Mei-Mei's Lucky Birthday Noodles: A Loving Story of Adoption, Chinese Culture and a Special Birthday Treat
Shan-Shan Chen
(Author)
Heidi Goodman
(Illustrator)
21,000+ Reviews
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Description
A loving story of adoption, Chinese culture and a special birthday treat Mei-Mei is Chinese--but not Mom and Dad! When she was a baby, Mom and Dad flew all the way to the other side of the world to adopt her and bring her home. Lucky for Mei-Mei, her parents want her to know all about her roots in China's wonderful culture. That's why, on her birthday, her mom always makes her a traditional Chinese treat--long noodles, for a long and happy life. And this year, Mei-Mei is big enough to help her mom make them! Through a simple story and bright illustrations, Mei-Mei's Lucky Birthday Noodles takes young readers through this special day, from the moment an excited Mei-Mei wakes up in the morning and puts on her favorite dress, through helping Mom measure water, clean veggies and rinse noodles, to a great birthday celebration with family and friends. After the story comes a kid-friendly recipe for this tasty traditional dish. Younger kids can help Mom or Dad--just like Mei-Mei--while older kids can make it themselves, with supervision. Along with the birthday excitement and a great Chinese treat, readers will see the adoptive experience at its best--a lot of love and the sharing of roots, showing both parents and kids one of the many ways adopted children from all over the world can learn about the country they come from and take pride in its culture.
Product Details
Price
$13.95
$12.97
Publisher
Tuttle Publishing
Publish Date
August 26, 2014
Pages
32
Dimensions
7.9 X 10.1 X 0.5 inches | 0.85 pounds
Language
English
Type
Hardcover
EAN/UPC
9780804844611
BISAC Categories:
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About the Author
California native Shan-Shan Chen is an accomplished chef and has been a regular guest on the View of the Bay program, showing viewers how to prepare inexpensive and delicious Chinese dishes. Fluent in Mandarin Chinese, she enjoys sharing the richness of Chinese culture with people of all backgrounds. She especially is passionate about sharing her family traditions with her husband and two young children. Heidi Goodman has been a web designer and creative manager for such online companies as Excite, Inc. and Pottery Barn Kids.com, as well as for the nonprofit sector. As an artist, she specializes in watercolors and, of course, she loves books and cooking. She lives in California with her husband and two sons.
Reviews
"Mei Mei's Lucky Birthday Noodles is a beautiful, warm story full of the universal joys of a mother's love, a birthday wish and a bowl of homemade goodness. The writing and illustrations make you smile, teach you a few things, and also inspire you to start planning your next meal. We look forward to reading what Mei Mei cooks next!" --Roz Edison and Kamala Saxton Owners, Marination, Seattle
"I love that this book teaches culture, the unity of a mother and child sharing quality time in the kitchen, and the joy of making a delicious cultural dish." --Nautica de la Cruz, radio personality, KJLH, Los Angeles
"Children will enjoy reading how Mei-Mei makes the birthday noodles with the help of her mom. Readers can then try making noodles themselves with the kid-friendly recipe in the back of the book. Beautiful watercolor illustrations grace each page and show how Mei-Mei celebrates her culture through food. For bicultural families like mine, this book is a great way to keep my daughter's Chinese heritage alive through her love of reading and cooking. However, the universal themes of family, love, birthdays, traditions and food span across all cultures. As such, this book would be ideal for all children." --BiCultural Mama blog
"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 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." --CraftyMomsShare blog
"I love that Goodman's illustrations compliment the text beautifully. And, Mei-Mei's 6th birthday cake looks as yummy as the noodle dish! This is a book children of all ages will appreciate. This book is perfect for encouraging families to get in the kitchen and cook together." --Growing Book by Book blog
"While Mei-Mei is adopted, it's not necessarily noticeable in the picture book as you read it. Instead, you notice how loving Mei-Mei's family is as they go about their day preparing a special meal to celebrate her birthday. Noodles ARE special in Asian culture. They signify a long life and Mei-Mei is an active participant in preparing this special meal!" --Pragmatic Mom blog
"Mei-Mei's Lucky Birthday Noodles is a beautiful book celebrating family, friends, love and the splendor of family traditions within an adoptive family. This is a wonderful story of discovery and bonding within a family based upon Chinese culture and tradition. The illustrations are marvelous, adding to the beauty of the story. What a wonderful book that embraces and celebrates the love and joy of an adoptive family." --Families with Children from China blog
"This is another book that easily falls into the category of AWESOME. First I like that it has an adopted MC (and because I am adopted, I like books that show good examples of families built through adoption). Secondly, it involved food...and I like to eat. The illustrations are bright and colorful and I like that the story is about Mei-Mei being old enough to help her mom make her special treat. There are also references to other Chinese traditions in the book so you learn some about Chinese culture." --Erik, This Kid Reviews Books blog
"I love that this book teaches culture, the unity of a mother and child sharing quality time in the kitchen, and the joy of making a delicious cultural dish." --Nautica de la Cruz, radio personality, KJLH, Los Angeles
"Children will enjoy reading how Mei-Mei makes the birthday noodles with the help of her mom. Readers can then try making noodles themselves with the kid-friendly recipe in the back of the book. Beautiful watercolor illustrations grace each page and show how Mei-Mei celebrates her culture through food. For bicultural families like mine, this book is a great way to keep my daughter's Chinese heritage alive through her love of reading and cooking. However, the universal themes of family, love, birthdays, traditions and food span across all cultures. As such, this book would be ideal for all children." --BiCultural Mama blog
"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 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." --CraftyMomsShare blog
"I love that Goodman's illustrations compliment the text beautifully. And, Mei-Mei's 6th birthday cake looks as yummy as the noodle dish! This is a book children of all ages will appreciate. This book is perfect for encouraging families to get in the kitchen and cook together." --Growing Book by Book blog
"While Mei-Mei is adopted, it's not necessarily noticeable in the picture book as you read it. Instead, you notice how loving Mei-Mei's family is as they go about their day preparing a special meal to celebrate her birthday. Noodles ARE special in Asian culture. They signify a long life and Mei-Mei is an active participant in preparing this special meal!" --Pragmatic Mom blog
"Mei-Mei's Lucky Birthday Noodles is a beautiful book celebrating family, friends, love and the splendor of family traditions within an adoptive family. This is a wonderful story of discovery and bonding within a family based upon Chinese culture and tradition. The illustrations are marvelous, adding to the beauty of the story. What a wonderful book that embraces and celebrates the love and joy of an adoptive family." --Families with Children from China blog
"This is another book that easily falls into the category of AWESOME. First I like that it has an adopted MC (and because I am adopted, I like books that show good examples of families built through adoption). Secondly, it involved food...and I like to eat. The illustrations are bright and colorful and I like that the story is about Mei-Mei being old enough to help her mom make her special treat. There are also references to other Chinese traditions in the book so you learn some about Chinese culture." --Erik, This Kid Reviews Books blog
