(3) PS Mia and her uncle Eddie walk through their Chinatown neighborhood to the Big Wok for dim sum. On the way--ten blocks in all--they encounter one giant panda, two stone lions, and so on, up to ten red lanterns. As Mia enjoys dim sum, she counts in reverse ("...nine fried wontons, eight shumai, seven tofu-skin rolls..."). The text is printed in both English and Chinese and ends with notes about each object's significance in Chinese culture. Hu's bright, cheerful digital illustrations of a child whose smile never wavers invite the reader to notice and enjoy the many special elements of Mia's neighborhood. A guide to the numbers one to ten in Chinese and sources are appended.

Reviewer: Maeve Visser Knoth

(4) YA Erin Kavanagh has lots on her mind: friends, boys, parents, and college acceptances--but that's just the beginning. When Erin gives an ex-friend faulty advice via her anonymous "Miss Fortune Cookie" blog, things spin out of control. Though the plot is convoluted, and Erin's identity struggle as an Irish girl in San Francisco's Chinatown could be more developed, the premise is timely and entertaining.

Reviewer: Ariel Baker-Gibbs

(4) K-3 Illustrated by William Low. In a story based on real events in New York's Chinatown in the 1920s, children from Little Italy keep demolishing Grandfather Chin's magnificent kites. After Henry Chu and his friends discover why, the children negotiate a satisfying resolution for their problem. The kites in Low's dramatic paintings differ somewhat from those described in the text, but he portrays the setting and characters with sensitivity.

Reviewer: Martha Sibert

(3) K-3 Illustrated by Yangsook Choi. After the 1906 earthquake and fire, a little girl and her family are forced to leave San Francisco's Chinatown and camp in Golden Gate Park. The spare but descriptive story is based on the author's mother's experience. Choi's dark paintings help convey the fear and chaos of the event for one Chinese-American family. An author's note adds further historical information.

Reviewer: Maeve Visser Knoth

(3) K-3 From sweet pork buns and fried shrimp to turnip cakes and egg tarts, dim sum delicacies are savored by a family in a Chinatown restaurant. Lin's deft, colorful illustrations show Ba-Ba, Ma-Ma, and two little girls each choosing a favorite dish. The simple text is enriched by an endnote and endpapers that provide more information about the tradition and range of dim sum meals.

Reviewer:

(3) K-3 Fifteen perceptive, keenly observant poems take a young immigrant boy through a year in which he moves from terrible homesickness for his Hong Kong home to a sense of belonging in New York's Chinatown. The beauty of the poetry is deepened and extended by full-page paintings. Though ultrarealistic, they nonetheless project emotion.

Reviewer: Barbara Barstow

(3) 4-6 Chinatown Mystery series. When a prop gun loaded with real bullets is fired at teenage TV heartthrob Clark Tom, twelve-year-old Lily and her great-aunt Tiger Lil leap to the rescue of the two prime suspects--Lily's brother and a Chinatown gang member. The fast-paced mystery deglamorizes Hollywood, corrects misperceptions about Chinatown, and neatly inserts cultural details into characters' conversations.

Reviewer: Tanya D. Auger

(3) K-3 Photographs by Lawrence Migdale. The text follows a young boy named Ryan as he and his family prepare to celebrate Chinese New Year in their home and community. Illustrated with captioned color photographs, the book introduces the holiday's foods and customs and provides information about the history of San Francisco's Chinatown. Ind.

Reviewer: Chyn Feng Sun

(3) 4-6 Chinatown Mystery series. After a bomb explodes in front of a Chinatown restaurant, twelve-year-old Lily and her great-aunt Tiger Lil, a former Hollywood actress, uncover a waitress's long-time plot for revenge. The action-packed mystery neatly weaves in explanations of Chinese culture--including a glimpse into the sometimes uncomfortable relationship between native-born and foreign-born Chinese--which serves to balance the few unbelievable coincidences.

Reviewer: Tanya D. Auger