Don't let the cute cover deceive you because this one is packed with important topics about standing firm for your culture and identity.


I love how the author injected the discussion about gentrification and how it has been woven into the history of immigrants in the US.

The art style is straightforward and I like how the author-illustrator added twists on the supporting characters of Town 99.

This middle grade graphic novel is empowering and magical. 4.5stars!

Two children with a deep passion for their culture and the town they grew up in are determined to save their home from the looming threat of gentrification. Will they succeed in their mission to protect it before it’s too late?

I love how this serious issue is portrayed in a whimsical way. The author uses humor to make the story approachable, while the informative backstory adds valuable context. Illustrated in black and white with shades of salmon, Noodle and Bao is charming, filled with playful illustrations.

Overall, this graphic novel is an empowering blend of delicious food, humor, and advocacy. Ideal ages 8-12

This was absolutely perfect! It had everything that I look for in a graphic novel - beautiful art, love able characters, a complete story arc and a strong message. I loved that when we were introduced to each main character, we got a little bio on them, including their pronouns. I also loved that through most of the dialogue, there is Chinese written as well as English. I appreciated that detail even more after reading the author’s note, which was so beautiful and informative! This graphic novel had so much personality and emotion and was really unique. I’ll be recommending this to everyone!

Noodle & Bao is a well written and beautifully illustrated all-ages book about community and standing up for what we believe in written by Shaina Lu. Due out 15th Oct 2024 from HarperCollins on their Quill Tree imprint, it's 224 pages and will be available in hardcover, paperback, and ebook formats.

Momo, Bao, and their families live in Town 99, a tightly knit community of folks with restaurants, bookstores, and everything else they need. Their entire community is threatened when Ms. Jujube starts buying up and "improving" their town, raising rents so much that many of the residents can't afford to live there anymore.

This thought provoking accessible novel has a lot of good takeaways for everyone: gentrification, strength in diversity, the power in collective grassroots action, and depending on our friends (instead of trying to do everything alone).

The art is full of small details which invite readers to take a closer look. Much of the dialogue is bilingual in several Asian language as well as English (the author explains her reasoning in an afterword). There are also a number of pages with suggested discussion topics for classroom or book club discussion. There's also a reassuring diversity of characters, one of whom is nonbinary.

Four and a half stars. This would be an excellent choice for public or school library acquisition, home or classroom use.

Disclosure: I received an ARC at no cost from the author/publisher for review purposes.

Momo’s BFF Bao and Bao’s ah-ma (grandmother) Noodle Yi Yi lose their restaurant Noodle and Bao to an ultra-chic restaurant. Noodle and Bao subsequently operate their business from a food cart outside the new restaurant, which annoys the new restaurant owner. Momo vows to get the Noodle and Bao restaurant back which was a vital part of the community Town 99.

I found it interesting that Momo is a human girl but her parents are pandas. Other characters were animals, such as Noodle was an old grumpy cat. I wasn’t sure if there was a significance to the anthropomorphism, but being an animal lover, this was pleasing to me.

At first I found the story slow paced, but eventually the story built up and started to grow on me. I enjoyed the animal characterization illustrations, but overall in general, the drawings were not my preferred style but certainly may appeal to other readers. I would have preferred to see a colorful palette to the illustrations rather than the black, white and blush tones.

In the end I did enjoy the story especially after reading the Author’s Note regarding how Chinatowns came into existence in the U.S. which started during the Chinese immigration in the 1880s and their steady decline in the past few years. I was particularly interested in this story because: 1) I am Asian American, 2) I want to support Asian graphic novelists, 3) there was reference and a text bubble to my family’s dialect toisanese (VERY rare to see), 4) the story was based upon a real life protest of Boston Chinatown takeover by developers, and 4) I grew up on bao and dim sum so the theme and cover was not be passed up!

