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Reviewed by: Emily McFarlane, Elementary School Librarian Title: Boys Don't Fry
Author: Kimberly Lee Illustrator: Charlene Chua
Publisher: Farrar Straus Giroux
Year: 2023 Good for Grades: PK-3 Genre/Type of Book: Realistic Fiction/Family/Picture Book
Content Warnings, or things that other School Librarians should be aware of: No
Recommended for a school library: Yes Reason(s) for choosing the book: The cover and title were eye catching. I liked the play on "boys don't cry," and am looking for more diverse texts to include in my physical collection.
If you were tasked by the publisher with writing a short quote for the back cover of this book, what would it be: Learning to cook never looked so fun!
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Review:
Jin loves the smells and sounds of his grandmother, Mamah, and his aunties cooking. The kitchen is the stomach of the house, and Mamah is the heart, and Jin wants to join in. Everyone is cooking for the big Lunar New Year reunion feast, but only the girls are being asked to help. When Jin steps up to the plate, his aunties don't think he can do it. But, Mamah invites him to join her in the kitchen and starts a new tradition.
This picture book is FULL of food, family, and love. It also is full of new food names that I am interested in learning more about, and I would learn how to pronounce before reading this book aloud. The rich background details in the illustrations bring the book to life and draw your eye all over the page. There are beautiful flower motifs everywhere which really draw you in to the setting. All of the characters are easy to tell apart, which is very nice to see as well. Overall, this is a sweet story about overcoming stereotypes and cultural norms to help instill positive change for the future. The author's note at the end explains more about her heritage as a Peranakan Chinese person, which was a cultural heritage I had never heard of before! She explains a bit about the origins of the community and a good bit about the food, which was very interesting. Then, she includes a recipe that we could all make at home. This makes us feel included in the story, too.
I loved the blend of subtle and rich colors used throughout, and the joy Jin feels while learning to cook at his Mamah's side. This is a fun book for use in discussing stereotypes about girls' and boys' roles in society, as well as exploring how Jin stands up for himself even when his family is against him learning to cook. It will also be great for learning about an entirely new culture and area of the world that isn't talked about often! There isn't much talk about the Lunar New Year itself, but it takes place during the holiday so it could be included in a display or used as a part of a unit on it.
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Find resources for Boys Don't Fry at Teachingbooks.net
For more information about this book, see the Publisher's Website
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