday, Zia gets tong yun, which represent togetherness. She doesn't eat them, and no one sits with her at lunch. On Tuesday, she can't resist taking a bite of cha siu bao, which represent treasure. Then the school librarian appears, letting her know that the book she was waiting for is here. A treasure! Each day, when she eats her special lunch, something wonderful related to the food in question happens, including making a new friend to share her cheung fun (meaning: heartwarming) with on Thursday. By Friday, she brings some of everything to share with her classmates, who seem to have all had a sudden change of heart. Chen's colorful colored pencil and digital artwork is delightful, accentuating the expressive features of Zia and her diverse classmates and making the Cantonese dishes mouthwateringly appealing. Picture books that grapple with feeling embarrassed at lunchtime are plentiful, but this is an excellent vehicle for introducing some essential dishes and Chinese culture in a new way. (This book was reviewed digitally.) A delicious take on a familiar trope. (recipe for Zia's Lucky Yi Mein, author's note, list of foods, glossary) (Picture book. 4-8)

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January 1, 2023

K-Gr 3-A familiar story with a fresh twist grounded in Cantonese cooking. Zia loves the Cantonese food that her family makes at home but when it comes to lunch at school it just makes her feel different from everyone else. The other students ask hurtful questions about her food and when she takes this concern home her parents devise a clever solution. Each of the subsequent days of the week she is sent to school with a Cantonese dish and a special meaning for each item. On Wednesday, for example, Zia brings soy sauce chicken, called see yao gai (also written in Cantonese), and her father explains that it is eaten to bring success. After eating the dish, Zia gets a star on her art project and wonders if there is a connection between her lunch and her reward. By the end of the week it is Zia's birthday and her family sends her to school with a feast for the whole class. Her classmates celebrate Zia and her family's cuisine and Zia now loves lunch time. The ending includes extensive illustration notes on the huge variety of Chinese cuisine and detailed information on Cantonese cooking, plus a recipe for Zia's favorite noodles. VERDICT While the resolution to the protagonist's problem might have come relatively easily in one week, children will connect with Zia's struggles and will be encouraged to share their family traditions with others.-John Scott

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February 27, 2023
Discovering the special meanings behind foods in her packed lunch helps a Chinese American girl to appreciate her heritage in this straightforward handling of one child’s lunch box moment. At home, Zia enjoys her favorite Cantonese dishes, but at school, “Everyone loves lunchtime./ Everyone but Zia.” Fellow students, portrayed with varying skin tones, complain, “What’s that smell? It looks funny! How do you eat this?” Zia begs for sandwiches, but on her birthday week, her parents propose “a different lunch every day, each with a special meaning.” Monday’s dish, “rice dumplings called tong yun... represent togetherness,” but Zia hides the meal, then wonders when nobody sits with her, “Is it because I didn’t eat my tong yun?” Fine-lined colored pencil and digital art by Chen renders characters with rosy cheeks and noses, pairing food close-ups with home and classroom scenes. Via a well-trod story arc, the creators detail the meanings behind specific dishes alongside a child learning to appreciate her heritage. Ages 3–7.

March 1, 2023
Grades K-3 A familiar outsider experience inspires children to find pride in their identity in this celebration of Cantonese food and family. At home, young Zia loves the smells and textures of her family's Cantonese food. But at school, her classmates make fun of her homemade lunches, making Zia feel different. When Zia, longing to fit in, pleads with her parents to bring other food, her parents respond that they'll do something special this coming week: "a different lunch every day, each with a special meaning." After some initial resistance, Zia discovers over the course of the week that when she eats her special lunch, something wonderful related to the Cantonese dish happens. On Friday, Zia's birthday, she and her classmates all enjoy a feast of Cantonese cuisine. Pairing perfectly with Liao's heartwarming story are Chen's bright and expressive illustrations, which include mouthwatering drawings of Cantonese dishes. Cantonese spelling of various foods, a recipe, an author's note, and a food glossary add additional cultural depth. A simple and sweet story told through a delicious Chinese cultural lens.

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