I really liked this book! I thought it was really cute and wholesome. I have a feeling this book would be a little difficult for younger audiences though. There are some instances where the author decided not to put the English translation under the dialogue which might make it a little harder for (younger) audiences who might not understand how to use context. Since the main problem/situation is also solved behind the scenes, younger audiences might get confused on what happened. However, as someone who could somewhat read the characters, I could understand what was going on and thought it was a really nice to have Chinese dialogue.

I really enjoyed the representation in this book. Thank you NetGalley and publisher for the ARC!

Thanks to NetGalley for providing this eARC in exchange for a review!

This was such a cute and impactful read!! When Momo's friend Bao and their ah-ma, Noodle, are forced to shut down their restaurant, Momo decides to rally the people of Town 99 and fight back! Besides the delicious-sounding recipes and absolutely adorable art, there are a lot of important themes and narratives surrounding gentrification and the power of community to come together to save what matters.

I think one of my favorite things was the use of Chinese and English throughout the book. The author's notes on that use of Cantonese and Mandarin, as well as the history of Chinatowns overall, were lovely to read after finishing the story and helped me to appreciate it even more. I feel like diversity was shown through both real cultures and a more fantasy aspect of having animals and humans all living and working together. (Big Animal Crossing vibes!) Each character was also introduced with pronouns, which was a nice touch!

This is such a fantastic book! The art is adorable and the story both sweet and timely. I love how Lu makes a subject as complex as gentrification understandable for younger readers without dumbing it down. I'm so excited to read more from her and I will be recommending this book to everyone!

A middle grade graphic novel about Momo, who is trying to save her best friend's grandma's restaurant from a new fancy restaurant that opened. This then turns into the restaurant trying to demolish the block and overtake the neighborhood (gentrification).

I thought this one was ok. The art style wasn't my personal favorite, but that isn't a problem really in terms of rating for me because that is a super personal choice! I just thought the story was a little slow, and I had many questions in the story. One was why were some people animals??? There was no clear indication why that I could see. Also, it was unclear how old Momo and Bao were. Bao talks about culinary school and then there is a time jump in the epilogue and they're in college. But before that it seemed like they were much younger. I appreciate the overall message about gentrification and Chinatowns/ethnic enclaves in general, but I was left with a lot of questions.

I received my copy from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

Noodle & Bao tells the story of Town 99 and gentrification. When Noodle and his grandma are kicked out of their restaurant to make way for a new fancy cafe, Bao starts a crusade to get it back and possibly save the entirety of Town 99 in the process. How are they going to do it? Food and protest of course.

I am very obviously not the audience for this graphic novel so I tried to read it with my library patrons in mind. The story overall is sweet and the description of the food made me hungry. I just didn't find much else. I think my readers of the Animal Crossing manga definitely will like this, but I also felt myself getting annoyed at Bao over and over.

3/5 stars

This book is a great read for readers of any age looking to learn more about the cultural history behind community centers and the activism that goes into preserving them against gentrification. Shaina Lu keeps the focus very tight by centering the story on the eponymous Noodle and Bao, and Bao's friend Momo who does everything she can think of to help keep her friends and neighbors keep afloat in the place they've made their home. Lu sprinkles small details throughout that add a welcome depth to all the characters, and the seamless integration of pronouns and bilingual speech bubbles where applicable are a fantastic choice. The art style is bubbly, cute, and expressive. Lu also includes a section at the end of the book that gives an overview of the events which inspired this story, something readers will be eager to learn more about after taking in Momo and Bao's experiences.

Many thanks to NetGalley and HarperCollins Children's Books | Quill Tree Books for an ARC to review.

I absolutely loved this book! This was such a fun read and I truly enjoyed it! The pictures in the graphic novel are really cute. The town and the food are very detailed. The baos looked so delicious that it makes the reader want to go out and eat baos. The story was so inspiring that I finished the book in an hour. I enjoyed reading every word and felt that the story relates to small towns being gentrified. So much history and culture gets erased when these small towns get gentrified. It is nice to see the POV of the people (even though fictional characters) and their struggles while their town changes. Again, I loved this book and it would make a great addition to the library.

