While the exact scenario in this book won't be relatable for every kid, it's a nice exploration of how culture is intrinsically tied to food and how those cultures can combine. It's well illustrated.

Synopsis from the Publisher:
A young boy realizes, thanks to his family, that he can enjoy both his Chinese and North American cultures through his favourite dishes

Max loves his family’s Cantonese meals, like steamed rice and gai lan greens with oyster sauce, homemade dumplings, and scallion bread. But sometimes he can’t help thinking about French fries, tacos, and ice cream with rainbow sprinkles.

For his birthday dinner, Max is really hoping for spaghetti and meatballs, but instead he and his family are headed to Maa Maa and Ye Ye’s house for a celebration dinner—and Max is pretty sure that spaghetti won’t be served in the familiar blue bowls that came all the way from Hong Kong with his grandparents. But Max is delighted to discover that his understanding family has discovered a way to bring two cultures together with delicious dishes that are a combination of all the foods he loves.

Based on the author’s own experiences growing up, The Blue Bowl will speak to many children and adults alike with similar experiences and bring a new perspective to those who do not share in this experience. With deliciously eye-catching illustrations and descriptive, inviting text, readers will be reminded of all their favourite foods as they follow along with Max’s story.





My Thoughts:

As a mixed race kid of mixed race parents, raising mixed race sons and now mixed race grandchildren, this book, The Blue Bowl, is a perfect love letter to families like mine. As I look in my kitchen cabinet and bring out some of the chawan (rice bowls) that I inherited from family members that have since passed, it really is about the food memories from their kitchen, and then how I am able to fuse those memories with the local fusion food I served to my own family. When my adult kids now ask for some of the dishware I have for their own homes, I am glad to give it because I know that the food connections that Max has with the blue bowl will be continued in my own family memories. I donʻt have the Cantonese blue bowls in my house, but my oldest son took all of my blue and white saimin bowls and he eats all of his meals, no matter what it is in those saimin bowls.



Another reason why I will definitely buy this book for my grandchildren is that Leung's poetry/text is so ʻono (delicious) and poignant. Some of the pointing images I found:

superhero cup. . .sparkly purple spoon. . .sesame-scented. . .sweet-sour as well as the longer metaphoric description of ʻblue bowl mean. . .ʻ



As we enter AAPI heritage month and as we enter the end of the school year and the beginning of summer, add this to the summer picturebook a day challenge. Picture books should be enjoyed just for the joy of reading rather than creating curriculum. However, as a long time secondary English teacher who believes that picture books (and poetry) play a large part in secondary curriculum (not as a stand alone unit, but woven through every unit), I would be remiss to not put some thought to suggestions for curriculum using this book.



Suggestions for Curriculum & Classroom Use:


I am stealing this formatting from ALAN (assembly on literature for adolescents of NCTE) reviews



Thematic Analysis: I talked about some of the themes in my thoughts, and I will list a few more below. However, keeping true to Rosenblatt's Transactional Theory, keep in mind that the reader and the text play important roles in the formation of meaning. Meaning, then for your students, as well as you as a reader is negotiated or created based on the relationship between the potential of the text and the reader's "experiential reservoir." This is why my meaning making around this book really has to do with my own dishware and family memories around food. Yours and your studentsʻ may be different and as we present a read aloud to middle school students, themes you did not think about may bubble up.



Family
Heritage
Culture
Identity
Self-Worth (there is a small nod to the idea of Asian kids bringing their home foods for lunch and classmates saying something about it - like it stinks. There are other picture books that talk about that if but this one shows Max being self-assured and not caring about those remarks)

Essential Questions

What are the foods your family cooks or eats for special days?
What is your ideal birthday meal?
What do special foods, dishes, items in the house represent for you?
Teaching Strategies

Free writing for fluency
Poetry writing
Craft lessons on things like alliteration, extended metaphor, writing through inanimate objects (like Ted Kooserʻs Abandoned Farmhouse)
As a counterpoint to another picture book, Thao by Thao Lam
Book Details:
Author and Illustrator: Flo Leung
Publisher: Owlkids (March 12, 2024)
Hardcover: 32 pages
ISBN #: 978-1771474634
Genre: Picture book

I received a copy of this eBook from netGalley for a honest review.

This book is a wonderful story about family and how food brings as together. Max loves all kinds of food but knows when the blue bowls come out it's Cantonese food to eat. When his birthday comes around he wants to go to an Italian restaurant but ends up at his grandparents house. He is surprised that they include some Italian flavors and most importantly a rainbow sprinkled cake ! Just like he wanted.

'The Blue Bowl' by Flo Leung has great illustrations illuminating how a bowl signifies different events in a family. Cute.

A very sweet book about a young boy and his love for the food from his culture as well as a mix of the foods he is surrounded by. I loved how this book showed the complexity and conflicted feelings children of immigrant families often experience and the emphasis of a balance that’s needed. We can love our cultures and our own foods, and we can also love the food from other cultures.

An absolutely sweet story about blending cultures, The Blue Bowl is absolutely a book I would have in my classroom as a teacher, and in my home as a parent. The blending of Max's favorite foods from other cultures and the foods of his own, especially at the end of the book, is delightful (and made me hungry the whole time!).

