Status
Available
Collection
Publication
Henry Holt and Co. (BYR) (2019), 384 pages
Description
Knowing very little English, eleven-year-old Jingwen feels like an alien when his family immigrates to Australia, but copes with loneliness and the loss of his father by baking elaborate cakes.
Local notes
School Library Journal Starred, 05/31/2019
Gr 3–6–Having recently immigrated to Australia, 11-year-old Jingwen feels like he's been dropped onto a strange planet full of gibberish-spouting aliens. He knows life would be easier if he learned more English like his annoyingly chipper, too-loud, too-energetic little brother Yanghao. But guilt over his father's accidental death festers. Worried that assimilating into Australian culture means he's forsaking his father's memory, Jingwen latches on to the idea that if he can make all the cakes his father planned to feature on the menu of his dream bakery, Pie in the Sky, then everything will be okay. Even if that means disobeying his mother's rules while she's working the night shift at a local bakery. Written from Jingwen's perspective, the text is augmented with humorous, often exaggerated black and blue spot and sequential paneled illustrations that offer a visual window into Jingwen's experiences and emotions. Frequent flashbacks to Jingwen's younger years in his (unnamed) country of origin contribute to strong character and relationship development and to the satisfying conclusion. Whether Jingwen and Yanghao are teasing, supporting, or bickering with each other, their relationship rings true. The humor, akin to that of Jeff Kinney's popular "Wimpy Kid" series, occasionally veers into the delightfully gross, such as when Yanghao barfs from one too many slices of cake. VERDICT A first purchase for all libraries, this #OwnVoices hybrid chapter book/graphic novel is the perfect mixture of funny and emotionally resonant.—Amy Seto Forrester, Denver Public Library Copyright 2019 Reed Business Information.
Gr 3–6–Having recently immigrated to Australia, 11-year-old Jingwen feels like he's been dropped onto a strange planet full of gibberish-spouting aliens. He knows life would be easier if he learned more English like his annoyingly chipper, too-loud, too-energetic little brother Yanghao. But guilt over his father's accidental death festers. Worried that assimilating into Australian culture means he's forsaking his father's memory, Jingwen latches on to the idea that if he can make all the cakes his father planned to feature on the menu of his dream bakery, Pie in the Sky, then everything will be okay. Even if that means disobeying his mother's rules while she's working the night shift at a local bakery. Written from Jingwen's perspective, the text is augmented with humorous, often exaggerated black and blue spot and sequential paneled illustrations that offer a visual window into Jingwen's experiences and emotions. Frequent flashbacks to Jingwen's younger years in his (unnamed) country of origin contribute to strong character and relationship development and to the satisfying conclusion. Whether Jingwen and Yanghao are teasing, supporting, or bickering with each other, their relationship rings true. The humor, akin to that of Jeff Kinney's popular "Wimpy Kid" series, occasionally veers into the delightfully gross, such as when Yanghao barfs from one too many slices of cake. VERDICT A first purchase for all libraries, this #OwnVoices hybrid chapter book/graphic novel is the perfect mixture of funny and emotionally resonant.—Amy Seto Forrester, Denver Public Library Copyright 2019 Reed Business Information.
Awards
A Horn Book Fanfare Best Book (Fiction — 2019)
Massachusetts Children's Book Award (Nominee — 2021)
Georgia Children's Book Award (Finalist — 2022)
Bluestem Award (Nominee — 2022)
Rhode Island Children's Book Award (Nominee — 2021)
Yoto Carnegie Medal for Illustration (Nominee — 2020)
The Readings Prize (Shortlist — Children's — 2020)
YABBA: Young Australians’ Best Book Awards (Shortlist — Fiction for Older Readers — 2023)
The White Ravens (2020)
Cocheco Readers' Award (Nominee — 2020)
Mind the Gap Awards (2020)
Sid Fleischman Humor Award (Winner — 2020)
NPR: Books We Love (2019)
CCBC Choices (2020)
Notable Children's Book (Middle Readers — 2020)
El día de los niños / El día de los libros (6-8 — 2020)
Evanston Public Library 101 Great Books for Kids (Fiction — 2019)
Read for Empathy Collections (2020)
Chicago Public Library Best of the Best: Kids (Fiction for Older Readers — 2019)