Home in a Lunchbox, illustrated and written by Cherry Mo, published by Penguin Workshop, ISBN: 9780593661345.
Many current children’s books about children moving to a new part of the world revolve around food. A tasty lunch brings comfort to someone enduring that disorienting feeling of being in a new place, a new school. Throw in a language barrier and the need for some kind of solace is even more urgent. Cherry Mo’s beautiful Home in a Lunchbox, based on the author’s experiences moving to the States from Hong Kong, emerges as one of the very best (and most hopeful) titles about this subject. Mo knows how to frame the action just right to capture the young girl’s confusion as she enters a new space (an overhead shot shows how isolated she feels, separated from her peers). Mo employs graphic novel style framing when showing our heroine trying to connect with her new schoolmates, and then feeling frustrated because she does not share their language. But most of all, she brilliantly uses swirling bursts of color when the child opens her lunchbox, and then beautifully throws in snippets of happy memories as she enjoys her meal. I appreciate the way Mo has the food’s glorious aroma draw some of her peers closer (this is a book that appeals to the senses). When they share a meal and discover a common bond, all feels right. An absolute delight.
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