Max loves all kinds of food. He loves his family’s Cantonese food, which he always knows is coming when the blue bowls come out. He loves going out to eat with cousins and grandparents, but sometimes he wishes he could have a mix of his favorite Italian dishes with some of the Cantonese, or ice cream with sprinkles for dessert at his favorite restaurant. They are headed to his grandparents’ house for his birthday so he knows the food will be yummy Cantonese, but he can’t help wishing there was a little mix of some of his other favorite foods in there too. He doesn’t think it could happen, but could it?

I like how the story shows a family knowing the desires of a child they love’s heart. Kids have a hard time verbally expressing how they feel torn between cultures sometimes, but preferences for different kinds of food could be an area where they can express themselves. I can see Max’s story being used as a springboard for adults to help third culture kids or children/grandchildren of immigrants process their love for their unique blends of cultures that make up their life.

I received an ARC of this title from the publisher through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

"The Blue Bowl" by Flo Leung reflects the melting pot of food culture as well as human culture. Food can represent history, family, caring, and the future. The creation of a "new" food to match Max's mixed desires can inspire families to create new traditions. The story and illustrations are just the right helping of relatable feelings and new experiences. The only reason I didn't give five stars was I was hoping for a recipe!

Thank you to NetGalley for the eArc. All opinions are my own.

A sweet story about family and culture and delicious food. A young boy is torn between the Cantonese foods of his family and the American dishes his friends eat. In the end, his family helps bring the two together for a yummy surprise! This is a great picture book for children who are confused and feel torn between the culture they live and that of their family. A wonderful story!

How can a simple, familiar blue bowl make someone feel like they belong? This is the question that Flo Leung weaves into a beautiful story about food, family, traditions, culture, through the eyes of young Max, the second-generation Cantonese-Canadian child growing up in the cosmopolitan city of Toronto.

Through Max’s eyes and tastebuds, we lean about his favourite meals from around the city, all made familiar to him in the blue bowls used by his family. Readers will connect to a favorite dish, cup, or plate as Max and his sister set the table. And will, no doubt, see their own families reflected in the changing and merging traditions shown in Max’s family.

This delightful story is both about feeling seen and understanding the importance of our roots.

+A digital advanced copy was provided, and I am providing this review of my own accord.+

Lovely picture book about mixed cultures and food and celebration. It touches on how mixing cultures can be difficult at times but in the end it is beautiful.

When Max sets the table with the blue bowls, he knows he will be enjoying his familiy's Cantonese
dishes. As much as he loves the food, he also loves other foods, like tacos, pizza and fries. When
he celebrates his birthday at his grandparents' home, he is happy to see that his cousins have
combined flavors from other cuisines in some of the dishes. Max has the best of both worlds - the
Cantonese food of his grandparents and other world cuisines.
Delightful picture book.
#TheBlueBowl #NetGalley

This delightful book explores how food can connect us to family and culture, even if we live in a different place. Max learns that the familiar Cantonese family dishes merge very well with the diverse dishes from around his home. "But it all works together, and it feels just right."- wonderful sentiment. One thing I appreciated about this story is that there wasn't the trope of Max being made fun of for having different foods. There is one quick statement about kids at lunch who said that the dumplings are stinky but Max disagrees. The story doesn't dwell on the sometimes negative aspects of having differences, but rather focuses on celebrating how we mesh together.

Max's realization that he can enjoy both his Cantonese and American cultures through his favorite meals makes the reader to value and appreciate one's culture.
Filled with well-detailed illustrations, the story has an amazing plot where we learn about Max's multi-generational family and their customs through food (which I cannot resist)! I'd recommend this book for curious readers who enjoys food and learn different cultures. Ideal for ages 4-8.

A wonderful story to share with my kids. Teaches us about cultures and family through foods. Thank you to the publisher for a copy.

I love love loved the way that this incorporated different foods, tastes, and cultures, while telling a heartfelt story.

I received an electronic ARC from Owlkids Books through NetGalley.
A warm and supportive multigenerational family story. Max's family is Cantonese and celebrates their cultural foods. Max struggles as he also likes different foods he has tried. His immediate family eats a variety of food styles but when they gather as an extended family, the food is always Cantonese. When they go out to eat, they always eat at a Cantonese restaurant. For his birthday, Max really wants to go to an Italian restaurant but the family gathers at his grandparents' home. To his surprise, his cousins bring out different dishes to blend with the Cantonese meal. Max realizes he can like a blended menu of options and still celebrate his heritage.
Leung captures the emotions and struggles involved in honoring your heritage and finding your own identity. The joy and love found in gathering with multiple generations comes through clearly as well.
The artwork is highly detailed and welcoming to readers. This is a must for elementary libraries.

I like that writers see that children need books on their level to discuss the significant cultural aspects of growing up. This book is perfect because it teaches children and adults that it is okay to merge old traditions with new ones and that each part of your life (culture, surroundings, geographic location, etc.) builds you into the person you are.

This was such an amazing book that tells a story of culture and multigenerational family tradition through food, celebrations, and family heirlooms. Filled with beautifully illustrated pages, it's such a sweet story about Max and his family as he shares a variety of his favourite foods in preparation for his upcoming birthday party, which includes both traditional Chinese dishes and treats and Italian-inspired dishes.

Aww this is going on my bookshelf for my future child. It has a personal connection to me since I'm chinese, but I think this could relate to any child that has a cultural recipes or traditions.

The art style is so beautiful and the food looked extra delicious.