The best kind of mooncake

In Hong Kong, a girl's family is opening their shop on the market-filled alley of Tai Yuen Street--though she's only staying because mother has promised her a mooncake with "a double-yolk center--the best kind!" Soon, the market's bustling, but to the girl, it's a boring routine. But then someone unfamiliar appears and talks about his long journey to Hong Kong, where he arrived with essentially nothing. While the girl's curious, the crowds soon dismiss his tale, "uninterested in hearing their own stories retold to them." But when the girl's mother has her give the hungry stranger the mooncake--much to her disappointment--other shopkeepers follow suit, offering kindness that ultimately changes the girl's perspective of community, welcoming newcomers, and the rewards of appreciating and sharing what you have with others. The girl's first-person narrative relates events in lively, descriptive prose, with humorous touches, depicted in vibrantly detailed, animated illustrations in a saturated color palette. An author's note provides background about Hong Kong's history and her own family's experiences there, which inspired the story, as well as family photos.

As a girl helps her family set up their stall on "beeping, bickering, and bartering" Tai Yuen Street in Hong Kong, she complains that every day is boringly the same. Suddenly and with a "THWUMP!" a man falls to his knees. He tells the crowd of hawkers and shoppers that he's traveled a thousand miles through forests and across rivers, leaving "everything behind but the clothes on his back" to cross the border. The crowd turns away, "uninterested in hearing their own stories retold to them," but the girl's mother asks her to bring the tired and hungry man a mooncake -- the very one that was promised to her and her brothers. Reluctantly, she offers him the mooncake, "the best kind" with a double-yolk center. Her act of kindness ripples out into the crowd, reminding onlookers (and readers) of the satisfaction of being able to share what they can. AuYeung's expressive digital illustrations depict Hong Kong's Tai Yuen Street and its people with lively details that lighten the tone. An author's note provides historical context and explains that the story is based on her family's experiences. Weileen Wang November/December 2022 p.60(c) Copyright 2022. The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.

A child's special treat is given to a man in need, setting off a chain reaction of kindness. It is a regular day on Tai Yuen Street in Hong Kong, full of "beeping, bickering, and bartering," as a child's parents set up their hawker stand. Suddenly, the usual bustle is interrupted by a THWUMP! as a man who has traveled "a thousand miles" by foot and boat to cross the border into Hong Kong falls to his knees. Bystanders turn away, "uninterested in hearing their own stories retold to them." However, the protagonist's mother hears the grumbles of the man's stomach, and her kids watch horror-struck as she pulls out the special mooncake they were saving--the kind with the double-yolk center ("the best kind!")--and asks the narrator to bring it to the hungry man. It takes two pages to slowly and sadly walk the treat over and only one gulp for the man to devour the entire cake. However, this single act of kindness unleashes a torrent of generosity from the nearby hawkers. Sepia and cool colors give this tale a historical feel, while delicate cartoon renderings of the bustling market street and crowds of people lighten the tone. In the backmatter, AuYeung notes that this story was based on an incident from her childhood, explains the historical significance of the refugee's flight to Hong Kong, and shares family photos. (This book was reviewed digitally.) A historically specific setting with an eternal lesson. (Picture book. 4-7) Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.