It's been so long since I last read a children's book that I had forgotten the magic in them.

This book is beautifully written and even more beautifully illustrated. Drawn from the author's own childhood experiences as a Hmong refugee, this lovely story follows Kalia as she comes to realize that, even though her family has little money, they have a great deal of love. And Vietnamese illustrator Khoa Le does an incredible job in bringing the story to life in the most stunning way, all the way to the back cover. Absolutely flawless.

I know my 9 year-old niece would definitely love this book.

A big thank you to NetGalley and the publishers for an e-ARC in exchange of an honest and voluntary review.

A beautifully illustrated book reminding us of the importance of family & how the we are all beautiful. The illustrations are vibrate and stunning, a beautiful book to have in any home library & beyond that the story inside is a reminder we all can use to hear.

This is, quite simply, one of the most beautiful books I have ever read. Do not be fooled by its small size [there are only 32 pages here]; there is a lot going on here, in both text and the illustrations [which are amazing. Kudos to this awesome illustrator]. And it is simply stunning. Once you have read this, you will never forget it.

Based on the authors memories of her grandmother, this is a beautiful story of a child and her "ageless" grandmother and the stories she tells. Along with the chores the children get to do for the grandmother [who is both honored and revered in this home], which teach them patience and caring and grace, the stories she tells them of her past and her family are lessons every child should get the chance to hear.

I read this on my Kindle Fire and I was absolutely amazed at how the color of the illustrations came through. It was simply stunning. I cannot imagine how much more it would be in book form. But if you chose to get it in kindle form [to be read on the Fire or on an iPad], you will not be disappointed. This is an absolute must for children of all ages.

Thank you to NetGalley and Lerner Publishing Group/Carolrhoda Books for providing this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

The Most Beautiful Thing is the heartfelt story of a Hmong girl and her relationship with her grandmother. It's a simple and meaningful story, with the lesson that beauty is more than just what we can see. The book is beautifully illustrated with an array of colors reminiscent of traditional Hmong clothes. I would have appreciated a book such as this when I was growing up, one with a character who looks like me and shares a similar family history. I cannot wait to share this book with my nieces once it is published so they can also see themselves reflected in the books they read.

**For those who do not read Hmong or are unsure how to pronounce the Hmong words, the phonetic spelling of each at the beginning of the book is helpful.

The relationship between grandparents and grandchildren is so valuable. Reading Kalia's story was exciting and brought up the love lived with my own grandmother. In addition, the illustrations are beautiful, enriching the experience.

Yang tells the story of her childhood spent with her grandmother so beautifully, with illustrations that definitely interact well with the story. I appreciated its depiction of a multi-generation immigrant household, along with finding joy even during tough times.

Such a beautiful and heartwarming book. The first thing that caught my eye was the art! The illustrations are so so gorgeous an I'm definitely going to get a physical copy to own at some point. It is heavily based on the author's own experiences as a Hmong refugee in the United States. The culture shows through in the food they eat, the stories they tell and it's just so beautifully written and illustrated.

Kalia's family live simply with little food and no money for luxuries but there is a lot of love among the family members. They care for each other and work around the house together. This is a fantastic book to share with young children.

The story of this picture book is very raw and moving. It tells a story with a very important lesson for children, especially in this time and age, where we can easily get the idea that material things are all that matter. This would be really nice to read to young children and then have a discussion right after about the important lessons presented in this book.

I’m speechless with this book’s artworks. They’re really superb! I’m pre-ordering a physical copy of this book now because I wouldn’t want to miss its exquisiteness, and I know that this is something I would keep on re-reading.

The Most Beautiful Thing is a beautifully written and illustrated story centering around Kalia and her grandmother. It sheds light on what it is like growing up in an immigrant family where times are hard but through her grandmothers stories she comes to see that her life is truly beautiful.

This is a beautiful story about a young girl and her relationship with her Hmong grandmother. This book reminded me of the neighborhood where I grew up. It had many Polish immigrants and quite a few of my friends had their grandmothers or grandfathers living with them. They were taught to listen and respect them.

The illustrations in the book are vibrant and eye catching. One in particular, a picture of grandma's dream with a fearsome tiger, was particularly beautiful. "My grandma came from a time and a place where creatures lurked in the jungles waiting to chase unwary children. She told us that she once looked into the gleaming eyes of atiger and felt its hot breath on her face."

I think that it would be wonderful if children all had an elder relative who could share stories from a different time. It makes the world we live in feel a lot different. The children realize how much they have in terms of food, housing, etc. that wasn't always available to an older generation. This little girl decided that her grandmother's smile was "The Most Beautiful Thing".

A wonderful story beautifully illustrated. I can highly recommend this book for ages probably 5 and up. This book is set to publish on October 6, 2020.

I received an ARC of this book from the publisher through NetGalley..

Will post to Amazon upon publication

The first thing I definitely noticed is the illustration. The illustrations inside the book somehow show me a glimpse of the Hmong culture. The story moved me. While the story shows us a slice of life of refugees in a new and unknown country, it also shows us what they value. Asian culture places importance on family ties. I grew up very close with my family, especially my grandmother. I also grew up economically challenged so I understand the main character.

