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Reviewed by: Emily McFarlane, Elementary School Librarian Title: Ramen for Everyone Author: Patricia Tanumihardja Publisher: Atheneum Books for Young Readers
Year: 2023 Good for Grades: PK-2 Genre/Type of Book: Realistic Fiction/Picture Book
Content Warnings, or things that other School Librarians should be aware of: None Recommended for a school library: Yes Reason(s) for choosing the book: JLG subscription box selection, increasing diverse books (Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islander representation) If you were tasked by the publisher with writing a short quote for the back cover of this book, what would it be: The perfect bowl of ramen takes some patience, ingenuity, and care!
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Review:
Hiro loves ramen! He and his father make ramen for dinner every Sunday together. Hiro's father grew up watching his father make ramen in Hawai'i every Sunday, and now Hiro carries on that tradition. An action-packed cooking sequence follows, and everyone is able to enjoy a delicious bowl of ramen together! Now that it's Hiro's birthday, he wants to cook ramen for everyone, but he struggles to get it just right. Can Hiro make the perfect bowl of ramen?
This book is sweet and very fun. It has lots of great, dynamic illustrations that move the eye across the page. Throughout, the characters really come to life and have fun as a family. I loved the bright colors and dynamic scenes of cooking. There were also tons of hiragana characters, so the reader might be enticed to learn a little Japanese along the way. This would be great for bilingual readers or ENL students who come from Japanese speaking backgrounds. The main character's father came from Hawai'i, and is of Japanese heritage, so there is some different Pacific Islander representation included. The book also has a strong father-son dynamic and stresses the importance of "YET." Hiro may not be able to make something perfect "YET," but his father helps him realize that nothing has to be perfect to be special.
I love how the characters do NOT fall into the "slant eyes" stereotype, and are all drawn in a very cutesy (or shall I say "kawaii") style! At the end of the story, there is a short historical page about ramen itself, and a second page about how to stay safe in the kitchen. Finally, there is a two-page recipe spread for Miso Ramen. I thought these were all lovely add-ins that would be very fun to share with a family if you borrowed this book.
I could see using this book during a cooking for foods of the world unit, a unit on different cultures/heritages, or family backgrounds, or a unit on verbs. (There are a lot of action words during the cooking scenes.) Activities could involve bringing in recipes from home, writing silly recipes, or designing a "perfect" bowl of ramen for each person. What toppings would you include in your bowl of ramen?
The cover of this book is very sweet- Hiro is holding out a tray with a big bowl of ramen to the reader. The bowl is bright red with enticing toppings in it. He's got a big smile and yellow lines radiate out from him. I could see kids picking this up just based on the brightness and joy radiating from it, or just from the fact that kids do like ramen.
Number of party hats:
Find this video and other resources for Ramn for Everyone at Teachingbooks.net
For more information about this book, see the Publishers Website