Tag: mooncakes

Posted in picture books, Preschool Reads

The Best Kind of Mooncake is one you share

Posted on by Rosemary Kiladitis

The Best Kind of Mooncake, by Pearl Au-Yeung, (Oct. 2022, Page Street Kids), $18.99, ISBN: 9781645675563

Ages 4-8

A young girl sits by her family’s booth in a busy Hong Kong market, waiting patiently for her end-of-the-day treat: a mooncake with a double-yolk center. The best kind! A stranger comes charging into the marketplace, exhausted and hungry after leaving his village, sleeping in trees, and stowing away on a ship to cross the border. At first, no one pays attention to him until the girl’s mother gives him the very mooncake the girl was promised, which he hungrily gobbles up. At that point, he becomes visible: people begin speaking with him and offering him kindnesses. The girl’s mother explains that seeing someone receive a kindness often reminds others of when they received kindness. A warm story of compassion and gratitude, AuYeung’s story is inspired by true events, explained in an author’s note, alongside pictures of the author’s family. Digital illustrations have an animated feel to them, with movement, big expressions, and texture. The Best Kind of Mooncake is a story of kindness and compassion, with a poignant observation about seeing what stands in front of us even when we are tempted to look away. Endpapers show the bustling street market referenced in the story. An excellent story for Lunar New Year readalouds and for the winter holiday season – the emphasis is not on the mooncake (usually eaten during the Mid-Autumn Harvest Festival); rather, on empathy and kindness.

Posted in picture books

Mid-Autumn Festival Reading: The Shadow in the Moon

Posted on by Rosemary Kiladitis

The Shadow in the Moon: A Tale of the Mid-Autumn Festival, by Christina Matula/Illustrated by Pearl Law, (July 2018), Charlesbridge), $16.99, ISBN: 9781580897464

Recommended for readers 5-9

I know we’re just beginning summer, but there are great, fall-themed books getting ready to hit shelves any second! If you’re like me and need to plan your programs several weeks out, this is big help. The Shadow in the Moon is a book about the Autumn Moon Harvest, which happens from September 22-24 this year. Last year, I held a moon cake and tea party storytime that went so well, I’m hoping to do it again, and this is a new book that I can add to my reading list this year.

A family celebrates the Mid-Autumn Festival together, with delicious mooncakes and other treats to enjoy. Two sisters ask Ah-ma, their grandmother, who the beautiful lady on their mooncake is, prompting Ah-ma to tell them the origin story of the Autumn Festival. She tells them about Hou Yi, the brave archer, his wife, Chang’e, and the thief who tried to steal the magic potion given to Hou Yi by the Immortals. The foods eaten during the Festival are a celebration of the story, with the mooncake taking center stage, in tribute to Chang’e.

The Shadow and the Moon celebrates family and the tradition of storytelling, with beautiful, deep blues and bright colors throughout. The pencil and Photoshop art will capture readers’ eyes, and the ethereal storytelling invites readers to sit back and daydream about the beautiful Lady in the Moon and her brave archer. An author’s note further explains the Mid-Autumn festival and features a poem by one of China’s greatest poets, Li Bai. There’s also a recipe for mooncakes with red bean filling that is making my mouth water. A must-add to your holiday collections.

Posted in programs, Storytime

Harvest Festival Programming

Posted on by Rosemary Kiladitis

The Mid-Autumn Festival starts tomorrow, October 4th, so I’ve been doing some programming with the kids here to celebrate. Yesterday, I had a Fortune Bookies workshop where we made fortune cookie bookmarks with felt. The glue didn’t hold so great – I really need to get a hot glue gun – but the moms jumped right in and made the best of a Make It Work Situation and saved the day with a few discreetly placed staples.

PictureNot one of my Fortune Bookies – this is Heidi Fiedler’s model.

 

Today’s program was more successful. I had a tea party! Ever since reading How the Queen Found the Perfect Cup of Tea, I knew I wanted to use the story in a tea party setting. The Festival provided the perfect time. I bought some moon cakes, palmiers, and milk tea and set up a proper tea table, cutting the moon cakes up so everyone could share, laying out bags of palmiers so I’d have extra food on hand, and pouring cups of milk tea for everyone. I was able to accommodate 10 kids and 4 parents, with no leftovers and a very happy group!

The reception to How the Queen Found the Perfect Cup of Tea was good; they were engaged and interested in the different teas throughout the book. Next up was Loretta Seto’s book, Mooncakes, which I loved. It’s the story of a little girl sitting with her parents, underneath the full harvest moon, and telling the three most popular stories about the Harvest Moon: the story of Chang’E and how she flew to the moon; of how Wu Gang chops away at a tree to gain immortality, and the Jade Rabbit. This one seemed to be the biggest hit with the families as a whole. I finished up with Grace Lin’s Thanking the Moon, for my younger kiddos, and had one QH Kid say, “That’s a really short one.”

All in all, a nice little party to welcome the harvest.