Thank you for the advanced copy of Noodle & Bao! This was a very cute middle grade graphic novel. Also a very quick and easy read! The artwork was lovely and enjoyable. The story of the town and culture and people was written beautifully. I liked how they came together to save what they love. Another favorite part was when everyone said their hopes and dreams of the future and that the main character was surprised by some of them, which reminds us that we may not fully know everyone around us and should never make assumptions. We also should support those we love and care about when they have dreams they want to achieve. Again, this was a great middle grade graphic novel. Thank you again for the advanced copy!

Heartwarming, moving, and an absolute delight to read. I think every school library should carry this book. It's educational but in the format of a delightful bite sized graphic novel that is sure to capture the hearts of many.

Noodle and Bao is so cute. So cute!! It is an excellent way to introduce kids to the concept of gentrification. It makes it so easy to understand it's told through a sweet and delightful story that will make the reader interested to learn more. Loved it!!

Cute little small town people trying to save their little town.
Adding in tasty food made it even better!

Thank you HarperCollins Children's Books, Quill Tree Books, and NetGalley for the advanced electronic review copy of this book. This is a great story about empowerment and coming together as a community to solve a problem. A guide on gentrification is provided at the end of the book. Interesting art style and a mix of human and animal characters would appeal to the intended audience (children). Overall, a quick read with a wonky pacing and a strong message about resilience, friendship, and empowerment.

Noodle & Bao is a perfect book for middle grade students (or older folks!) looking to understand gentrification, immigration, and how food and culture can connection and strengthen communities. The characters were wonderfully diverse (many languages, cultures, family types, genders, and ages are included in this wonderful line-up), and Shaina Lu's more in-depth exploration of the main themes of the story in the back of the book is a wonderful guide for adults to talk about hard subjects like immigration and gentrification. This book is a wonderful starting point for adults who want to introduce these ideas to their children or teens. The art style is gorgeous and the colors are stunning. I loved the illustrations and explanations of the food as well. I will absolutely be recommending this to our library kiddos of all ages!

Yes! Yes! Yes! This kids graphic novel is completely wonderful! I am always drawn to amazing art and the storyline is just a fabulous! You may just get a little hungry while reading this graphic novel!

Noodle & Bao is such a sweet story about the power of community, resistance, and identity. It was really moving to see all the different characters, different ages and backgrounds, coming together to fight for their community. I think this is a great way for younger audiences to learn more about serious issues like displacement and gentrification.

I especially loved how fleshed out the characters were (Noodle, Bao, and Momo!) and how much growth they went through even in the span of just 200 pages! And the growth wasn’t limited to just the younger characters, but the older ones too. It was really beautiful to see the preservation of tradition but also the way tradition can grow and adapt into something new. The idea that home can be both in the past but also something new that grows with you is so wonderful. I was genuinely brought to tears at some parts. What a special little book.

Thank you to NetGalley and HarperCollin’s Childrens for an advanced copy of this. But especially thank you to Shaina Lu for writing such a beautiful story. While this is perfect for elementary/middle grade readers, I think this is a read that all of us can read and learn from!

A heart-warming tale about a community fighting their way through the gentrification of their town while also considering what it means for their community to progress without sacrificing tradition or their rightful place.

With the whimsy and creativity of Animal Crossing, Noodle & Bao tells the story of Momo’s mission to save her favorite restaurant, which turns into an effort to save her neighborhood. Life in Town 99 is changing, with increasing rent and neighborhood staples being replaced by fancy new stores and restaurants. Momo knows she must fight to save her beloved community. Along the way, she finds herself in sticky situations, like undercover investigations and cooking competitions, and learns a little something about community organizing.
This book is an entertaining, imaginative introduction to gentrification and community organizing. Although the aesthetic could appeal to students as young as elementary age, the issues that this book tackles are definitely a better fit for middle grade readers. I can imagine middle schoolers reading this just for fun or integrated into a unit on social justice.

I read an e-galley of Noodle & Bao and absolutely loved it! The discussion around gentrification is integrated in the story in a way that is perfectly palatable for young audiences. The Animal Crossing comp is spot on because the illustrations show a community of people and talking animals. This is going on my “Christmas presents for cousins” list because I think it’d make the perfect gift. I recommend this for upper elementary and middle school. This would be great for reluctant readers.

Noodle and Bao is a sweet, heartwarming graphic novel about community, cultural traditions, friendship, and standing up for what you believe in. The characters of Noodle, Bao, and Momo are so well developed and all show growth throughout the book, even the grown-ups! I also love that each character is introduced with their respective pronouns and there is so much diversity throughout the book. Many of the speech bubbles are written bilingually, representing when a character is speaking in another language.

Through the lens of Bao and Momo young readers will learn about gentrification and the effect it can have on diverse communities. The text also explores a theme of cultural traditions and how different generations might view and change these traditions.

Overall, this is a perfect book for late elementary and early grade readers. Thanks to NetGalley and HaperCollins Children's Books for the eARC in exchange for a review.

Noodle & Bao is a sweet tale of community advocacy, confidence-building, and a warm meal. The art is absolutely adorable, with expressive features and a pop of color. I enjoyed the layout and how the novel uses text (bilingual and pictorial). The characters were surprisingly well-developed, and I loved the animal designs. The characters spanned multiple generations, and the older characters grew and changed alongside the young protagonists. The historical note about Parcel C was informative, accessible, and did a lot to frame the story. Overall, Noodle & Bao is a sweet, comforting read that has such a sense of nostalgia. I enjoyed my time with this book and will definitely revisit it (with Chinese takeout).

Food, social justice topics, and a graphic novel equal a trifecta for a good book for elementary and middle schoolers, especially for kids I know. As an Asian American living in a highly gentrifying neighborhood I can see this book resonating with students in my local public schools. They can most likely relate to the characters and understand the tensions in the story. This will fit nicely into classroom libraries and school libraries.

Excellent! A lovely graphic novel appropriate for elementary - young adult audiences. There is discussion of gentrification and a brief history in the back of the book which adds beneficial context for the book. In this book, the grandson of a food cart/previous restaurant owner fights for his community, alongside a friend, to preserve the unique nature of the town, despite a new business moving in. Things escalate and the community comes together. This is both a heartwarming and affirming story, while ending with concerns over what will happen next--an appropriate and realistic finish.

cute Graphic Novel about family, friends and coming together to fight for what you believe in. Great information provided in the back about the history of gentrification.

Noodle & Bao is a sweet graphic novel about food, gentrification, and fighting to save what is important to you, Momo loves her town, and her favorite food is made by her best friend, Bao, and Bao's ahma, Noodle. They used to have a shop, but they were pushed out by a new fancy cafe. Now they serve food from a cart, but the cafe is trying to get them shut down. Momo organizes the community to save Noodle & Bao, but also to save their town - new people from the city are buying up property and raising prices so that the residents cannot afford to stay in their homes. A really great introduction to the concept of gentrification without being too heavy handed.

This graphic novel was a great example of gentrification and what can happen when a community works together to fight. I loved exploring the different food and culture throughout the story, even if it made me super hungry. I especially loved the information the author provided at the end of the story.

Usually, I am not a big of a fan of worlds where human characters exist in a non-magical world alongside talking animal characters, but that wasn't the case for this one. I adored the world. I love how it was tied to our own. I love the fact that they didn't necessarily get what they thought they wanted. The artwork was amazing, and I loved the fusion of food and t heir community.

Really touching book about multicultural multilingual community organizing. I love that this book is for a middle grade audience and breaks down ideas like gentrification and working class community values. I also giggled every time a diff animal showed up and was related to a human being.

Overall can’t wait for this to be published in the world!