Overview
One day in class, Orange Peel—who got her nickname by eating orange peels when she was little—and her classmates learn about China. Everyone starts to ask Orange Peel questions about the country because they know that’s where she was born. But she doesn’t have all the answers. So Orange Peel joins her mother on her neighborhood errands to find out.
Many of the shops they visit are owned by people who also were born in China. Each has a story to tell Orange Peel. She visits Mr. Fan the tailor, who speaks about silk; Ma Sang, who owns an antiques store and also writes poetry; Mrs. Liu at the flower shop; Mr. Yu, whose restaurant makes “best there ever was” noodle soup; and Jasmine at the ice cream shop. Orange Peel can’t wait to tell the kids at school about China’s influence on all of these things, but first she discovers a number of gifts that have been slipped into her pocket by the store owners: silk, a poem, a peony, a noodle soup recipe, and a lucky red knot. Orange Peel is overjoyed, as the treasures she’s found link her to the place where she was born.
Rose Lewis’s text is a wonderful look into China’s influence on history and the modern world. Exciting new illustrator Grace Zong brings the story to life through her modern and thoughtful art.
F&P Level: M F&P Genre: RF
Praise for the work of Rose Lewis
Bank Street College Best Children’s Books
Child Magazine Best Books Oppenheim Toy Portfolio Platinum Awards BookSense Book of the Year finalist
“Offers abundant reassurances of love to adopted children . . .” —Publishers Weekly
“Sweetly sentimental . . . taps into a well of genuine emotion.” —Publishers Weekly
Synopsis
One day in class, Orange Peel—who got her nickname by eating orange peels when she was little—and her classmates learn about China. Everyone starts to ask Orange Peel questions about the country because they know that’s where she was born. But she doesn’t have all the answers. So Orange Peel joins her mother on her neighborhood errands to find out.
Many of the shops they visit are owned by people who also were born in China. Each has a story to tell Orange Peel. She visits Mr. Fan the tailor, who speaks about silk; Ma Sang, who owns an antiques store and also writes poetry; Mrs. Liu at the flower shop; Mr. Yu, whose restaurant makes “best there ever was” noodle soup; and Jasmine at the ice cream shop. Orange Peel can’t wait to tell the kids at school about China’s influence on all of these things, but first she discovers a number of gifts that have been slipped into her pocket by the store owners: silk, a poem, a peony, a noodle soup recipe, and a lucky red knot. Orange Peel is overjoyed, as the treasures she’s found link her to the place where she was born.
Rose Lewis’s text is a wonderful look into China’s influence on history and the modern world. Exciting new illustrator Grace Zong brings the story to life through her modern and thoughtful art.
Praise for the work of Rose Lewis
Bank Street College Best Children’s Books
Child Magazine Best Books Oppenheim Toy Portfolio Platinum Awards BookSense Book of the Year finalist
“Offers abundant reassurances of love to adopted children . . .” —Publishers Weekly
“Sweetly sentimental . . . taps into a well of genuine emotion.” —Publishers Weekly
Publishers Weekly
Lewis's (Every Year on Your Birthday) affectionately written offering stars an adopted Chinese child whose classmates catch her off guard with questions about China that she can't answer. With her mother, she visits Chinese members of the community and comes away with new knowledge: Mr. Fan the tailor tells her about silk; Ma Sang the antique dealer reads her a poem; Mrs. Liu tells her about Chinese flowers; and Mr. Yu invites Orange Peel and her mom in “for what Orange Peel called Mr. Yu's 'best there ever was' noodle soup.” Each of them slips a secret gift into Orange Peel's pocket, which give her the courage to present her findings to her classmates. Newcomer Zong's folksy acrylics show Orange Peel as a shiny, wooden doll-like figure with a button nose, and the story feels similarly stilted; the encounters Orange Peel has with her neighbors are rushed to keep the story moving, and present a curiously anachronistic view of China. Still, teachers and family members will welcome the book as a jumping-off point for discussions about children from faraway places. Ages 4-8. (Apr.)