The target audience are children. I think it is a good introduction to "adult" concepts such as diversity and refugees. For those who identify with the story, it is a good thing because it gives them a validation of their existence. For others who do not share the same culture and background, it gives them a way to see the world outside of their own experience.

Thank you Netgalley and Lerner Publishing Group for allowing me to read this ARC for an honest review.

Young Kalia and her extended family have escaped Laos and live in the United States. Kalia and her siblings share the care for their very, very old grandmother. As Kalia grows, she starts to want what other children have. Things her poor refugee family can’t afford.

Through her relationship with her grandmother, she comes to understand the true meaning of the most beautiful thing—familial love and sacrifice.

This beautiful own-voices story could be read-aloud to younger children or read alone by older children. It makes the perfect springboard for talking about cultural differences, values, and families. The illustrations help convey the richness and simplicity of the most beautiful thing.

While reading the book aloud or discussing it with children, adults should take care to not show disdain for cultural differences (the grandmother’s tooth, her cracked feet, or other cultural differences). To do so would be to ignore the lessons we can learn from people who aren’t just like us. They have much to teach us.

This was a beautiful story with gorgeous illustrations. Kalia is unhappy that her family cannot afford things like braces, but her grandmother's stories of being a Hmong refugee make her realize that her life is pretty good.

This story reminded me of my Grandma (May her soul RIP). I have a very vivid memory of her, how I used to brush her white hair with The wooden comb & the way she gets all sleepy while I was doing so. Her gift -a bag- I am still using reminds me of her every day.
This book describes a girl and her relationship with her grandma. It was so delicate, comforting, eloquent, and the color palette is so soothing too. I recommend it for children who never got the chance to meet their grandmas & for people who miss theirs.
For me it was good but not wow.

A lovely meditation on family, poverty, wants and needs, and understanding between generations. A must purchase.

“My grandmother is so old, no one knows how old she is.”

So begins a picture book that delves into the way of life of a Hmong refugee family. On one level, it is the story of Grandma, who grew up in an unspecified country (assumed Laos) in Asia. She was a young orphan who had to look after her little brothers and sisters.

At another level it is about her grandchildren, who are Hmong Americans growing up with financial hardship. Many Hmong people were US sympathisers in the Vietnam War and were offered asylum in the United States after that.

Grandmother and grandchildren’s stories intersect in the scarcity of food, and the tenderness of their relationship. “The luckiest of the grandchildren got to help take care of Grandma.”

And this is no lip service care. The narrator proudly announces that she “got to clip [Grandma’s] fingernails and toenails”. She also got to trace the deep stained cracks of her feet and listen to the stories of daring that caused them.

The family have enough meat once a year, at Hmong New Year. The narrator has to settle for ice cubes instead of the ice-cream van. But she always shares with her grandmother and receives a toothless smile in return.

When the young girl wants braces for her crooked teeth and the family can’t afford them, her grandmother helps her to see where beauty truly lies.

This is a gorgeously illustrated and intimate view into an immigrant family’s life. Some will find it familiar — many will it find eye-opening.

It's absolutely gorgeous. The Most Beautiful Thing has magic on every page.

A touching story about a granddaughter and her relationship with her grandma, the beauty of the drawings combined with the story being told will sweep you away.

One of the first things I consider is age group recommendation: I would definitely recommend at least school-age. Some of the creatures might be scary for younger children.

That said, this is an absolutely beautifully illustrated book. In fact, some of the creature illustrations are the most beautiful. I love the message of the book--especially in the current troubled world climate. Kalia's Hmong family live modestly, and she grows wary of this--as any young kid does. However, she learns that her family has given her warm memories, love and the gift of imagination. No money can ever replace that. The grandmother character was especially memorable, which leads to a lesson the book imparts: respect for the wisdom of elders. The story of the book is simple enough for children to enjoy, yet timeless enough for adults to enjoy with repeated readings. Recommended.

Don't you just love when a picture book is almost too beautiful to bear?

This review is a bit early, because Kao Kalia Yang's "The Most Beautiful Thing" (Carolrhoda 2020), with its exquisitely beautiful illustrations by Khoa Le, isn't actually being released until October. But this stunning #OwnVoices book about a Hmong immigrant family is so overwhelmingly gorgeous that you're going to want to get ahead of the library waitlists.

It's the story of Kalia's family, who don't have much, but always manage to have just enough, and Kalia's grandmother who lives with them and holds a well-deserved place of special reverence in the family. It's about her grandmother's story, of a hard-lived and extraordinary life. And it's about Kalia herself, who like many children in hard circumstances, wishes for more ... but comes to understand that we can hold space for both dreams of more AND gratitude for what we have.

This book is beyond beautiful. The illustrations alone are so special, and there is a glossary and pronunciation guide to help readers with the scattering of Hmong words that lend authenticity to the story.

**I received an e-ARC from NetGalley for an honest review**

There was so much love and learning crammed into such a tiny book, and yet the book felt endless and timeless (in a good way). In this book, there's the love between a grandmother and her grandchildren, the story of an immigrant who has lost her family, and learning that even without money we can find the most beautiful treasures all around us if we just look for them.

The illustrations are so colorful and gorgeous, I could easily see framing them and putting them onto my wall.

This book was both heartwarming and heartbreaking in equal measures, and left me longing for more, which is unusual for most children's books.

Easily 5/5 stars!