I liked this book because it is different than most I have read, and I hardly have ever seen a book written where the plot was based around a food cart. Although, as an adult, I found the ending kind of predictable. The Grandmother and her grandson, Mike, were very believable as characters. This makes the book more interesting to read. Mike acts like a typical child and becomes annoyed wishing she would stop when his Grandmother keeps saying she misses her home in Korea. When she does this she is constantly reflecting on the past and where she used to live. I did like that the Grandmother pushed to be involved in life in America and didn't mind trying to be American. She did this by trying to help with the food cart to help the parents make money. The message for this book to me would be to not forget your culture and background and where you came from because it is important and can make a big difference. ( )

I liked this book. I like how the book showed emotion. For an example, "Daybreak is beautiful here, just like it is back home. How I miss my country." The grandmother in this book really showed a lot of emotion from beginning to end and it goes to show that it is okay for anyone to show emotion. Another thing that I liked was how the book showed not only American culture but the Korean culture as well. For an example, in the book the family sold bagels, pizza, hot dogs, and orange juice, but when the business started to decrease at the cart, the son knew he had to fix it with his grandmother's help. Instead of selling American food, like every other cart was doing, the grandmother and grandson decided to make Korean food for the cart and the business was booming. The grandmother just wanted to feel at home and in order for her to feel at home, she wanted to contribute to the cart by making Korean food from back home in her country. Her grandson helped her to do this. When people move from one country to another, it is crucial that they are able to bring their culture over to their new country. The big message of this book that anyone can be a hero in their family, even the children. ( )

I like this book because I like how it talks about Korean food and it mixes some Korean words with English words. There is a boy and his grandma who live together with the boy’s mom and dad. In the beginning of the book, the boy and the grandma talk about making guk bap which is Korean food. I have never heard of it before so it was interesting for me to read. It was also interesting because the boy’s parents were venders on a corner of the street and were selling American food and they were having difficulty selling food. The parent’s would tell their customers, “Have a good day,” and the grandma said that in Korea they would say, “Annyonghi Kasipsio.” After a tough day of selling American food, the boy and his grandma had an idea to sell Korean food instead and they made all these Korean foods to sell the next day. The theme of this book is that you can bring cultures from other parts of the world to America. We see this when the family sells the Korean food instead of American food. ( )

I liked this book for two reasons. I really liked that this book included words in Korean. I think this is a great way for kids to learn some words in another language especially since they have the words and meaning in English, so its easier for kids to know what the words mean.
I also thought the ending of this book was really cool. The ending shows the main character, Mike, coming up with a great idea to help his parents’ food cart. I think that this shows readers it doesn’t matter how old you are, you should always voice your opinion and share your ideas because something you say could really help someone else.
One thing that I didn’t like about this book was that there wasn’t much of a lesson for children to learn. I also didn’t think the book was really relatable for children in elementary school. I felt that the first 2/3’s of the book was mainly about the grandma and how she wasn’t happy living in America, which is something not many kids can relate to. I felt there wasn’t much of a main point to this story and I don’t think it would be a book I would read to my students. ( )

I really enjoyed this book for many reasons. I enjoyed this book because the illustrations helped to tell the story. For example, when the family went to their block in the city to work at the food cart, the pictures showed how all the other food carts were also lining up on the same block with the same food. This really showed how the family was losing their business to the other carts, which were very similar to the family’s cart. The illustrations are also well drawn so that the children can read and follow along with the pictures if they are still learning to read. I also liked this book because it pushed readers to think about tough issues, like what it must be like to have to leave the country where you live, and the country that you love, to come to another country where everything is different. The grandmother in the story was struggling with this problem of living in a new country and missing the country she is from. This book really has you thinking about how the grandmother must feel after living somewhere else for so long. The book also uses some Korean words when naming the Korean food that they make. The book brings Korean culture into our lives, and that is another reason I liked this book. In the back of the book, they also list what the words means and what is in the dish. This is interesting to me because you get to learn something new while reading the book, as well as learn a little about the Korean culture. I think there was a very important message to this book. At the end of the book, Mike (the main character) and grandma come up with a plan to sell Korean food at their food cart, instead of the pizza and soda all the other carts are selling. It becomes a hit and business picks up again, which is good for the whole family. I think the message of the book is that even though you may not be home, you can bring a little bit of home with you and share that with others. Through the grandmother, the culture of Korea brought the family together, as well as help to spread other cultures to other’s lives. ( )