Birthday Soup

Illustrated by Jaime Kim
Contributions by David Chang
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$18.99 US
Penguin Young Readers | Viking Books for Young Readers
24 per carton
On sale Sep 10, 2024 | 9780593621615
Age 4-8 years
Reading Level: Fountas & Pinnell M
Sales rights: World
A debut picture book that celebrates birthdays, family, and a time-honored Korean tradition, featuring art by New York Times bestselling illustrator Jaime Kim and a recipe from renowned chef and TV personality David Chang.

Maia wakes up on her birthday to a delicious smell brewing in the kitchen. Her family is making Miyeok guk, one of her favorite foods! miyeok guk is seaweed soup that new moms eat after giving birth to help replenish nutrients, and many Koreans eat this same soup on their birthdays to honor their mothers, who gave life to them. This year, Maia gets to help prepare Birthday Soup by chopping ingredients, drying the seaweed, and then adding everything to the sizzling pot.

Maia wants to share the miyeok guk that she made with all of her friends at her birthday party later in the day, but wonders if they'd rather have pizza and cupcakes instead. With a little encouragement from her umma, Maia blends the two cultures that she's a part of to create a new birthday tradition.

Debut author Grace Chang and New York Times bestselling illustrator Jaime Kim team up to create a beautiful and vibrant story about how food and family recipes can connect us to our ancestral cultures, as well as ourselves. Birthday Soup includes a recipe for miyeok guk from Grace's husband, renowned restaurateur, chef, and television personality David Chang.
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"Chang insightfully conveys a child’s experience of learning to take part in an established Korean custom, and steamy swirls throughout Kim’s digital pink, purple, and yellow palette tie together generations strengthened by birthday soup." --Publishers Weekly

About

A debut picture book that celebrates birthdays, family, and a time-honored Korean tradition, featuring art by New York Times bestselling illustrator Jaime Kim and a recipe from renowned chef and TV personality David Chang.

Maia wakes up on her birthday to a delicious smell brewing in the kitchen. Her family is making Miyeok guk, one of her favorite foods! miyeok guk is seaweed soup that new moms eat after giving birth to help replenish nutrients, and many Koreans eat this same soup on their birthdays to honor their mothers, who gave life to them. This year, Maia gets to help prepare Birthday Soup by chopping ingredients, drying the seaweed, and then adding everything to the sizzling pot.

Maia wants to share the miyeok guk that she made with all of her friends at her birthday party later in the day, but wonders if they'd rather have pizza and cupcakes instead. With a little encouragement from her umma, Maia blends the two cultures that she's a part of to create a new birthday tradition.

Debut author Grace Chang and New York Times bestselling illustrator Jaime Kim team up to create a beautiful and vibrant story about how food and family recipes can connect us to our ancestral cultures, as well as ourselves. Birthday Soup includes a recipe for miyeok guk from Grace's husband, renowned restaurateur, chef, and television personality David Chang.

Photos

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Praise

"Chang insightfully conveys a child’s experience of learning to take part in an established Korean custom, and steamy swirls throughout Kim’s digital pink, purple, and yellow palette tie together generations strengthened by birthday soup." --Publishers Weekly