I am torn on purchasing Noodle & Bao for my elementary school library. While the themes present in the book can be found in other titles that my students love, I am not sure of the appeal of this book. To be quite honest, I have a hard time getting students to read graphic novels that aren't in full color. I do think the story is worth telling, and I think that students will enjoy it, but it will be a rough go getting them to start it.

Positives: I love the way the different languages and cultures were represented. The book made me very hungry. The subject matter is dealt with at an appropriate level.

Negatives: The pacing feels off. Not sure if it will immediately appeal to students.

Meaningful graphic novel written and illustrated by Shaina Lu for middle grade readers.
The story is interesting and timely as it deals with friendship, very current social problems, and presents interesting food ideas while being Asian bilingual. Very enjoyable!
I requested and received a free temporary EARC on Adobe Digital Editions from HarperCollins Children's Books | Quill Tree Books via NetGalley. Thank you

5 Stars. This story was adorable and oh so heartwarming. Momo has lived her whole life in Town 99, she knows all of the ins and outs and most importantly where to get the best eats–Noodles & Bao. May I just say that Gua Bao sounds amazing! Noodles & Bao lost their storefront due to their landlord selling the building and had to transition to a food cart. A swanky new restaurant called Fance Cafe quickly replaces the former location of Noodles & Bao. To take it a step further, Jujube, the new owner of Fance Cafe even forces Noodle & Bao to relocate their food truck. Noodles & Bao tell a heartwarming story of a community trying to hang on to its roots and support one another. I loved the art and the seemingly random mix of animals and humans. Noodle is not a human and neither are Momo’s parents, but there were humans too. It was a quirky style choice that just added to the story’s overall charm. I can see where the references to Animal Crossing come from now. I liked the inclusion of pronouns when introducing the main characters and the inclusion of Chinese in the speech bubbles as well. All in all, this book addresses some pretty challenging topics, from immigration, community, and gentrification, all while tantalizing readers with mouth watering food and charming characters. Thank you HarperCollins Children's Books, Quill Tree Books, Shaina Lu, and NetGalley for providing an eARC for review!

This book was so cute! My son and I loved the graphics and the pacing was spot on. I also appreciated that it sparked a conversation about friendship, standing up for what you believe in and why gentrification can happen.

I really liked this! The pacing was a bit odd at times and a lot of the conflict was solved in the end off-camera which I didn't know how to feel about. The art was super cute and I loved the mixture of human & animal characters :) It also made me very hungry to read this, and the bilingual inclusion was really cool!

This book was definitely a cute one. From the animations to the sense of community made it very enjoyable for me. They touch on topics of gentrification and changes in the communities that the native people do not condone and want. If it’s one thing this comic book taught me, it is that it’s better for everyone to stick together and speak out, especially when it’s something that affects everyone.

What would you do to save your family's small business from a bigger, commercialized business taking over? One little food cart is taking a stand against the white-washing of their Chinatown neighborhood. Cafe France moves in and Noodle and Bao are forced to sell their food from a cart out front of their former restaurant. Bao's best friend Momo doesn't think this is very fair and stages a series of protests (my favorite character the piggy bouncer makes appearances during these protests). When push comes to shove, only one shop will survive. Momo challenges the new comers to cook off. Bao is super nervous, so she helps Bao make some new infusions of their most classic recipe. Will they successfully be able to stay in business? Can Momo's family make enough to pay rent and stay in the neighborhood.?

What I loved most: the new infused recipes, the art style, the scathing social commentary, the big, bold all that Momo is contrasted with the quietness of Bao.

I really enjoyed this book. Everything about it screams cute: the art, the characters, the ending. I loved the part at the end of the book where we get some more serious facts on the subjects that inspired this story. It was exactly what I was needing to read right now.
I would recommend picking this one up if you are looking for an easy but impactful read.